William Barton Rogers Middle School, Bilingual Program

Boston Public Schools, Massachusetts

The Rogers Middle School was founded in 1902. Since 1995 it has housed a Vietnamese transitional bilingual education program. The goals of this program are for students to become proficient in both English and Vietnamese, maintain their culture, and achieve in academic areas. High standards are held equally for all students in the school.

Integration of the Program to the Whole School

The Vietnamese bilingual program is completely integrated into the school. The bilingual students are part of the comprehensive school goal and curriculum standards. The Vietnamese students in the bilingual program are part of the entire school. The bilingual staff members ( five Vietnamese and two ESL teachers) meet regularly with the mainstream staff members at grade level and subject area meetings. They discuss their respective curriculum standards and choose teaching materials. All staff members are encouraged by the principal to take ownership for the success of all students. One of the Vietnamese teachers also teaches mainstream students.

The principal claims that the Vietnamese bilingual program and staff are an asset in helping mainstream staff understand the approaches necessary to assure the success of all students.

Bilingual program and mainstream students are integrated in classes and extracurricular activities. Two sixth grade classes have science, language arts, and art classes together. Mainstream and bilingual program students are paired. Observations of integrated classrooms rendered evidence that Vietnamese students actively interact with the teachers and other students.

Curriculum and Instruction

Bilingual students are classified by English language proficiency as Step 1, 2, 3, or 4 (from least to most proficient) based on criteria developed for the whole city. Students in Steps 1 and 2 take language, literacy, math, and science bilingually with a Vietnamese bilingual teacher. They take social studies, gym, art, and other specializations in English with mainstream students. Students in Step 3 take social studies, math, and science in English; language and literacy is taken with a Vietnamese teacher. Step 4 students are fully mainstreamed. The staff works diligently to support the students in the mainstream process. Bilingual teachers teach subject matter in Vietnamese but teach technical vocabulary in English.

Some of the bilingual students take advantage of after school programs. Two bilingual Vietnamese teachers offer homework help, especially in math and language arts. After-school programs such as the chess club offer many opportunities for bilingual and mainstream students to interact and become friends in more relaxed and casual setting.

Attitudes Toward Cultures

The school emphasizes the theme of respect as the core value for all members of the school community. All students show a very open and respectful attitude towards other cultures. The Vietnamese New Year's Celebration involves the entire school. Mainstream students react very respectfully and are interested in this celebration. Once a month, a celebration of a different culture takes place. For example, the school has had celebrations for African-American, Hispanic, and Irish cultures. Pictures taken at these events can be found throughout the school building. According to the principal, all students are more aware of cultural diversities at present than they were before the Vietnamese bilingual program was established at the school. The school fully supports the bilingual program, as evidence by the School Site Council, School Parent Council, and the School Improvement Plan.

Professional Development

The Instructional Leadership Team at the Rogers Middle School is a school-based team whose task is to coordinate and implement all professional development initiatives. The Team has decided to place particular emphasis on professional development dealing with issues of working with Language Minority students. The School Site Council has also voted to allocate 35% of Chapter I's budget to support services for Language Minority students.

Professional development is offered to all staff in the area of ESL techniques. Some important ESL strategies, such as CALLA methods of accessing prior knowledge and using more visual, hands-on, overhead, media, and technology materials are also seen as applicable to the many mainstream Language Minority students at Rogers.

The mainstream, bilingual and ESL staff participate in citywide, state-wide, and national conferences on bilingual education. Often they are joined by the principal.

The Rogers School has taken advantage of Boston Public Schools' new teachers mentoring program to support new staff members in the Vietnamese bilingual program with collegial and classroom support. Through this mentoring program, the principal teams a more experienced lead teacher (bilingual or monolingual) with a new teacher during his/her first teaching year. This system has especially impacted instruction in the relatively new bilingual program.

Home-School Connections

The involvement of the bilingual students' families in students' educational goals is comparable to that of mainstream students. The parents who have come to the school are very cooperative and enthusiastic and they speak very well of the Vietnamese bilingual program. Bilingual students and their parents also have opportunities to interact with the bilingual teachers in the neighborhood Vietnamese temple. The Vietnamese guidance counselor maintains regular contact with bilingual families by phone.

Community Involvement

The Counseling Program, the Boston Community Service, and the Hyde Park Main Street, three community organizations in Boston, have cooperated with the bilingual program and the whole school.

William Barton Rogers receives Gear Up funding to support a partnership with Curry College, which includes mentoring, tutoring, professional development for teachers, technology assistance, and other resources to support college awareness and academic achievement.

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Program profile

The school:

Number of students: 705
Grade levels: G6 to G8

The bilingual program:

Start date: September 1, 1995    
Number of students: 60
Bilingual program grade levels:

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Student outcomes

Languages of assessment:

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Community response to the program

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Program funding

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Contact information

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THE EDUCATION ALLIANCE at Brown University
Program: The Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory

222 Richmond Street, Suite 300, Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 401/274-9548 | 800/521-9550 | FAX: 401/421-7650 | TTY: 800/745-5555