Early Academic Language Pilot

SFF Special Initiative: Building Language Skills

Community Need
More than 25% of the students entering public school in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are English language learners (ELL) - the vast majority of these children are Hispanic. Facing a daunting achievement gap, these children encounter higher drop out rates: up to eight times those of non-Hispanic white students in some districts in Silicon Valley. Teachers need both training and resources to help their Spanish-speaking ELL students develop the language and literacy skills they need to succeed.

Our Philanthropic Response
SFF has developed an innovative Pre-K to 3rd grade capacity-building program for Silicon Valley teachers to address the needs of Spanish-speaking ELL students. Our pilot is aimed at creating a replicable model of professional development and program design to enable students to attain age-appropriate literacy in both English and Spanish, and a grade-level mastery of academic material - becoming more motivated, confident learners by the end of 3rd grade.