DARTE ESL 82 Bridge Program
Submitted By: Heather Maloy
Delta Sierra Regional Alliance(San Joaquin Delta)
Website: https://www.deltacollege.edu/program/english-second-language-esl
Type of Practice: Learner Transition
Program Area(s): ABE / ASE, ESL / EL Civics / Citizenship, CTE / Workforce Prep / Pre-apprenticeship, K12 Success
Region: Northern California
Consortia Involved: Delta Sierra Regional Alliance (San Joaquin Delta)
The Program of Practice
DARTE ESL 82 Bridge Program created a bridge course that will provide a more seamless transition students between adult school and Delta College ESL programs while focusing on the various academic and career pathways available at Delta. Students will leave this bridge course with an idea of what pathway they want to enter when they reach the advanced levels of ESL.
The Response
Once students reach the advanced level of ESL, they will not have to continue to only take ESL courses. Instead, they will have a choice between entering one of three pathways that lead to in-demand jobs offering good, living wages. Each of these three pathways (Electrical Technology, Health Careers, and Business) will allow students to take an introductory course in each pathway (ELEC 30, HS 36, and BUS 20) along with an advanced reading/writing ESL course that has been contextualized to support learning in one of these specific classes. This will not only allow students to save time (by taking introductory courses in their pathways concurrently with advanced ESL classes), but it will also lead to higher success rates for ESL students in each of these pathways.
The Unique Features of the Program
To incentivize students to choose a pathway of study, and to reward them for their hard work and achievements in the ESL program, the instructor Amber Wolak created three certificates that will acknowledge the achievements of English Language Learners as they attain academic English reading and writing skills at the advanced, college level and successfully complete degree-applicable introductory coursework in a variety of degree and certificate programs. The goal of this sabbatical project is to close the equity gap between native and nonnative English speakers while continuing to believe in all of our students and to “act as a catalyst for knowledge growth, social equity, economic mobility, personal development, and life-long learning” (Delta College Vision Statement).
The Outcome
After the initial implementation of the DARTE ESL 82 Bridge at Stockton Adult, we have had 43 students complete the Bridge Course and 39 of those students successfully transfered into the ESL/CTE program at Delta College. Currently, we are enrolling for our new cohort of Fall 24 program at Stockton Adult and Tracy Adult, we have a total of 40 more students enrolling.