Monthly Happenings: April 2021
Updates from IDOE's English Learner Team
April is Bilingual/Multilingual Advocacy Month!
Whether you are still on Spring Break or just coming back, it is this time of year that we as educators often reflect on the first half of the semester to best prepare for its closing. This is also an excellent opportunity to reflect on what is known as the “hidden curriculum” present in our teaching, or school curriculum, to evaluate how our curricular decision-making has impacted our multilingual students holistically.
Understanding the hidden curriculum helps us become better advocates by moving us away from reflecting on tangible, day-to-day choices and towards the broader environment in which we teach. These are the unspoken values, behaviors, and norms that exist in our educational setting. For a general read on hidden curriculum, take a look at Alsubaie's 2015 article, Hidden Curriculum as One of Current Issue of Curriculum. This short read, written by a non-native English speaker and former elementary teacher, provides a clear definition of the concept of hidden curriculum and its impact on all of us, but specifically those traditionally marginalized student populations.
When we are better able to understand the school experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse students, we can use our expertise to make explicit what was once hidden.
Highlights in this month's issue:
- EL Leadership meeting - last one of the academic year!
- WIDA Updates - Kindergarten Screener and upcoming PD
- Student scholarships that help pay for college
- Free professional development offerings and resource toolkit downloads
- OELA Resources to celebrate Bilingual/Multilingual Advocacy Month
English Learner (EL) News and Updates
Upcoming: EL Leadership Meeting
This month's meeting will be our last for the school year and include a variety of guest speakers discussing opportunities for your EL programs, leaders, and students. Among the topics will be information about the new WIDA Kindergarten Screener, ESSER/GEER funding for ELs, WIDA PD opportunities, and the Dual Language Immersion Grant. Breakout sessions will address using ESSER/GEER funding for EL specific purposes.
See our Indiana English Learner PD Calendar for meeting link.
WIDA Updates
Now Open: Pre-Reporting Data Validation Window
The following resources are available in the WIDA Secure Portal (login required) to assist users with understanding and completing data validation:
- WIDA AMS User Guide Supplement: Data Validation
- WIDA Webinar: Data Validation (recording)
- Data Validation Tutorial (located under the "Afterward" section of the ACCESS Online and ACCESS Paper training courses)
Please contact DRC Customer Support at (866) 276-7735 for additional assistance.
Now Available: WIDA Screener for Kindergarten
- The training course is delivered in Canvas, accessible via the WIDA Secure Portal.
- The Oral Language and Literacy quizzes are delivered in the WIDA Secure Portal and should be taken only after completing the training course. Successful completion (80% or higher) of both quizzes is required prior to administering the test.
- All test materials are available to download and print from the WIDA Secure Portal. Printed test kits can be purchased by corporations and schools in the WIDA Store.
- Incoming kindergarten students being screened for SY 2021-2022 this spring (i.e., kindergarten round up) must be assessed utilizing WIDA Screener for Kindergarten.
- Current kindergarten students being screened for SY 2020-2021 must be assessed utilizing Kindergarten W-APT.
- Kindergarten W-APT will no longer be available after Wednesday, June 30th.
Resources for your EL Families:
- What is Language Testing (flyer in 13 languages).
- Explaining ELL status (flyer in 13 languages).
Kindergarten Screener PD Opportunities
Mark your calendars for two upcoming PD opportunities on the WIDA Screener for Kindergarten.
- Tuesday, April 27th at 2:00PM EST. WIDA Screener for Kindergarten Q&A Webinar.
- Thursday, May 13th. 3:00PM - 5:00PM, Kindergarten Screener Overview with WIDA expert.
WIDA Screener for Kindergarten Q&A Webinar
Kindergarten Screener Overview with WIDA expert.
Specifically for Indiana educators, WIDA facilitator Virginia Morales will offer an overview of the Kindergarten Screener. Click on the below flyer for virtual meeting information, or visit the Indiana EL PD Opportunities Calendar
WIDA Standards Framework, 2020 Edition
Wondering where to start with the 2020 edition of the WIDA Standards? First, take a look at the standards themselves. Find the updated versions and accompanying resources here: WIDA 2020 Standards Framework
Here are a few additional resources to get you going as you begin to dig into the standards:
Complete WIDA Self-Paced Standards modules available in the WIDA Secure Portal eLearning Center. Click on ‘Courses’ and select - The WIDA 2020 ELD Standards: A Collaborative Approach. They are available now!
Review the WIDA Educator Q&A series. You can find recordings of the four-part series, each focused on a different topic pertaining to the 2020 WIDA ELD Standards on the main ELD standards page.
Stay tuned for much more to come with 2020 WIDA Standards trainings over the summer and into next school year!
Last Chance to Sign up!
WIDA Standards PD and Advisory Group
As part of the rollout 2020 edition of the WIDA Standards, WIDA and IDOE are partnering to offer a three-part webinar series for EL educators and content leaders who are responsible for language development within content learning. This opportunity, entitled “Planning with the ELD Standards Framework”, will consist of the following:
- WIDA Facilitated Webinar #1 – Wednesday, April 21 from 3 to 5 p.m. ET
- WIDA Facilitated Webinar #2 – Wednesday, April 28 from 3 to 5 p.m. ET
- IDOE-hosted PD Recap and Advisory Webinar – Wednesday, May 5 from 3 to 5 p.m. ET
We are looking for pairs that can represent different regions and EL populations around the state to attend the series and commit to helping their districts in taking a collaborative planning approach for WIDA 2020 standards implementation. Individuals can also apply to attend, however the collaboration here is key. Our capacity for these opportunities is limited, and to further leverage this opportunity and educator expertise, we have included the third webinar, where we hope to elicit participant input on how the standards can be best implemented.
