The Mighty Multilingual News
September 2023
Fall is upon us...
The school year is now in full swing and you have begun to learn more about your students. Hopefully, you and your students have even had moments of laughter. Our district is full of students with budding potential and you get to be a part of that cultivation process. Thank you to each of you for creating engaging activities, differentiating instruction, and being committed to Education. We appreciate you!
Clarification of Terms
There are many terms used within Bilingual/ESL Education. So, we wanted to provide some clarification of a few terms.
What is the difference between the terms Limited English Proficient (LEP), English Language Learner (ELL), English Learner (EL), and Emergent Bilingual (EB)?
- Texas Education Code 29.02 refers to students who are in the process of acquiring English and have a primary language other than English as Limited English Proficient (LEP).
- Texas Administrative Code Chapter 89 used the term English Language Learner (ELL) but in recent revision updated to the term English Learner (EL) in alignment with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
- Effective September 1, 2021, the Texas Education Agency began using Emergent Bilingual (EB) as per the 87th Legislative Session. Emergent Bilingual (EB) and English Learner (EL) may be used interchangeably.
What are English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)?
- The ELPS are language proficiency levels and student expectations that apply to all grade levels and subject areas for Emergent Bilinguals. Language proficiency standards support effective instruction in second language acquisition by giving ELLs opportunities to listen, speak, read, and write at their current levels of English development while gradually increasing the linguistic complexity of the English they read and hear, and are expected to speak and write. School districts must implement the ELPS as an integral part of each subject in the required curriculum. ELPS can be used to create Language Objectives alongside Content Objectives using the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
What is Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS)?
- The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) is an English language proficiency assessment aligned to the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). This assessment is designed to assess the progress that Emergent Bilingual (EB) students make in learning the English language. TELPAS fulfills ESSA requirements for assessing EB students in kindergarten through grade 12 in four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
The video shared below explains how a student is identified, supported, and monitored as an emergent bilingual (EB) student in the state of Texas.
Emergent Bilingual Identification Process Video
District Secondary Multilingual Team
Alfonso Vazquez
Middle School Multilingual Coordinator
Dr. Roníca Jacobs
High School Multilingual Coordinator
Suzanne Caballero
Director of Multilingual Programs
District Multilingual Team Members
Instructional Focus
Teacher Spotlight
Each month we will visit classrooms and choose one teacher from middle school campuses and one teacher from the high school campuses to spotlight. So use wonderful instructional strategies that focus on the four language domains of Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening.
Mr. Shanon Smeya- World History and Mexican American Studies
King High School
Mr. Smeya started off the year using the "What to say instead of 'I don't Know'" poster with his students and he has noticed an increase in participation and engagement. "What to say instead of "I don't Know" was our focus strategy for the month of August. Congratulations Mr. Smeya!
Mrs. Jamie Graves- ESOL 2/ ELDA 2 and Research and Technical Writing
King High School
Mrs. Graves always uses Total Physical Response (TPR) with her year 2 and 3 newcomer students. She believes it helps to cement learning. In this picture students are learning about literary elements in preparation to read their first short story fully in English. Congratulations Mrs. Graves!
Mrs. Aleiza Cabrera- New Arrival Center ELAR 6th-8th
King Middle School
Mrs. Cabrera is very passionate about her New Arrival Students. This past month she hosted an information night for all parents and students in the New Arrival program at KMS. When parents and students are well informed on courses, grading policies, and assessments, they are able to be more engaged and involved. Congratulations Mrs. Cabrera!
Ms. Racquel Edwards- 6th grade ELAR
Null Middle School
Ms. Edwards goes above and beyond to support not just her emergent bilingual students, but all students. She demonstrates this by using sentence stems and paragraph frames to help students analyze character traits. She coaches students within the language development process with a variety of scaffolds and differentiation. Congratulations Ms. Edwards!
Send us your classroom photos!
Are you doing great things in the classroom and we did not see it? Take pictures and upload them using the Google Form link below. We will share the photos in the next Smore.
English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)
ELPS are English Language Proficiency Standards created by the TEA, They are designed to outline language proficiency levels and students expectations for emergent bilinguals.
Year-long ELPS Focus
The following ELPS should be a year long focus when creating language objectives and planning instructional activities. Language objectives should be posted daily on your board agenda.
1st Nine Weeks ELPS Focus
The following ELPS are a focus for the first nine weeks to support language development of emergent bilingual students. Although all ELPS are important, each nine weeks will have a specific set of ELPS to focus on when writing language objectives and planning instructional activities, as well as, the year long ones.
Instructional Strategy
Sentence Stems and Paragraph Frames
Using sentence starters and sentence/paragraph frames are strategies to support students in speaking, reading, and writing. A sentence starter is when you give students the beginning part of a sentence and they fill in the rest. A sentence/paragraph frame is when there are blanks inside a sentence/paragraph that students fill in. Sentence stems are helpful for getting students started with speaking or writing about a topic. For intermediate and advanced language learners, encourage them to give longer responses. A beginner might only use one word to finish the sentence frame, and a newcomer might point to pictures instead of speaking. Sentence frames are great for practicing parts of speech and modeling correct grammar.
Professional Development
High School Sh.I.E.L.D. Meeting #1
Link to register in Eduphoria: https://sheldon.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=7544
Sh.I.E.L.D. stands for Sheltered Instruction for English Language Development. This session is for all high school English teachers. Build instructional capacity to support English language acquisition in the classroom. Participants will have an opportunity to share ideas and collaborate with each other. All activities and instructional strategies will have an ELAR focus, but anyone is welcome to attend. Attendance is a part of your stipend requirement if you are an ESL Certified ELAR teacher.
Thursday, Sep 14, 2023, 03:15 PM
KMS Fishbowl
Middle School Sh.I.E.L.D. Meeting #1
Link to register in Eduphoria: https://sheldon.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=7545
Sh.I.E.L.D. stands for Sheltered Instruction for English Language Development. This session is for all middle school English teachers. Build instructional capacity to support English language acquisition in the classroom. Participants will have an opportunity to share ideas and collaborate with each other. All activities and instructional strategies will have an ELAR focus, but anyone is welcome to attend. Attendance is a part of your stipend requirement if you are an ESL Certified ELAR teacher.
Thursday, Sep 14, 2023, 04:30 PM
KMS Fishbowl
CBLI Academy for Sheltered Teachers: Leveling Up Language Proficiency
Link to register in Eduphoria:https://sheldon.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=7551
A language-rich environment with interactive and collaborative strategies promotes and encourages the enhancement of student's communication and language development. Learn how to develop a physical and emotional learning environment that will maximize positive and responsive interactions that support a high impact language learning environment for academic success.
Monday, Sep 18, 2023, 12:30 PM
NOC Rm 150
Beginning of the Year Professional Development
The 2023-2024 school year started off with engaging professional development with Sheltered Instruction and LOTE teachers. All sessions were interactive and the feedback was well received. If you have any questions about anything that was shared in a PD, please do not hesitate to contact us.
LOTE PD August 1, 2023
Sheltered Instruction Teachers PD August 7, 2023
September Contest
Click on the link below to fill out the Google Form with your answers. Participants with the correct answers, will go into a drawing. We will pull two names, one from middle school and one from high school. Good luck!
Alfonso Vazquez
Dr. Roníca Jacobs
Suzanne Caballero
281-727- 3096
suzannecaballero@sheldonisd.com
Yesenia Aros (Department Secretary)
281-727-3095