I would like to try and further clarify a potential misunderstanding about the nature of First 5 LA’s most recent Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS). First, it is important to keep in mind that the First 5 LA UPCOS study is a descriptive study with the primary goal of better understanding and describing the range of instructional practices that are currently being used with English Language Learners (ELLs) across the various LAUP programs and it is NOT an evaluation of a particular instructional model (ELL or otherwise). In other words, the goal of the study is to better understand what approaches are currently being used by teachers in classrooms with the rather linguistically diverse population of children in LAUP programs and is not taking any particular position on what are the best instructional approaches for ELL children. Second, the design of the descriptive study has been informed by the latest available research on ELL instructional practices. By utilizing findings from the latest research, the study will be better able to capture the range of issues that have been shown to be important factors contributing to ELL children’s academic success. For example, as noted by both of the previous comments, there is in fact some research supporting the need for children to be taught specific language and literacy skills in English, such as phonological skills, vocabulary and comprehension. Claude Goldenberg further mentioned that there is some evidence supporting the use of a child’s home language to help facilitate both their reading development and learning English. In addition, the provision of some support for a child’s home language also can help facilitate not only the home language and literacy activities that he mentioned, but also may promote more active parental involvement, especially for those parents who may themselves be less proficient in English and therefore less comfortable engaging in learning activities at home, as well as communicating with the child’s teachers. We need to ensure that we are supporting the parents as well, as they provide a critical foundation for learning above and beyond our educational programs. Both of the above findings are not necessarily at odds with each other, but rather suggest possible components that might be important to incorporate into a more comprehensive curricular approach used with ELL children. These are the kinds of research findings that have helped shape the current First 5 LA UPCOS study. I think we all share the goal of wanting to provide the best quality educational experiences for our children, including children from diverse backgrounds. We certainly cannot afford to raise a generation of linguistically and/or academically mediocre Latino children, who do not master either language and then are at risk for school failure. Hopefully, the First 5 LA UPCOS study will in fact provide a much richer description of what is currently being used in different LAUP classrooms, which will then help generate suggestions for how to best serve the growing population of ELL children and ensure their academic success. Michael L. López, Ph.D. Executive Director of the National Center for Latino Child & Family Research & Research Consultant to First 5 LA (Michael.Lopez@LatinoChildResearch.org )