6. What funding sources can be used for purchasing the LUCHA™ program?
There are many state and federal funds available that may be used to fund the LUCHA™ services, including:

• Title I, Part A—Schoolwide Programs
• Title III, Part A
• Title V, Part A
• STAR Grant
• Texas High School Completion and Success Grant
• Limited English Proficient Student Success Initiative Grant
• Texas High School Redesign and Restructuring Grant
• State Compensatory Education Funds
• Local Funds

7. How might a district with limited resources implement LUCHA™
If funding from the sources listed in the previous question is not available, districts may want to consider:

• requesting from appropriate personnel within the district the opportunity to use any funds or reallocation funds that may be available from such formula funded programs as Title I, Part A, Title II, Part A, or Title V, Part A; or
• requesting funding support from businesses, clubs, or organizations within the community. Many of these organizations are very receptive to such requests when the activities they support can be validated with evaluation data that shows their funding helped to keep students from dropping out of school.

1. What are the essential components of a successful LUCHA™ Program?
Once buy-in from campus and district personnel is obtained, essential components are:

1. A LUCHA™ coordinator. This person should have defined responsibilities regarding program implementation, monitoring, recommending modifications to the instructional design, and evaluating the services provided through the LUCHA™ program.
2. Student Criteria. It is important to establish specific criteria for identifying students for participation in each LUCHA™ service.
3. Timeline for Implementation. A timeline with flow charts should be created to show the processes that will be used for implementing each LUCHA™ service.
4. Instructional Design for LUCHA™ online courses. Whether using the online courses in whole class instruction or a lab setting, the instructor should be bilingual with expertise in the subject areas being offered. This would usually be an instructional specialist in math and science.
5. Technology. Technology (computers, Internet access, projectors, etc.) should be provided based on the district’s program and instructional design.
6. Training. It is important that the district designate the appropriate personnel to attend the training. This should be coordinated with the UT Field Trainer.
7. Teacher Planning. Teachers must be given time to: a. study the online courses; b. select and prepare supplemental materials to incorporate into course instruction; and c. design group or individual activities for transitioning students into English. It is recommended that these teachers be compensated for this planning time.

8. Who should be assigned to be in charge of the LUCHA™ program?
This is a district decision. The most successful districts identify a full time LUCHA™ coordinator.

9. What processes and procedures create a successful LUCHA™ program?
Districts that use the following processes and/or procedures are the most successful:

• Create a written plan for implementing LUCHA™;
• Identify specific student criteria for identifying students for participation;
• Schedule group meetings to ensure that everyone (administrators, students, parents, teachers, directors, coordinators, tutors, paraprofessionals, etc.) involved knows and understands their role and responsibilities regarding the implementation of the program;
• Monitor the program;
• Arrange ongoing meetings to gather information for making adjustments, if needed;
• Award credit for student work when using LUCHA™ online courses—either course credit or credit for individual activities and/or assignments; and
• Review district policies and procedures regarding student admissions, transfer credits, grade placement, GPA, etc.

10. Will LUCHA™ help my campus determine the best program design?
When the district becomes a LUCHA™ partner, a Field Trainer will be assigned to work with the district. The Field Trainer will assist the district in determining which program design best meets the needs of the district and will provide the district with training and support.

11. What type of student would benefit most from this program?
Transcript Analysis services
Spanish-speaking students who:

• have enrolled within the past two years in Texas public schools,
• are recent immigrants from Mexico, and
• have completed at least the third year of Secundaria (equivalent to 9th grade in the U.S.).

Diagnostic Assessments
Spanish-speaking students who:

• are recent immigrants, and/ or for when
• the district is uncertain about a student’s academic proficiency or grade level (e.g., no educational records).

LUCHA™ Online Courses
Spanish-speaking students who:

• are Spanish literate in reading and writing,
• have enrolled in a Texas school within the past two years, and
• are on grade-level but are experiencing difficulty due to a language barrier.

12. Who should complete the online request for LUCHA™ services?
This decision is based on the district’s program design.

13. Should the Graduation Credit Analysis (GCA) and/or LUCHA™ diagnostics be used by the LPAC for placing students?
Yes. The LUCHA™ diagnostic assessment results and the GCA should be placed in the student’s folder. The LPAC should receive training on (1) how to interpret the LUCHA™ assessment results and the GCA and (2) how to use the information for placing students appropriately.

