SLPS ESOL ExcELLence Newsletter
Issue 5, 2020-2021
Teacher of the Month
Maritza Caldera, ESOL Teacher at Long International Middle School
Maritza is a fantastic addition to the Long International Middle School ESOL team. She recently completed her capstone for her Master's degree in ESOL, while having 4 boys at home. She is currently working with ESOL students from 2.5 and up. Ms. Caldera has been an absolute godsend this year. She is patient and flexible while working with students. She has created an amazing and beautiful newsletter for the staff with ESOL tips and strategies. Her advocacy for our students is firm but graceful - when she suggests things, she is just so reasonable that no one can argue about what's best for kids. She is dedicated and a great person to be around. We are so lucky to have her at LIMS!
Honorable Mention
Julia McDonnell, ESOL teacher at Dewey
Kimberly Bergmann, ESOL teacher at Sigel
Elvisa Salesevic-Hodzic, itinerant ESOL teacher
Bertha Martinez-Chavez, ESOL Teacher at NCNAA @Roosevelt 9-10
Annmarie Maher, ESOL Teacher at Gateway STEM
NCNAA@ Roosevelt Special Recognition
Submitted by Kelly Moore, Director of NCNAA@Roosevelt
SLPS ACCESS 2020-2021 Update
Submitted by Heather Tuckson, ESOL Coordinator
ACCESS testing has begun in most of our ESOL Centers! Thanks for everyone’s patience, flexibility, and efforts in getting students scheduled and tested. ACCESS testing is always a big job, but this year has been extra challenging. We appreciate you!
The ESOL Coordinators have begun conducting Quality Assurance interviews and observations. Thanks for your diligence in providing appropriate test environments and adhering to all safety protocols. Some test administrators use a stylus to assist students in typing passwords to minimize contact, and I thought that was a great idea! Another helpful tip is that some schools had all the materials for testing including test tickets in the students’ headset bag. One of our high schools was able to test 67 students in one day using 8 test administrators and excusing teachers/students from their classes for the day to complete all 4 sessions. We understand that many schools are dealing with Covid-19 challenges such as being short-staffed and students' absenteeism due to quarantines. We still have plenty of time to test, the test window for ESOL Centers is March 19th. We Can Do it!
Are you scheduling the ACCESS Test for Virtual Students? Language Access team is here to help!
Virtual Bake-a-Book ESOL Family Event
Thank you to the ESOL staff and teachers for your part in promoting the ELL Virtual Bake-a-Book, Part 1!
32 ELL parents and 1 ESOL teacher came to the ESOL Office to pick up a total of 66 WriteBrain wordless books. We offered live writing support hours on Zoom for book writing support. 10 ELL families were able to connect to a writing instructor via Zoom. Additionally, ELL families were able to access the student's Book Tutorial for five selected books and the Parent Guide video available in six languages by visiting the ELL Virtual Bake-a-Book webpage created by Samir Mujagić.
ELL ABC Welcome Book Project
Submitted by Tuyet Nguyen, Bilingual Parent Specialist.
The utmost gratitude to Betsy Trapp and Samir Mujagić! Betsy Trapp selected academic words and sentences for each letter for each grade level cluster. Samir Mujagić created beautiful book covers and letter templates.
ESOL Micro-PD is Action
Micro PD Success
Submitted by Dr. Welborn, ESOL Teacher at Woodward
Woodward's ESOL team presented a micro-PD focused on language objectives during our district-wide professional development day on January 15. Upon being asked to present, we reached out to Mrs. Okanovic for resources that would help us put our presentation together. We hit the lottery. She didn't just offer us resources, she sent us a presentation that was already put together and ready to go. This micro-PD had been put together for the original purpose of offering ESOL teachers a time saving, self-paced PD if needed. However, we were able to use it effectively with our entire staff. According to the ELL plan, our Woodward Team is now working to incorporate language objectives into all lessons. This is going to benefit our students tremendously and it is all thanks to our amazing ESOL coordinators. I recommend taking advantage of these amazing resources and embarking on your own PD presentations!
Upcoming Professional Growth Opportunities
Submitted by Jessica Brookman, ESOL Instructional Coordinator
A number of professional organizations are providing learning opportunities for ESOL Educators from workshops on culture and bias, to webinars with national ESOL experts. Most of the PDs listed below are free, however, some may require registration fees for which you can request assistance from the SLPS ESOL program. To request assistance for an ESOL PD event, complete the ESOL Professional Growth Request Form and submit it to Alla.GonzalezDelCastillo@slps.org.You may also contact Jessica Brookman, ESOL Instructional Coordinator, at Jessica.brookman@slps.org for the application and instructions.
Cultural Competency Workshop Series
An introduction to the concepts of Cultural Competency and Recognizing Bias will be offered by the International Institute, in two separate virtual Cultural Competency Workshop series, on February 2nd and 9th, or on March 2nd and 9th, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m Each series consists of two, 1-hour sessions and it is suggested that participants attend both sessions to truly understand the function of culture and bias in our decisions and interactions. Participants should attend either both the sessions in February or both the sessions in March. The sessions are free due to a generous grant by the New American Alliance. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_53Si9DnLQESOZ1f4r0gU3w .
Workshop with Andrea Honigsfeld
Nationally acclaimed author, Andrea Honigsfeld, will be presenting a workshop on Strategies for Language and Literacy Supports for ELs, February 13th, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. through Heinemann Publishing. The workshop is being offered at the low rate of $40 or you can apply for registration assistance by submitting an ESOL Professional Growth Application now.
