Language & Cultural Services
LCS Bulletin - March 27, 2017
ESOL and Special Education Collaboration: A Teacher's Perspective
by Kimberley Matthews
One important role of an ESOL teacher is supporting and advocating for dually identified students. Dually identified students are English Learners who have also been identified to receive special education services. This role includes being part of their education in every phase of the special education process by properly identifying students with unique learning needs, advocating for students and parents during the identification process, and supporting IEP behavior and academic goals.
One strategy to help you meet all of these demands is to build collaborative relationships with the special education teachers at your school. I have had the opportunity to collaborate in schools where I was the only ESL teacher (a “singleton”), as well as in my current position, where I am part of a bigger collaborative team. Even though those experiences are different, I have used many of the same strategies to collaborate with my colleagues, most importantly in our efforts to make sure that students are properly identified and once identified still receive ESOL services. Based on my experiences, I would like to focus on three main phases of serving dually identified students and the steps I use to collaborate with special education colleagues in each of those phases, as well as other steps I have taken to strengthen collaboration.
Read more to learn steps to support collaboration between ELD and Special Education teachers.
Featured Strategy: Hanging Hashtag
Spring Break is now over and you might be thinking, what can I do to support active engagement and make learning relevant for my students? Ellevation's Hanging Hashtag activity is a great way to #engage them in something that they do daily!
Once logged in, you can find many more activities that tell you quickly how you can support your students with scaffolds that match their proficiency level.
Online Professional Learning Opportunities
Webinar: The Central Role of Literacy Engagement
Time: 5:00pm CST
Learn from Jim Cummins and Mina Naranjo what the research shows about the impact of literacy engagement on the development of strong reading comprehension skills—particularly for low-income students and English learners. And, discover how one school district has managed to apply sound research to serve the needs of their linguistically diverse student population
Webinar: Your ELs' Roadmap to More Challenging Content
Date: April 3, 2017
Time: 5:30pm CST
When it comes to our English learners’ academic success, one thing we know for certain: academic language is a deal-breaker. Our English learners can’t possibly meet today’s more rigorous content standards unless they first understand the language of schools. That’s where EL authorities Diane Staehr Fenner and Margo Gottlieb can help!
Attend their FREE hour-long webinar and learn how to:
- Apply strategies to ensure your ELs engage with challenging content
- Define key uses of academic language and their relevance to teaching and learning
- Match key uses of academic language to ideas for instructional assessment
- Integrate what you have learned from the webinar into instruction and assessment
Webinar: Instructional Practices that Improve Literacy Outcomes for English Learners and Struggling Readers
Time: 5:00pm CST
Learn about optimizing your instructional practice to create the largest impact on student literacy outcomes for English learners and students below grade level with Sharon Vaughn.
French Phrases Hidden in the English Language
SLM/TC: Former English Learner Spring Monitoring
From: Laura Grisso, director of English language development
To: All principals and teachers
Teachers of students currently identified as former English learners have recently received an email from Ellevation Education prompting them to login to InClass via Clever to complete the monitoring feedback. We monitor students following their attainment of English language proficiency via feedback from the classroom teacher, grades, and test scores to ensure they are continuing to successfully achieve using academic language in English. Previously former English learners were monitored for two years. Beginning with the 2016-2017 year, former English learners are now monitored for four years as prescribed by Title III of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
The recommendations on the monitoring form are to continue in the monitoring process in the next school year or to be reassessed for English language proficiency in order to re-qualify as an English learner and receive the active English language development services necessary for continued language growth. The guidelines for reassessment of English language proficiency are attached. There is not an option to exit the monitoring process because former English learners are only in years one and two of the four year process. ELD coordinators and ELD teachers will follow up with classroom teachers on concerns or questions on the monitoring process.
REMINDER: Nominations open: Tomás Rivera Scholar & Volunteer Awards
The Greater Tulsa Hispanic Affairs Commission, a civil rights committee for the City of Tulsa, annually recognizes Latino scholars as well as workers and volunteers who work to support Latino education in the Tulsa area. Criteria for recognition for both categories are listed on the nomination form (English) (Spanish).
Nomination forms are due by April 14, 2017 and submission information is listed on the nomination form.
This is a great opportunity to recognize the great achievement of our Latino students and those in our schools who are doing exceptional jobs of supporting and serving Latino students. Please share this information with colleagues and the community.
ELD Virtual Department Meetings for March
Elementary ELD Virtual Department Meeting
Tulsa Public Schools Immigration Frequently Asked Questions
ACCESS 2017 Planning Resources
Test window: February 6, 2017 to March 31, 2017
Materials pick up at Enrollment Center: January 30 and 31, 2017
Tech support reminders:
- If technical support is needed or an error message received during testing, please notify your ELD Coordinator and submit a Helpdesk ticket. If you are able to resolve the issue, please send an update to both the ELD Coordinator and the Helpdesk.
- If you have to call DRC helpdesk, please save the DRC ticket number. If our Helpdesk has to follow up on an issue with DRC, they have to have the DRC ticket number in order to connect the issue.
ACCESS 2.0 & Alternate ACCESS
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Test Administrator Form
- Training Schedule
- Accessibility and Accommodations Supplement
- ACCESS Training Folder
- ACCESS 2017 Roster (saved template in Ellevation's Export Wizard)
ACCESS 2.0
- ACCESS 2.0 Headphone Specifications
- ACCESS 2.0 Sample Items (open using Chrome browser)
Alternate ACCESS
Missed a Department Meeting?
Elementary ELD Department Meetings
Language & Cultural Services Events
Week of March 27:
March 29, 2:30pm - Interpreter Skill Building Training (Edivate)
Week of April 3:
April 5, 4:00pm - Spanish for Educators (Edivate)
April 8, 9:00am - SIOP Saturday: Review and Assessment
All events are listed in MyLearningPlan unless otherwise noted. Please pre-register and verify session location in MLP.
Check out the Language & Cultural Services events calendar for future events.
LCS Bulletins for SY 2016-2017
March 20, 2017 March 6, 2017 February 27, 2017 February 13, 2017 February 6, 2017 January 30, 2017 January 23, 2017 January 16, 2017 January 9, 2017 December 12, 2016 November 28, 2016 November 21, 2016 November 14, 2016 November 7, 2016 October 31, 2016 October 24, 2016 October 17, 2016 October 10, 2016 October 3, 2016 September 27, 2016 September 19, 2016 September 12, 2016 September 4, 2016