The WIDA portions of the PD series will focus on collaborative instructional planning with the ELD Standards Framework. The first two sessions will be delivered by WIDA, and have two learning goals listed below. Additional information on the first two sessions can also be found in the flyer below.
- Leverage student assets to integrate a language focus into content units
- Identify and support language students will use throughout a series of unit activities
The third, IDOE-hosted webinar, will be a sharing and brainstorming session to recap learning outcomes, provide feedback on your experience, and assist in developing future implementation plans to encourage collaborative instructional planning across EL, grade level, and content teachers.
Request to Attend
If you are interested in attending, you are committing to:
- Attending all three sessions
- Pairing with a colleague (i.e. an EL teacher/coach and a content and/or grade level teacher/coach for collaborative instructional planning)
- Sharing what you've learned with your colleagues through localized PD and advocacy for interdisciplinary collaborative instructional planning for ELD in your local context
To submit a request to attend, use this form: WIDA Workshop: Planning with the 2020 ELD Standards Framework 3-Part Series. Because of the limited capacity for this opportunity, we will do our best to select a broad representation of our state to disburse the information from the webinar series. Please reach out to Erica Sponberg with questions.
Grants & Funding
Community Project Grant
College Scholarship Opportunities
- Immigrants Rising: A comprehensive database to search for scholarships based on student eligibility.
- Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance: IUYA is a youth-led organization that seeks to empower immigrants to achieve higher education and engage in the community to demand more just and humane policies that affect undocumented families. The scholarship is only available to undocumented students with or without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), who reside in Indiana, demonstrate financial need, and are pursuing higher education.
- Indiana Latino Institute: ILI awards $1,000 need and merit-based scholarships to up to 15 students who show academic excellence and community service involvement. Preference is given to applicants who are Latino first-generation college students.
- DACA@IU: A web resource for DACA student attending Indiana University that includes counseling on paying for college.
- Dreamers Alliance United at IUPUI: A guidebook that includes scholarship information and opportunities for those students applying to IUPUI.
- La Plaza: A guidebook for Indiana Latinos applying for financial aid and scholarships.
Professional Development (PD) & Resources
2021 ELD Virtual Professional Learning Summit
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is opening up its Virtual Professional Learning Summit to educators in all WIDA Consortium-member states! Join your colleagues virtually for discussions on educational equity, academic language development, WIDA ELD standards, parental engagement, culturally responsive teaching strategies, high-quality instruction for ELs, and much more!
This free virtual event will have speakers from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, WIDA, Lehigh University, University of California at San Diego, Morgan State University, WestEd, Hazleton One Community Center, TransACT Communications, as well as ELD educators working at intermediate units and school districts across Pennsylvania.
Summit Schedule:
- Tuesday, April 13 │9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST │English Language Development Institutes
- Wednesday, April 14 │7:30 AM – 7:15 PM EST│Networking Sessions; Educational Equity Panel Discussion; Lunch and Learn with PDE; Concurrent Sessions
- Thursday, April 15 │7:30 AM – 3:15 PM │Keynote Address by Dr. AÍda Walqui; Networking Session; Lunch and Learn with PDE; Concurrent Sessions
Visit the 2021 ELD Summit webpage to view the conference agenda and learn more!
Register HERE for the summit.
Newcomer Toolkit for Educators
The toolkit intends to help educators and other stakeholders identify and use research-based practices, policies, and procedures for welcoming, registering, and supporting newcomer immigrant and refugee students who are attending secondary schools (grades six through 12).
Download the free materials from the REL project webpage.
National Center for Learning Disabilities Toolkit
The National Center for Learning Disabilities in collaboration with Understood have developed a Distance Learning Toolkit for students who learn differently.
In their report they state:
- Students who struggle academically or who typically receive individual support in school are more likely to fall behind during distance learning, according to a recent ParentsTogether survey. And research shows that students who also come from other underserved communities, including students of color and Emerging Bilinguals (also referred to as English language learners), have been particularly affected.
The toolkit will help you:
- Learn about the key teacher mindsets and effective teaching practices for students who learn differently
- Pinpoint common instructional challenges and focus on teaching practices to address those challenges
- Use learning activities to help you apply those practices in distance learning
- Understand how the practices support social-emotional learning (SEL) and racial equity
- Learn how to use assessments outside the classroom environment to gauge student progress
View and download the Distance Learning Toolkit using this link.
Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) PD Opportunity
The webinar, English Learners in Secondary Schools: Trajectories, Transition Points, and Promising Practices, will discuss what research has shown about the academic trajectories of ELs at the secondary level, including the trajectories of newcomers, students who have been labeled long-term ELs, ELs with disabilities, and former ELs. It will also explore structural barriers and discuss policies and practices that may potentially reduce these barriers, facilitate students’ full access to content, and promote their successful graduation.
Visit the OELA webinar registration webpage for more information.
OELA Fact Sheet: Profile of English Learners in the United States
View the full PDF document with this link.
Bilingual/Multilingual Advocacy Month Resources
OELA has created a toolkit of social media communications that you can utilize to share resources focusing on multilingualism, languages and culture, distance learning, student success, and family engagement.
Thank you!
We wish you all an enjoyable spring and hope to see you at the EL Leadership Meeting on Wednesday, April 21st!
IDOE's English Learner Team
Nicole Leach
Email: nleach@doe.in.gov
Phone: 317-232-0572
Twitter: @NicoleNLeach
Adam Pitt
Email: apitt@doe.in.gov
Phone: 317-234-7168
Twitter: @AdamPittIDOE
Erica Sponberg
Email: esponberg@doe.in.gov
Phone: (317) 233-7413