DESE Webinars
Registration is now available in the DESE calendar
· April 20, 3:45 - 5:45 pm - New WIDA Kindergarten Screener
· April 22 & 29, 3:45 - 5:15 pm- 2020 WIDA ELD Standards
Winter 2021 WIDA eWorkshops
Two additional WIDA eWorkshops will be available Winter 2021:
Two additional eWorkshops will be available this winter in the WIDA Professional Learning section of the My Account page of the WIDA.ams secure portal.
- School Improvement Planning for Equitable Education of Multilingual Learners -- This eWorkshop will introduce school leaders to leadership principles and practices to provide equitable educational opportunities for multilingual learners, based on a distributive leadership model. During the eWorkshop, participants will have an opportunity to explore effective leadership practices that aim to a) create and maintain an inclusive, school-wide learning environment focused on multilingual learners; b) promote effective instructional practices for multilingual learners; c) leverage multiple resources and build capacity for staff to meet the needs of multilingual learners; and d) collaborate with families and the local community to enact school improvement solutions.
- The WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach -- This eWorkshop explores ways to use the WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition to support multilingual learners’ achievement and language development. Each module engages participants in components of the WIDA Standards Framework and contains prompts for educators to discuss the module topic in local settings. Ideally, groups of educators commit to engaging in the modules individually and to meeting on a bi/weekly basis to discuss the module topics.
EDPlus MELL Workshops
There are three upcoming MELL Workshops available before the end of this school year. Register through EdPlus at https://www.cvent.com/c/calendar/f1b3c54c-4e7f-4bc8-a3cf-26c382ea133b .
· Differentiating for English Learners (Virtual -Mar. 30) This workshop will share practical strategies for teachers to differentiate instruction, assignments, and assessments for EL students. Explore examples of differentiation strategies used in a variety of subject areas and grade levels. Through hands-on activities using authentic curriculum and student data, participants will gain experience in differentiating lessons based on their students’ English proficiency levels. The information and best practices gleaned from this workshop will help any classroom teacher or EL teacher improve their EL students’ ability to be successful in the mainstream classroom.
· Book Study: Breaking Down the Wall (Virtual - Apr. 8) Participants will meet on five afternoons from April through May to read and discuss the best-selling book, Breaking Down the Wall: Essential Shifts for English Learners’ Success by Calderón et al. This book is the product of a first-of-its-kind collaboration between many of the top names in the field of EL education.
Analyzing ACCESS Growth (Virtual - May 18) Participants will learn how to use the ACCESS Growth Charts that are posted on the DESE website and explore the implications. The purpose of these charts is to determine your student's progress related to other ELs in Missouri of the same grade level and starting proficiency level. This process is intended to make “apples to apples” comparisons between students. From this information, you can analyze the effectiveness of your school’s support program for individual students, students at specific proficiency levels, and entire grade levels.
Digital Equity in U.S. Education
The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) will continue their Research to Policy: Critical Conversations in Language Education series by hosting live, open discussions with policymakers on the status of Digital Equity in U.S. Education. Each 30-minute episode in the webinar series, examines education for multilingual learners and culturally diverse populations through the lens of digital equity. Topics range from student assessment, teacher education, students with disabilities, early childhood education, and more. These are free webinars. Register at https://www.cal.org/r2p-2021 .
· February 23, 3:00 - Digital Equity in Education: Whence and Where to?
March 30, 3:00 - Assessment of English Learners in the New Digital Landscape2020 WIDA ELD Framework
The 2020 edition of WIDA English Language Development Standards are rolling out next month! They are more precise, more in-depth, and designed to ensure that ELs develop the language skills they will need for both college and career readiness. The goal of the new standards is to promote equity for multilingual learners and to enable the teaching of content and language together.
Virtual training on these new standards, called Planning with the 2020 ELD Standards Framework, is happening April 22 and April 29, 3:45 – 5:15. To completely understand the new standards, attendance at both days is recommended. It is free to attend, but there is a limit, so don’t delay in signing-up. Go to: https://dese.mo.gov/college-career-readiness/curriculum . Scroll down to the bottom where there is the DESE calendar. Use the arrows at the top of the calendar to get to April 22 and click on the pink rectangle. This should open a box where you can sign up. Sign up for the first day and it automatically signs you up for the second.
Contact Jessica Brookman, ESOL Instructional Coordinator at Jessica.brookman@slps.org if you have any questions or need help registering.
Teacher Leadership for School-Wide English Learning (SWEL): Setting the Stage for Success
Tuesday, 23 March 2021
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm US Eastern Daylight Time
Target Audience: English language educators and administrators in pre-K–12, adult, and postsecondary settings
Skill Level: All levels of expertise
Wouldn't it be amazing if everyone in your school or institution knew how to best support your English learners? In this online workshop based on Teacher Leadership for School-Wide English Learning (SWEL) by Benegas and Stolpestad, learn about the framework and resources you can use to enact the SWEL coaching model in your pre-K-12, adult, or postsecondary setting. Discuss the skills, knowledge, and dispositions educators need to teach English learners, as well as what you need to facilitate learning with and among teaching colleagues and administrators.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
As a result of attending this workshop, you will learn how to:
- Capitalize on your own expertise in language learning and teaching in order to support general education colleagues through a teacher leadership model.
- Utilize the SWEL Peer Coaching Principles and practice applying each principle through role-play and non-evaluative, dialogic coaching conversation simulations.
- Facilitate professional development for colleagues with adult learning and research-based practices in mind.
- Differentiate for the professional development needs of your colleagues in order to teach them how to attend to language development in their instruction and assessment.