Monthly Happenings: January 2021
Updates from IDOE's English Learner Team
A New Year, A New Chapter
In spite of ongoing challenges, we begin the new year with optimism, gratitude, and a renewed sense of purpose. Before jumping into the many EL topics at hand, we have a slate of news to share as we start a new chapter at IDOE...
Thanks for Everything, Nathan!
We would first like to give a big shout out to Nathan Williamson, who has recently left his role at IDOE as Director of Title Grants to begin a new endeavor at Gary Community Schools. Nathan has long been a champion for disadvantaged students, particularly English learners. During his tenure, no matter the role, he brought ELs into the conversation. His is impact on EL education in the state is immeasurable, and he will be sorely missed!
Congrats, Cole!
As we say so long to Nathan, we are happy to share that Cole Dietrich will be taking his place as Director of Title Grants. Cole is a familiar face, as he was formerly an EL Specialist and EL Director before overseeing charter programs (among others). We are thrilled he is returning to the EL world, where his advocacy for multilingual students will no doubt continue.
Meet Erica & Emma
In more exciting news, we'd like to officially introduce our two new English Learner Specialists, Erica Sponberg and Emma Everson...
Erica previously was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Valparaiso University where she taught courses in the TESOL and EL endorsement programs. She has experience working with EL and World Language pre-service teachers and international teachers of English. She loves all things happening in the classroom and brainstorming creative ways to support language development. She is excited to be in her home state of Indiana working for all of you. She has recently become a mom to a golden doodle, Coconut.
Emma is a former secondary ESL teacher and prior to originally starting at IDOE as a project manager for IIEP/IILP in the Office of Special Education, she taught education law at Indiana University to pre-service teachers. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Indiana University, and is completing her dissertation work focused on teachers' legal literacy regarding English learners. She is excited to be a part of the EL team and to serve Indiana schools. Emma enjoys spending time riding bikes on the Monon trail, hiking, and playing with her two fur children, Isla (Toy Fox Terrier) and George (Labradoodle).
We are pumped to have them both as part of our re-formed team! Without further ado we shift to the many goings-on in the EL world. In this long overdue, packed edition of Monthly Happenings (which will once again return to its namesake in February) includes updates on the WIDA ACCESS test administration, the release of the WIDA Standards, all things grants, some exciting upcoming PD opportunities, and much more.
LATEST EL NEWS
EL Leadership: Next Meeting February 10
The next EL Leadership Meeting is right around the corner! It will be held on Wednesday, February 10, from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. CT. Registration is not required, and you can access the link to access the meeting will be house in our Upcoming PD Opportunities Calendar. We will be checking in with the WIDA ACCESS window, discussing the WIDA Standards rollout, and much more. Please join us!
For those who missed our last convening of EL Leadership, the slides from the December meeting can be found on our Professional Learning page, in the EL Leadership Meeting Resources dropdown.
WIDA Standards, 2020 Edition Now Available!
The 2020 Edition of the WIDA Standards have just been released! While the five core WIDA standards themselves remain the same, its supporting framework has been revamped. The 2020 Edition underlie the themes of the integration of language and content, equity, collaboration, and a functional approach to language development. The new edition promises more accessible, streamlined, and applicable practices for teachers to utilize in developing ELs' language and content knowledge. We cannot wait to dig into these new resources, and we will have much to share on their rollout in the coming months. In the meantime, take a look for yourself...
Find the 2020 Edition of the WIDA Standards Here!
Also housed within the WIDA Standards webpage are a number of introductory resources to get acclimated to the new edition, including recordings from the WIDA eSummit sessions. More information on upcoming WIDA Standards trainings can be found in the Professional Learning section below.
A Note on EL Services During COVID
WIDA ACCESS Window Extension, Other Updates
Testing Window Extended
The WIDA ACCESS testing window has been extended by two weeks, and will now end on March 12. The WIDA Indiana page lists updated timelines for ACCESS administration and its post-administration stages, including materials return and post-data validation.
A Note on the State of Testing
We recognize that schools are facing additional challenges for in-person testing this school year. Please note that no flexibility has been provided by the United States Department of Education with regards to the 100% participation requirement for English learners (ELs). Schools must make best effort attempts to administer in person testing to all identified ELs during the nine-week WIDA ACCESS test window. Please note the following:
- IDOE strongly recommends schools document all attempts to schedule ELs for testing throughout the test window.
- Schools can make attempts to schedule testing at an off site location, such as the student’s home or a public library, for students unable or unwilling to come on site for testing.
- Schools must follow the Students Testing at Alternate Sites guidance, located in Part H of the Indiana Assessments Policy Manual for off site testing.
- If the off site testing location does not have a reliable internet connectivity, a Non-Standard Assessment Accommodation Request for paper testing may be submitted.
To help navigate a test administration during a global pandemic, WIDA created an Assessment Best Practices during COVID-19 resource to supplement the existing Test Coordinator Manual and Test Administrator Manual. This resource shares tips for managing materials, test setup, and more.
Spanish Translation Test Administrator Script
IDOE published a Spanish translation of the 2020-2021 WIDA ACCESS Online Test Administration Script for Grades 4-12. Please review this memo for guidance on utilizing the Spanish translated script during test administration.
Who to Contact
See the table below for a quick reference for who to contact, depending on your question topic. You are always welcome to reach out to IDOE EL Staff with WIDA questions as well...
Provisionally Identified Students & Reporting
On this year's LM Report submission, Provisionally Identified students were asked to be coded in a specific way. Please also ensure you are reporting who those students may be on this Jotform. IDOE will cross-check those submissions with the students reported on LM to ensure they are included in EL funding counts.
