The Metropolitan Educational Trends and Research Outcomes Center conducts Improving Programs of Schools Serving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student Populations, a survey to identify programs that have successfully addressed the needs of ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse students. This report presents a cross-sites analysis of critical program elements at eight sites (six in California, one in Massachusetts, and one in Arizona) to demonstrate effective ways of helping students develop English proficiency, including instructional practices, curriculum development, and program implementation. The sites studied were chosen because their documentation and support data allowed analysis of critical elements. Across the sites, teachers shared a positive vision of children and believed that all children can learn. In the area of language acquisition, teachers emphasized natural language learning prior to form. A general theoretical orientation indicated that children learn best by doing, experiencing, and practicing. Across the sites, holistic rather than discrete skills instruction was practiced. An in-depth analysis of a staff development program at one of the sites is included as an example of the pedagogy, practices, and theories present across the sites. Contains 22 references. (SLD)