Ask the Expert English Language Learners

Libia S. Gil & Ana Díaz-Booz

Photograph of Libia S. Gil
Libia S. Gil
Senior Advisor, National High School Center

Libia S. Gil joined the American Institutes for Research to continue her work as the former Chief Academic Officer for New American Schools. In this capacity Dr. Gil provides senior counsel on leadership development initiatives and assists states and districts in developing strategies for improving student achievement by bridging research evidence with practice evidence. Dr. Gil is currently the lead consultant for the High School Renewal efforts on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the San Diego Unified School District. Dr. Gil was Superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School District for over nine years. In addition to multiple awards and honors, Dr. Gil received the 2002 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education for her outstanding leadership as Chula Vista Superintendent. The McGraw Prize is awarded annually to individuals who demonstrate exceptional contribution to the improvement of education systems. Additionally, Dr. Gil has received the Leadership Vision Award by the California Association of Bilingual Education in 2003. Dr. Gil has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with emphasis on bilingual and multicultural education from the University of Washington.

Photograph of Ana Díaz-Booz
Ana Díaz-Booz
Principal, School of International Business (2008 California Distinguished High School )

Ana Díaz-Booz is the principal of the School of International Business (SIB) at the Kearny High Educational Complex in San Diego, California. Together with her instructional leadership team, teachers, and students, Ms. Díaz-Booz has helped SIB earn distinction in the areas of Title I achievement and "Fast-Track" junior college dual enrollment while posting a bronze medal in U.S. News and World Report's annual list of America's top high schools. In her school's short five-year history, SIB students have out-performed area high school students on statewide assessments in all English language learner (ELL) sub-groups and elevated the school's academic performance index each year.

As a first generation, bilingual student from a Spanish-speaking household, Ms. Díaz-Booz possesses a unique understanding of the struggles of ELL students in the nation's public schools and the importance of rigor and high expectations. She earned a BS in mathematics and a teaching credential from the University of California, San Diego. And after serving as a math teacher in the San Diego Unified School District, Ms. Díaz-Booz earned her master's degree and administrative services credential from the University of San Diego.

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English Language Learners

Question 7: What technology programs, applications, software, and/or additional learning materials are available to help ELL students catch-up to their grade-level peers?

Responded by: Ana Díaz-Booz (Principal, School of International Business)

I must start off by saying that I am overwhelmed by the number of technology programs, or software and additional learning materials that are available to schools. It seems that everyday I receive several brochures of emails offering the “latest and greatest.” That being said, I am convinced, based on achievement data, that students at my school benefit most from the Strategies for Literacy Independence across the Curriculum (SLIC) Program.

In March 2006, the San Diego Unified School District was awarded a Striving Readers Grant for $17.5 million by the Department of Education to help middle and high school students develop higher-level literacy skills across all content areas. As part of this program, 9th and 10th grade students at the School of International Business (SIB) who score below grade level in reading have the opportunity to be assigned into an intervention English class, Strategies for Literacy Independence across the Curriculum (SLIC). Students in these English classes are explicitly taught the skills and strategies needed to succeed on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), California Standards Test (CST), and in future college preparatory classes. These classes target students who scored beginning, early intermediate, or intermediate on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), those whose latest Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) score fell below grade-level performance, and those who’s Spring California Standards Test score is below basic or far below basic.

The SLIC curriculum teaches strategies for reading grade level academic texts, focuses on all content areas, both reading and writing, and teaches students strategies to work through difficult texts with the goal of academic independence. Scheduled benchmark assessments are administered to measure student improvement and understanding. The curriculum is designed for students to engage in content grade level texts, academic writing, and listening/speaking. The Striving Readers Grant provides our school with a Striving Readers' resource teacher. Her role is to provide the English SLIC teachers with teacher/student resources and rigorous lesson-planning support and feedback. She also meets with the other English, math, science, and history teachers on campus to provide assistance in implementing SLIC strategies to improve literacy in the content areas. The English SLIC teachers are provided an extra prep to plan, reflect, and assess student progress with the Striving Readers resource teacher.