Teachers Elizabeth Hurley and Johanna Kurt remember when Dilnoza entered their 1st-grade classroom at PS 179 in Kensington, Brooklyn, in September. She knew very little English; her home language is Uzbek.

But by February she had made impressive gains: Today, the 7-year-old, wearing a bow in her hair and a glittery skirt, is a confident student, writing, raising her hand and answering questions — all in English.

“Dilnoza has become fully bilingual,” says Hurley. “Her parents ask her to translate.”

Kurt has noticed Dilnoza offering support to other Uzbek students. When they get the lesson right, Kurt says, “She tells them ‘I’m so proud of you.’”

Dilnoza has benefitted from a collaborative teaching model that does not pull out English language learners but instead “pushes in” the ELL services they need so they can remain in the same classroom as their peers. District 20, where PS 179 is located, serves a diverse population. Students speak Uzbek, Russian, Tajiki, Urdu, Spanish, Chinese and Bengali, among other languages. The school, which has 989 students in pre-K–5, offers the model in grades K–5.

New state regulations governing English language instruction inspired the UFT with the support of the UFT Teacher Center and the District 20 superintendent to create the model, which was launched this year in five District 20 schools that were struggling to support their English language learners. Previously, most English language learners were grouped in stand-alone classes — formerly known as English as a second language and now English as a new language. The new regulations, referred to as Part 154, promote an integrated model in which students receive English language support in the general education class, no matter the subject area. The integrated model requires a dually certified teacher or co-teachers. Only “entering” and “emerging” students can be served through stand-alone English as a new language instruction, and only for a limited time.

In Dilnoza’s 1st-grade class, where eight of the 25 students are English language learners, Hurley is the general education teacher and Kurt is the English as a new language teacher. Their keys to successful collaboration: reviewing STARS data, observing students and creating lesson plans together.

Based on their discussions, Kurt may use more graphics or act out words for the students who are having difficulty following. Students often will be paired with another student who speaks the same language but is more fluent. At times, the students break into groups, with Kurt taking the students who are not as English-proficient.

“I love working with her because I feel there’s mutual respect,” says Kurt. “She gives me the space I need.”

When the class breaks into two groups, Hurley leads Dilnoza and 14 other students with greater English fluency in writing opinion essays. Meanwhile, Kurt leads 10 students in a vocabulary-building exercise before tackling the opinion-essay assignment. “She took a different path but we came to the same conclusion,” says Hurley.

Another bonus of their partnership: Hurley also will use some of Kurt’s strategies to reach non-ELL students who are struggling in reading and writing.

On the third floor of the school, 2nd-grade teachers Kelly Rappa and Amanda Friedland are collaborating in an integrated co-teaching class of 20 students that includes 10 English language learners. Here the division of duties is different: Rappa is the general and English as a new language teacher, while Friedland is the special education teacher.

They also use STARS data to identify specific needs. “I learned that they struggle with short vowel sounds,” says Friedland of her current group of students. She incorporates this knowledge into that day’s lesson on grammar and punctuation.

“We pull the data daily to find out who needs extra help,” says Rappa.

Both pairs of teachers say sharing and trust form the foundation for successful co-teaching.

“The No. 1 reason our collaboration works is that we’re flexible,” says Rappa. “And we trust each other. Trust — that’s huge.”