14. What are the responsibilities of the LUCHA™ teacher in supporting students who are using the online courses?
The teacher should be given clear direction by the district regarding the instructional design to be used in the classroom and his/her responsibilities. For example, a list of responsibilities might include the teacher creating:

• A checklist of assignments to be completed by the student
• A timeline for submitting the assignments
• A list of projects or activities that will help the student transition to English
• A list of content-area course vocabulary for the students to learn in English and Spanish
• Assessments

The teacher would also be responsible for:

• Proctoring Final Exams,
• Grade reporting, and
• Coordination with teacher of record if the LUCHA™ teacher is not the teacher of record.

1. What training and support will be provided to teachers/administrators as part of this program?
Experienced Field Trainers from the UT LUCHA™ program are available to train district staff to use all of the LUCHA™ services. Typically, training consists of 1 day of onsite program planning, 2 days of onsite training, and 1 day with teachers in the classroom. Field Trainers will adapt the training agenda taking district needs into account.

In addition to the initial training on using and accessing the LUCHA™ services, the Field Trainer will be assigned as the district’s primary contact. The Field Trainer is available by phone and e-mail to assist the district administrators and teachers as they work to implement the LUCHA™ services. Additional district and campus visits by the Field Trainer can be arranged, as needed.

2. When can training be scheduled?
Training can be scheduled after school, during the school day, on Saturdays, and in the summer. The Field Trainer assigned to the district will work with administrators to schedule a training date that accommodates the district’s school calendar.

3. Who should attend the training (district and campus level)?
Before training is provided, the district should select key staff to attend a planning meeting with the LUCHA™ Field Trainer. At this time, the district will decide the LUCHA™ program and/or instructional design and who should attend future LUCHA™ trainings.
For example, the district may choose to first have a general training and overview for the administrators and faculty that will be impacted by LUCHA™. This overview would consist of:

• an overview of LUCHA—presented by the UT LUCHA™ Field Trainer,
• an overview of how the district plans to implement LUCHA™—presented by the district contact, and
• the role and responsibilities of staff who will be implementing LUCHA™— presented by the district contact.

Following the general training and overview, more specialized training by the LUCHA™ Field Trainer will occur. Only those staff directly impacted would likely attend. The trainings would specifically focus on each of the LUCHA™ services the district has chosen to receive.

• Transcript Analysis
• Diagnostic Assessments
• Online courses in Spanish

4. Who will be available when technical difficulties occur?
The district should first determine if the technical problem is caused by district hardware, software or Internet connectivity issues. If the technical problem is not district based, the district should contact their LUCHA™ Field Trainer to pursue the problem with UT.

5. Who will help with programmatic issues or problems?
The LUCHA™ Field Trainer assigned to the district will assist district administrators, faculty and/or staff with programmatic issues or problems that arise.

6. Is the LUCHA™ Field Trainer available for additional training sessions?
Yes. The site license agreement or contract between UT LUCHA™ and the district will account for a determined amount of training and on-site visits. For an additional cost, the LUCHA™ Field Trainer can work with district LUCHA™ personnel to arrange additional trainings and site visits.

7. After receiving training from UT, can the district create a trainer-of-trainers program for training new personnel working in LUCHA™ and are electronic copies of the training documents available?
Yes. Many districts create a trainer-of-trainers program for district staff. The LUCHA™ Field Trainer can provide the district with electronic copies of existing training documents.

8. Is LUCHA™ program assistance available at nights and on weekends?
LUCHA™ staff is available to provide program assistance Monday through Friday during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Central Standard Time).

9. Does the training include a component on best practices for teaching the online courses?
The LUCHA™ Field Trainer will share instructional strategies that are successful in other LUCHA™ districts.

1. What transcript services does LUCHA™ offer and from which countries can LUCHA™ obtain and analyze transcripts?
LUCHA™ provides two transcript services.

1. obtains transcripts from Mexico for students who do not have them (grades 1-12) , and
2. analyzes student transcripts from Mexico and creates a Graduation Credit Analysis (GCA) for students, grades 9-12. The GCA:
   • shows the total number of credits earned in Mexico and
   • recommends LUCHA™ online courses in Spanish that would be appropriate for the student to take to help transition into English while continuing to earn credit in core subject areas.

2. What are the benefits of using the LUCHA™ transcript analysis service?

1. Review and Alignment: The transcript analysis service provided by UT includes a review and the alignment of the Mexican curriculum to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This alignment is essential to accurately award credits for courses taken in the student’s home country. Verifying the knowledge that students bring with them prevents the repeating of courses already taken, thus allowing the district to more accurately create a graduation plan that will help students stay on track for graduation.
2. Consistency and Uniformity: By using UT LUCHA™, districts provide consistency and uniformity districtwide in the awarding of credits for students from Mexico. Thus, all student records from Mexico are intrepreted the same regardless of which campus on which they are enrolled.

