WNY Multilingual Teacher Summit
August 17-19, 2021
Overview:
Join us for the Western NY Multilingual Teacher Summit! This event is a collaboration between Mid-West RBERN and RBERN West and is especially designed for educators of English language learners, Bilingual Education and World Languages.
We are excited to bring you professional development from a variety of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and vendors:
- Attend exciting Keynote Presentations from nationally recognized speakers each morning!
- Choose from a variety of Breakout Sessions presented by educators in from our region!
- Learn about useful resources during our Lunchtime Vendor Preview Sessions!
- Take part in a Roundtable Discussion with NYS TESOL leaders!
- Win exciting prizes at our end of day Raffle Drawings!
Learn about and some of the most important topics in our field:
Bilingual Education | Social-Emotional supports
Culturally Responsive Practices | ENL Blended Learning Practices
Parent and Family Engagement
~~~ Register for each event individually below! ~~~
Supporting Immigrant Students and Families: A Holistic Perspective
Laura Gardner, MSW, Immigrant Connections
Students who are learning English are more than just language learners – they are usually members of immigrant families who are navigating the complexities of acculturation, trauma, resettlement, and/or isolation while also building on their strengths and developing resiliency. In this keynote, we will examine our students’ and families’ strengths and needs with a holistic, social-emotional lens. In addition we will consider the importance of building the capacity of ALL staff to support and instruct immigrant and EL students so they are cared for by a whole team.
Tuesday Morning Breakout Sessions:
Lisa Taylor Velez, Gates-Chili CSD
One of the most important steps educators can take is to get to know students and families, developing a personal relationship that establishes trust and rapport. This presentation will offer strategies and tips for thinking creatively about how to engage families.
Understanding the Immigration Process for Educators
Apple Domingo, Jewish Family Services
As the United States begins to open up immigration, what does this mean for educators in WNY? This session will highlight the differences between refugees, asylees, and immigrants coming to WNY and share some of the world conflicts and how it can impact our newly arrived residents.
Tuesday Lunch & Learn:
Multilingual Resource* Preview:
COMMUNICATION & TRANSLATION TOOLS
These sessions will explore some of the most innovative resources for multilingual learners of all ages and proficiency levels. Experts will showcase a variety of online and printed products that can support content and language learning.
Presenters:
Tuesday Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
Racist Policy and Resistance in Rochester
Shane Wiegand, Rush-Henrietta CSD
Participants will participate in an inquiry using Rochester specific primary sources to draw their own conclusions about how racism has impacted the Greater Rochester Area and how people have responded to it. The inquiry will be done through the lens of the NYS Culturally Responsive Framework, the Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards, NYS SEL Framework, and NYS S.S. Framework. Participants will leave with resources/lessons that they can adapt for their classrooms.
Alexis Kirkland, U.S. Census Bureau
Statistics in Schools (SIS) is a Census Bureau program that uses census statistics and resources to create activities and materials for students. Teachers and subject matter experts from across the country help develop and review each and every SIS activity to make sure it is valuable, engaging, relatable, and easy to use. These activities and materials boost students' statistical literacy, better prepare them for a data-driven world, and enhance their learning in many subjects.
TUESDAY CLOSING & RAFFLES
Decolonizing Language and Bilingual Education
KEYNOTE SESSION!
Language ideologies have historically and continue to play a major role in the production and maintenance of racial hierarchies. This presentation examines the ways that colonial conceptions of language as bounded and homogenous were taken up within the context of the culture of poverty to frame the language practices of Latinx and other racialized bilingual communities as deficient and in need of remediation through bilingual education tracing the legacy of this framing in contemporary representations of these students as lacking “academic language.” The presentation then offers an alternative decolonial framing of language that centers the knowledge, practices and perceptions of racialized communities and explores the implications of this framework for bilingual education today.
Wednesday Morning Breakout Session:
Nelson Flores, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
This interactive workshop will offer participants the opportunity to apply the insights from the keynote into their own school communities and teaching practices.
Wednesday Lunch & Learn:
Multilingual Resource* Preview:
INSTRUCTION & ASSESSMENT TOOLS
These sessions will explore some of the most innovative resources for multilingual learners of all ages and proficiency levels. Experts will showcase a variety of online and printed products that can support content and language learning.
Presenters:
Wednesday Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
Khadijeh Albaram, Discovery Charter & Erica Dooley, Genesee Community Charter
This workshop will focus on gathering your colleagues to build a culturally-responsive climate in your school. We'll provide talking points and examples to convey the importance of being culturally responsive and we'll give participants the tips and tools they'll need to lead the charge to build welcoming and responsive communities for all learners.
Elena Dokshansky, Buffalo Public Schools
Multilingual Matters Book Club will host a discussion on Sandra Uwiringiyimana's How Dare the Sun Rise. Through our reflection we will discuss implication to instructional practices, social-emotion supports, and student/family engagement as it relates to our English Language Learning population in Western New York.
WEDNESDAY CLOSING & RAFFLES
Shifting Statistics to Stories
KEYNOTE SESSION!
Emily Francis, Award Winning Educator
Students with the “English learner” label are more than just a statistic. Each individual brings unique life experiences and assets into the classroom. Emily Francis shares her journey as an unaccompanied minor from Guatemala to the United States and her experiences as an English learner high school student. Her persistence and resilience will inspire. Emily’s incredible story from high school dropout to Cabarrus County Teacher of the Year will not only show the potential and possibilities English learners have, but how a shift from statistics to stories can impact a school, community, and society.
Thursday Morning Breakout Sessions:
Emily Francis, Cabarrus County Schools
Students need a respectful environment to function to their full potential. This session provides Culturally Responsive Pedagogy practices to cultivate the environment newcomers need to demonstrate full potential. Participants will participate in several engaging activities that will help strengthen practices that cultivate such environment. Well begin self-awareness - then they’ll visualize that as a ripple effect it carries onto our content teaching pedagogy, school culture, family and community engagement, and ultimately our students, engaging them globally as open-minded individuals.
Katie Leven, Orleans/Niagara BOCES
This presentation/discussion focuses on the structure of your pull-out ENL time, or stand alone time. By using consistent routines, the teacher doesn't need to worry about how to organize each day, but rather can focus on the materials that will best meet the needs of your learners. I will share my routine and discuss the flexibility within the various aspects to focus instruction on what each learner needs.
Thursday Lunch & Learn:
Multilingual Resource* Preview:
SCHOOL LIBRARY TOOLS & RESOURCES
These sessions will explore some of the most innovative resources for multilingual learners of all ages and proficiency levels. Experts will showcase a variety of online and printed products that can support content and language learning.Presenters:
Thursday Afternoon Breakout Sessions:
Katie Leven, Orleans/Niagara BOCES
Words Their Way is a developmentally appropriate program that uses sorts to get learners to notice spelling patterns that exist in English. I will show how to pre-assess, place, and teach (in classroom or virtually using jamboard) these sorts.
NYS TESOL Buffalo/Rochester Regional Roundtable
NYS TESOL Buffalo/Rochester Regional Co-Chairs:
Jenna Colerick, Buffalo Public Schools; Nicole Miller, Buffalo Public Schools; Jamie Scripps, Rush-Henrietta CSD; Kate Klaiber, Genesee Community College; Joanna Fogarassi; Buffalo Public Schools
THURSDAY Closing & Raffles
- Participants must register for in advance for each individual session.
- All sessions will occur virtually on Zoom. Zoom links will be sent the day prior to the conference.
- CTLE Hours will be provided to registered participants for keynote and breakout sessions.
- Please note distribution of information does not denote endorsement of any product or service.
- Participants must be present to be eligible for raffle items.