GRANTS
NESP Updates
The 2019-2020 NESP grant is soon closing out, with the deadline for expending all funds being March 31. This is also the deadline for the Financial End Report, which can be completed via this Jotform: 2019-2020 NESP Financial End Report.
2020-21 Distribution Reminders
As a reminder the following are the deadlines for the 2020-2021 NESP grant...
- Distribution Request deadline: June 1, 2021
- Encumbrance deadline: September 30, 2021
- Liquidation deadline: December 15, 2021
We strongly recommend being proactive in requesting your funds. This is done via a Distribution Request within the Intelligrants system. For support in submitting a Distribution Request, see this walk-through video.
Title III Updates
District EL contacts and treasurers of 2018-2020 Title III recipients will soon be receiving communication to confirm the amounts submitted on the Financial End Report, and, if applicable, share steps to rollover remaining funds into the 2019-2021 grant. This process is occurring due to the extension of the 2018-2020 grant, which aligned it with 2019-2021 grant timelines. This process will close out the 2018-2020 Title III grant.
2019-2021 Distribution & Deadline Reminders
After the rollover process has begun, districts will begin to receive updated 2019-2021 Title III Distribution amount notifications directly from IDOE via email. In the meantime, please remember the following deadlines pertaining to 2019-2021 Title III funds:
- Amendment deadline - 9/15/21
- Encumbrance deadline - 9/30/21
- Reimbursement Request deadline - 12/15/21
- Financial End Report deadline 12/31/21
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
WIDA Standards Trainings
IDOE's EL team will be sharing more about the rollout of the 2020 edition of the WIDA Standards at the February EL Leadership meeting and throughout the spring. In the meantime, see these upcoming opportunities to dive further into the standards...
WIDA Standards Q&A Webinars
See the attached flyer for information on upcoming Q&A webinars hosted by WIDA throughout winter and into spring. All webinars will be recorded and posted to the ELD Standards Framework webpage.
Upcoming Self-paced eLearning
A self-paced eLearning course specifically on the 2020 Edition of the WIDA Standards will become available to all Indiana educators on February 15. This will reside in the WIDA secure portal along with the other self-paced PD options within Canvas. Stay tuned!
Save the Dates
IDOE will be hosting a two-part WIDA-facilitated eWorkshop series, titled Planning with the ELD Standards Framework on April 21 and April 28. These sessions are designed for educators and leaders who are responsible for language development within content learning and implementation of the ELD Standards Framework. In each session, participants will receive additional resources for using the ELD Standards Framework in instructional planning. Both webinars will be at 3:00 p.m. ET, and registration links will be coming soon.
Upcoming High Ability English Learner PD
Supporting Teachers to Foster Authentic Digital Interactions Webinar
INTESOL 2020 Recap
The close of 2020 was busy for INTESOL. They kicked off with the annual INTESOL Conference: Equity and Access for English Language Learners. The one-day conference was packed full of hands-on workshops, practice and research presentations, and an engaging (to say the least!) keynote. INTESOL invited Dr. Josée Medina to share his wisdom on developing sociocultural skills to be better advocates for our students. If you missed it, it’s worth checking out his website and active social media. We even made an appearance to report on the latest from our EL team. That presentation is available here.
Under the same theme as the conference, INTESOL published the latest edition of their journal, which contains articles about identity, multilingualism, the teaching of reading and writing, engagement with families, and a book review. The cover of this issue features the artwork of Maria Chacin of White River Elementary School in Noblesville, Indiana; award winner of the 2020 INTESOL Art Contest.
Self-paced eLearning and PD Calendar
WIDA Writing Rubric
Leading for Equity: Classroom Walkthrough
Classroom Teachers: Engaging Multilingual Learners
Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics
Doing and Talking STEM
You can also look forward to the following sessions coming soon:
School Improvement Planning for the Equitable Education of Multilingual Learners
Engaging with the WIDA Standards: A Collaborative Approach
IDOE's EL team maintains an up-to-date EL Professional Learning Opportunities Calendar, where you can find information on happenings around the state.
RESOURCES and MORE
Funding for High School Student Exam Fees for CoMP
Indiana teachers have the opportunity to nominate students to receive their exam fees covered for the Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency. Teachers can fill out the nomination form at Go.iu.edu/CompFunding, and the deadline to nominate a student is February 1, so act fast!
Teachers may nominate more than one student, but preference will be given to students taking proficiency exams for less commonly taught languages, with financial need, and from a variety of school districts. Your school must also be able to award Indiana’s Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency. Funding is provided by Indiana University’s U.S. Department of Education designated National Resource Centers and is being promoted by the Indiana Language Roadmap. Contact global@indiana.edu with questions about the nomination application or funding.
DLI News
Check out the January edition of the IDOE DLI Newsletter! As always, you can find information on Indiana Dual Language programs, including Batesville's Mandarin program which was recently recognized by the Center for Global Education, and Martinsville's program - featured here - diving into Global Competency PD; upcoming PD opportunities; research; resources; and more. Reach out to Nicole Leach with any Dual Language questions, and subscribe to the newsletter to stay up to date on all things DLI.
IDOE ENGLISH LEARNER TEAM
Adam Pitt
Email: apitt@doe.in.gov
Phone: (317) 234-7168
Twitter: @AdamPittIDOE
Nicole Leach
Email: nleach@doe.in.gov
Phone: (317) 232-0572
Twitter: @NicoleNLeach
Emma Everson
Email: eeverson@doe.in.gov
Erica Sponberg
Email: esponberg@doe.in.gov