Rialto Adult School

The Program of Practice

Before the 2018 school year, Rialto Adult School offered a very limited ESL program. As early as the 2017 school year, prior to the advent of the current administration, the ESL enrollment numbers maxed out at approximately 360 students, which consisted of 15 ESL sections shared between 5 teachers (1 full-time and 4 part-time) with a maximum of 24 students per class. The problem of practice consisted of a limited number of teachers, a limited number of sections offered, and a limited number of seats available per class. In addition, at that time, classes were only offered in person in the a.m. and p.m.

The Response

The new incoming Principal realized this dilemma, and after getting staff and student feedback, quickly changed that by hiring additional teachers which resulted in 2 full-time and 6 part-time teachers. This created an increase in the number of seats per class and sections being offered. Lastly, due to the pandemic restrictions, this afforded an opportunity to offer virtual and hybrid classes which continue to today. Current ESL enrollment numbers are now at approximately 880 students, which is more than double what they previously were.

The Unique Features of the Program

Some unique features of the RAS ESL program include:
*Virtual/Distance Learning ESL classes levels Beginning through Advanced
*Hybrid classes levels Beginning through Advanced
*Afternoon classes that begin approximately at 3:00 p.m.; whereas, evening classes run from 5:30-8:00 p.m.
*Introduction of the following new class offerings:
*Beginning and Intermediate Conversation
*EL Civics and Citizenship Preparation
*Introduction to the use of a core curriculum (Stand Out) which was not previously being used. Teachers previously
had limited access to curricular materials.
*Administration began offering teachers professional and staff development to support their instructional practices.
*Administration began meeting with teachers on a regular basis to enhance the rigor of instructional practices and build school culture.

The Outcome

As a result, Rialto Adult School began to monitor CASAS pre and post test data. This year, we also began implementing COAAPS instruction and assessments. This has led to a drastic increase in payment points and student growth. Due to a deep dive into our CASAS data and the usage of CASAS COAAPS tests as indicated in the Data Integrity Report, payment points have increased as follows:
*2021-2022 = 111 payment points
*2022-2023 = 162 payment points
*2023-2024 = 863 payment points

In addition, administration meets with teachers regularly to examine student data in-depth in order to inform instruction so that teachers can share effective instructional strategies and supplemental materials.

Our number of students that have gained a level, as indicated in the Data Integrity Report, has steadily increased over the last three years as follows:
*2021-2022 = 67 completed a level
*2022-2023 = 101 completed a level
*2023-2024 = 227 completed a level