3. Which transcripts should be obtained from Mexico: secundaria or preparatoria?
If the student has completed secundaria, then only secundaria transcripts should be requested. If the student has completed secundaria and one or more semesters of preparatoria (grade 10 in the U.S.), both transcripts should be requested: secundaria and preparatoria.

4. Which transcripts should be provided to LUCHA™ for a comprehensive transcript analysis?
In order for LUCHA™ to conduct a comprehensive transcript analysis for the student, it is recommended that the school district provide all student transcripts beginning with 8th grade (2° de Secundaria) through the last grade attempted by the student.

5. How long does it take to obtain a transcript from Mexico?
Once all required information needed to obtain a transcript is received at the UT LUCHA™ office, it could take anywhere from two weeks to one month to obtain the documents.

LUCHA™ staff in Mexico has direct contact with educational agencies and schools. However, turnaround time varies based on individual situations including the location of the school and the technology available to the school for sharing documents.

6. How long does it take to receive a transcript analysis?
Once all required information and documents are received at the UT LUCHA™ office, a transcript analysis is conducted and delivered within 1 to 2 weeks.

7. Who should be contacted if a response to a transcript request has not been received?
For information on specific student transcript requests, please contact the LUCHA™ Transcript Specialist or the LUCHA™ Field Trainer assigned to your educational region.

8. How should the student transcript be sent to UT LUCHA™?
Transcripts may be e-mailed (preferred), mailed, or faxed.

9. Does LUCHA™ recommend credit for a student who scored a 6 in a course in Mexico? If yes, should a Texas district award credit for a 6 when the passing standard in Texas is 70?
The awarding of credit depends on whether the student is transferring credits from Mexico or taking an online course from Mexico while enrolled in a U.S. school. Please see explanation below.

Transcripts from Mexico: The official grade scale of Mexico stipulates 60 and above as a passing grade for awarding credit. UT LUCHA™ accepts Mexico’s grading standard just as it would accept the grading standard from another state within the U.S.

However, it must be noted that the Mexican educational system is a very complex and decentralized system. Therefore, before credit is recommended by UT LUCHA™ an analysis of the student’s Mexican graduation plan curricula to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills is conducted to determine if the content of the courses taken by the student warrants the recommendation of credit, regardless of the student’s grade.

Please note that the district makes the final decision regarding the awarding of credits.

LUCHA™ online courses from Mexico: Once a student is enrolled in a Texas school, the grading policies and standards of the district apply and the district awards the credit.

1. What diagnostic assessments does LUCHA™ offer?
LUCHA™ offers two Diagnostic Assessments in Spanish for secondary students who have recently moved to the U.S.: Algebra 1 Readiness and High School Readiness.

Schools can use the LUCHA™ diagnostics to (1) more accurately assess student content-area knowledge and (2) as guidance for placing students in the proper learning environment.

The diagnostics are presented in an online format, and each diagnostic has a maximum testing time of two hours. The results of each diagnostic are immediately available to the proctor upon the student’s completion of the assessment.

The Algebra 1 Readiness Diagnostic is composed of 17 multiple-choice questions and determines if the student has acquired the content-area knowledge necessary to be successful in Algebra 1. This diagnostic is recommended for students entering U.S. schools in grades 8, 9 or 10.

Students chosen to take this assessment should have completed, or nearly completed, a middle school curriculum, or have just begun high school-level studies in the U.S. or in the country of origin.

The High School Readiness Diagnostic is composed of 40 multiple-choice questions: 20 Mathematics, 10 Biology, and 10 Earth Science and determines if the student has acquired the content-area knowledge necessary to be successful in each of three content areas (Mathematics, Biology, and Earth Science). This diagnostic is recommended for students classified in grades 10, 11 or 12. Students chosen to take this assessment should have completed one to two years of high school-level curriculum.

2. How were the LUCHA™ diagnostic assessments developed?
A Mexican prepartoria-level (high school) education provider was used for providing the LUCHA™ assessments.

The diagnostic assessments are aligned to the curriculum that a student would encounter in the Mexican educational system. The intent of the assessments is to assess the student’s content knowledge based on the education the student has received in order to provide an accurate assessment of the student’s ability to be successful in the subject area assessed.

