Beyond Fronteras
Celebrating our ESC1 Bilingual Community: March 2022
On the Spotlight
By Karina Chapa, ESC1 Language Proficiency, Biliteracy, and Cultural Diversity Director
Spring is in the air! Can you believe we are already moving to a new beautiful season this school year? Time is flying before our eyes! When we least expect it, this year will be behind us and we will be already well on our way to plan for a stronger 2022-2023 school year! Thank you to all the incredible educators in our region who, day in and day out, do everything possible to provide premier educational opportunities for all our students, but especially for our bilingual learners!
And what a better way to celebrate a new season than coming together as one, just like the 2022 TMEA All-State Mariachi Ensemble did last month in San Antonio, when they came together to make beautiful music and celebrate our language and cultural heritage! This outstanding group of the Top 18 High School Mariachi Musicians in the State of Texas are the second Mariachi Ensemble to be formed in the state, but the first to perform together in person! Congratulations to all students & directors and mil gracias por mostrarnos que la unión hace la fuerza!
¡Qué sigan los éxitos para todos! ¡Juntos y adelante! ¡Mil gracias y esperamos que disfruten este boletín!
Karina E. Chapa, M.Ed.
Language Proficiency, Biliteracy, and Cultural Diversity Director
Center for Excellence in Education of Diverse Students
Region One Education Service Center
@esc1bilingual
Virtual Learning Tips
By Felicia Salinas, ESC1 Bilingual/ESL Specialist
Unleash your emergent bilinguals creative and writing potential by integrating Pixton in your instruction! This free virtual learning tool allows your emergent bilinguals to practice their writing skills and build on their writing proficiency in an engaging way. Emergent bilinguals can use their English repertoire as they create graphic novels, storyboards, or comic strips. Students start by creating their own avatar that actually looks like them and use them in their projects to form deeper connections to the content. Setting up your classroom is easy just use the link below to get started.
Multicultural Book Spotlight
By Dr. Lileana Ríos-Ledezma, ESC1 Bilingual/ESL Specialist
This month’s Multicultural Book Spotlight amplifies the voice of those diverse learners; students who are learning with special needs. These children, with hidden disabilities, often feel like our main character, Ally in Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s book, like a “Fish In a Tree”.
The title of the story, Fish in a Tree, reflects Albert Einstein’s quotation: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Ally has spent most of her educational career believing that she is… stupid. Her family’s constant relocation due to her father’s service in the military allows Ally to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. Quickly dismissed as a troublemaker by her teachers and bullied by her peers, Ally learns in fear which keeps her from asking for help until she meets Mr. Daniels.
A teacher’s words and actions are powerful, and can forever change the trajectory of the children momentarily sitting in the classrooms. This book illustrates that power and the impact therein! Happy Reading!
BILINGUAL/ESL CORNER
By Felicia Salinas, ESC1 Bilingual/ESL Specialist
Vocabulary! Vocabulary! Vocabulary! It is all about vocabulary!
Vocabulary development goes beyond simply memorizing words. Students must engage in meaningful and authentic ways with vocabulary instruction that supports them to master the meaning of new words. After all, knowing vocabulary words is key to reading comprehension! There are numerous research based ideas on how to teach vocabulary to ESL learners. One simple yet impactful way to teach vocabulary is using Marzano’s 6-Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary.
With Marzano’s 6-step process for building academic vocabulary, ESL students will listen, interpret, represent their own interpretation of the meaning for the word, and take ownership of their vocabulary development in a meaningful and authentic way!
¿Sabías que...?
By Dr. Lileana Ríos-Ledezma, ESC1 Bilingual/ESL Specialist
The fifth step of the Accelerated Learning Framework gives students a very engaging sneak preview of the new concept in an accelerated classroom! Whether it's mathematics, language arts, social studies or science, students are accelerated to preview the new content through engaging activities that will set them up for success once they participate in the mainstream classroom. Friendly reminder that these engaging activities with the new content should not be duplicated in the mainstream/core classroom as they will lead to boredom if students are asked to repeat activities. Step #5: Dip Into the New Content should be structured so the students are engaged meaningfully in the new content, and “possibly for the first time in their lives, ahead of the class (Rollins, 2014).”
BILINGUAL DIRECTORS CORNER
Finally Together!
By Karina Chapa, ESC1 Language Proficiency, Biliteracy, and Cultural Diversity Director
We are very fortunate to have two fantastic keynotes for you: Dr. David Kauffman and Dr. Kate Seltzer. Dr. Kauffman is the former Multilingual Director for Austin ISD and his take on Language Stories will empower you to be the agent of change you are meant to be! Dr. Seltzer is a well-known researcher in the area of translanguaging, having worked closely with Dr. Ofelia García, she will take us into a fantastic linguistic journey across languages! You cannot miss these two fabulous presentations!
