Education Week - February 15, 2023 - 18

Test-score data have validated Griffin's faith in her
students: 65 percent of all students in the district met
grade-level standards in reading in 2019, a percentage
matched by English learners.
That's a 10-point jump compared with scores from
the 2015-16 school year, just before Griffin, a former
elementary school principal, was elevated to her current
position.
" For so long, we weren't doing enough for our
bilingual students, " Mineral Wells' Superintendent John
Kuhn said. " This may be the first time in our district's
history we're doing right by these students. "
Getting there took a fundamental shift in how the
" I know what it's like to have people
think you won't accomplish something.
So we operate under the mindset
that it's not too hard, that we can,
and we will. We're going to do it. "
district-and larger community-approaches English
learners, who make up about 16 percent of its enrollment.
A major shift in programming
Before Griffin took over the bilingual education
department in February 2017, Mineral Wells used
an " early exit " program for English learners. That
meant students moved on from the program once
they demonstrated some ability to speak and write
in English, generally after about three years. Now,
English learners stay in the program even after
they've met the bar for grade-level proficiency in core
subjects like math and reading, usually exiting after
about five to seven years.
Another important difference: With late-exit
programs, students spend more time learning in their
native language to support their academic progress,
even as they improve proficiency in English.
Texas, unlike many other states, has never banned
using bilingual education models to teach English
learners. In fact, the state in 1973 passed a law
mandating bilingual education in districts that have
a critical mass of students from the same language
background. The law says explicitly that educating
students in their native languages is an important part
of their learning.
That early and sustained acceptance of bilingual
education laid the groundwork for Griffin's efforts,
she said.
" What we saw for our kids was that when they left the
Q&A: Read a full interview
with the leader. > edweek.org
early-exit model, they didn't have enough comprehension
of either language to keep building on, " Griffin said.
18 | EdWeek Leaders To Learn From | February 15, 2023
" So, when they keep learning [content] in their native
language, they can better learn in a second language, too. "
Mineral Wells' approach to English-language
instruction, and its English learner students' academic
performance compared with their peers, is impressive,
said Phyllis Jordan, the associate director of the think
tank FutureEd.
Districts that use this approach typically expose
students to more grade-level materials in their native
languages, which can aid their understanding as they
learn English, she said.
" That's a good strategy, and it sounds like it's paying
off for them, " Jordan said.
Shifting to a late-exit program was ambitious
and logistically challenging. Keeping students in
the bilingual program longer meant adding seven
more classes of English learners in a district already
struggling to recruit and retain educators.
On top of that, Mineral Wells was under pressure
from the state education department. A few years
earlier, the state denied the district's request for a
waiver from a mandate that school systems have one
bilingual teacher for every 20 students from the same
language background. Mineral Wells had received the
waiver every year for more than a decade, but state
officials grew frustrated with the lack of progress in
bringing on bilingual staff.
It was a wake-up call for district leaders. Soon after,
Kuhn promoted Griffin, who grew up in Mineral Wells
and had spent her entire career in the district as a
teacher and then a school leader.
Both were aware of the seriousness of the situation.
In the short term, losing the waiver meant more state
scrutiny. If nothing changed, Mineral Wells could face
fines and even jeopardize its accreditation.
Instead, in just five years, under Griffin's leadership,
Mineral Wells increased the number of bilingual
teachers by about two each year, from five to 12. That's
still short of the roughly 16 the district needs. But the
state feels Mineral Wells is making progress and has
reinstated its waiver.
The district succeeded where others fell short.
Districts across the country have struggled to hire
bilingual educators in recent years. A 2021 report from
Jordan's organization found 25 states, including Texas,
had staffing shortages in that area.
'It's like finding gold'
Griffin realized early that Mineral Wells is too
small to compete with the big signing bonuses and larger
salaries of nearby districts, including Dallas and Houston.
So her search for talent started within the district,
where she encouraged bilingual teachers of general
education classes like 4th grade math, life skills, and
art, to pursue bilingual certification. She persuaded four
others who grew up in Mineral Wells and were already
working in the education profession to come back and
serve the community.
She's even dipped into nearby Mexico to find staff.
The district offered $5,000 hiring bonuses to bilingual
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - February 15, 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - February 15, 2023