Although the questions are derived from a Mexican curriculum, any Spanish-speaking student could benefit from taking the assessments.

3. How much time is allowed for the student to complete a LUCHA™ diagnostic assessment?
Two hours is the suggested time for completion of each diagnostic.

4. How are the LUCHA™ diagnostic assessments accessed?
For more information on accessing the LUCHA™ Diagnostic Assessments, please contact the LUCHA™ Field Trainer assigned to your educational region.

5. How are the LUCHA™ diagnostic assessments used for placing students in the appropriate learning environment?
Although appropriate instructional placement is the responsibility of the campus, the LUCHA™ diagnostics are designed to assist the campus in that endeavor.

Results for both diagnostics are expressed using the terms Ready, Marginal, or Not Ready and are immediately available to the proctor after the student finishes the assessment.

6. Who proctors the LUCHA™ diagnostic assessment? What is the process to become a proctor?
The school district designates a person as their LUCHA™ proctor. Providing access to the district designee to proctor student diagnostic exams is an easy four-step process:
Step 1: Complete and return the Proctor Form on the LUCHA web site at http://www.utk16.org/lucha. Once your form is received and you are registered, you will receive an e-mail with your UTEID and a temporary password.
Step 2: Follow the instructions in the e-mail to choose a new password for your UTEID.
Step 3: Download the Proctor Instructions from the LUCHA web site and read them carefully before administering the diagnostic.
Step 4: Access the LUCHA Diagnostics from the LUCHA web site. You will need your UTEID and password to obtain access to the diagnostics.

7. How many students can be administered a LUCHA™ assessment at one time?
One proctor can administer an unlimited number of diagnostics at one time. However, this will require coordination and pre-planning, as the diagnostic system requires the proctor to login to each student computer and enter student information before the student is able to take the diagnostic.

8. Who should be contacted if there is trouble proctoring a LUCHA™ diagnostic assessment?
For trouble-shooting the LUCHA™ Diagnostic Assesments, please contact the LUCHA™ Field Trainer assigned to your educational region.

9. Must the proctor know Spanish to proctor a LUCHA™ diagnostic assessment?
It is recommended that the proctor know Spanish if help is needed navigating the diagnostic.

10. What is the most expeditious way to administer the LUCHA™ diagnostics?
It is recommended that the proctor log in each student prior to the student entering the testing room so that each computer is ready for each student to begin (the diagnostics will not “time out” and are accessible for longer than the two-hour suggested testing time).

11. How does a student navigate through the LUCHA™ diagnostic assessment?
Once the student enters into the diagnostic, in the upper right corner of the screen, there is a button that says “Instrucciones.” Click on this button to access a set of instructions.

Use the buttons within the diagnostics to navigate between questions: “Siguiente Pregunta” (Next Question) and “Pregunta Anterior” (Previous Question). Select “Terminar Examen” (End Test) upon completion.

NOTE: Do not use the Internet browser’s “back” and “forward” buttons to navigate through the diagnostic.

12. How are LPAC committee members trained to use the diagnostic assessment results for determining student placement?
LPAC committee members may be included as part of the initial training group. Additional training can be arranged with the LUCHA™ Field Trainer, or the district can provide its own training using the training documents provided by the Field Trainer.

1. What delivery models or instructional designs have been the most successful and must a computer lab be available?
LUCHA™ courses are online and require Internet access. Each teacher and student is required to have their own user name and password.

Schools across the state offer LUCHA™ courses in a variety of ways. Regardless of which delivery model or instructional design is used, the teacher must review and study the course in advance and have full knowledge of the content in order for students to receive quality instruction, monitoring, and learning.

• LUCHA™ Computer Lab for Independent Self-paced Learning—Via computer, students work in the online courses in the subject area in which they need credit under the guidance of a highly qualified teacher who is bilingual in English and Spanish and has the Spanish content area academic language. In addition, the teacher, using English, works with the students in small groups or individually on projects that support the concepts being learned in the LUCHA™ course.
• Whole Class Instruction—Using a video data projector, teachers who are bilingual in English and Spanish and have the Spanish content area academic language use these courses to teach subject specific content to students in their native language while transitioning them to English. Content learned in Spanish is reinforced in English through vocabulary assignments and quizzes as well as group activities or presentations. Students may or may not have their own computer. However, it is recommended that students have access to a computer in class and to take home.
• Dual Language Immersion Program—Whole class instruction as described above.

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Final Exams

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Student Placement—Statewide Assessments—GPA

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