We would love for you to also invite your teachers, administrators, and even students to submit a presentation proposal to share with the world the wonderful things that are happening in your districts and campuses! If your session is selected, you may attend for free! The deadline to fill out the proposal is this coming Friday, March 25th, so don't delay! Submit your proposal today: http://bit.do/2022EBSCProposals
This event is also a great opportunity to promote your products and services, and you could also have a booth for your district to recruit bilingual teachers from our region! If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or an exhibitor, please fill out this form today: https://www.bit.do/2022EBSCExhibitors
We hope to see you at the Island in May! To register, just click here!
In Title III News
By Leticia Sánchez, ESC1 Title III Coordinator
2022 is off and running! The February Edition of Parents and Families Newsletter is available as TEA continues to provide a wealth of information and parent and family resources. In this edition, you will find information on TELPAS and how you can help your child be ready for this assessment. You will get links to helpful websites that can help your child continue learning in a fun way! If you have a child getting ready for college, be sure to visit the Student Resources section on txel.org for updated scholarship information. Follow the links to the selected websites that can help with at-home learning. You can also read about self-care tips and fun activities to do with your child during this month of love and friendship!
And one more thing…
The Parents and Families Virtual Event is being planned for May 2022! Read more about it here! You can access all the newsletters on txel.org or subscribe so you can get them directly to your email. !El boletín de febrero está disponible en español!
Para los papás
La ventana de evaluación para el Sistema de evaluación del dominio del idioma inglés de Texas (TELPAS) se abre este mes. Los estudiantes bilingües emergentes (EB) deben tomar TELPAS para evaluar el progreso que están logrando en los cuatro dominios de escuchar, hablar, leer y escribir en el idioma inglés. Como padre, puede apoyar a su hijo(a) aprendiendo más sobre TELPAS en este folleto de TEA y siguiendo estos consejos durante todo el año. Aquí hay algunos:
Tenga libros y cualquier tipo de literatura disponible (impresa o digital) o visite su biblioteca local para fomentar la lectura. Leer juntos o de forma independiente y discutir/escribir sobre la historia o el tema.
Involucre sus habilidades auditivas al tener audiolibros disponibles y hable sobre el tema, los personajes y otros elementos de la historia. ¡Cuéntele las historias familiares!
¡Escriban a diario! Pídales que escriban cartas a sus seres queridos, listas de compras, entradas en el diario y cualquier otra cosa que les interese.
Hay diferentes métodos en los que los estudiantes mostrarán su progreso durante esta ventana de evaluación TELPAS, así que no dude en comunicarse con el maestro de su hijo(a) si tiene alguna pregunta específica.
For Parents
The assessment window for the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) opened last month and will close on April 1. Emergent Bilingual (EB) students must take TELPAS to assess the progress they are making in the four domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing in the English language. As a parent, you can support your child by learning more about TELPAS in this TEA brochure and following these helpful tips throughout the year. Here are just a few:
Have books and any type of literature available (print or digital) or visit your local library to encourage reading. Read together or independently and discuss/write about the story or topic.
Engage their listening skills by having audiobooks available and talk about the theme, characters, and other story elements. Tell your family stories!
Write daily! Have them write letters to loved ones, grocery lists, journal entries, and anything else they are interested in.
There are different methods that students will show their progress during this TELPAS assessment window so do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you have any specific questions.
IF I ONLY KNEW!
FREE! Online Bilingual and ESL Certification Training
UPCOMING EVENTS
Dual Language, Transitional Bilingual, and ESL Program Implementation Institutes: Spring 2022
- Title III Course: Effective Early Childhood Instruction for the Young Emergent Bilingual Child: 03/31/22
- LPAC End of the Year Training: 04/19/22
- Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Title III Institute: 05/05/22
- 7th Annual Effective Border Schools Conference: May 23-24, 2022
- TABE Dual Language Symposium: June 17-18, 2022
- Title III Symposium: July 28-29, 2022
Contact Us
Karina E. Zuno-Chapa, M.Ed.
Director of Language Proficiency, Biliteracy, and Cultural Diversity
956-984-6246
Leticia Sánchez, M.Ed.
Title III Coordinator
956-984-6193
Lileana Ríos-Ledezma, Ph.D
Bilingual/ESL Specialist
956-984-6153
Felicia Salinas, M.Ed.
Bilingual/ESL Specialist
956-984-6118
Pedro García, M.Ed.
Bilingual/ESL Specialist
956-984-6158
Diana Gonzalez
Program Assistant
956-984-6238
Email: kchapa@esc1.net
Website: www.esc1.net/bilingual
Location: 1900 West Schunior Street, Edinburg, TX, USA
Phone: 956-984-6238
Facebook: facebook.com/ESC1Bilingual
Twitter: @esc1bilingual