The IntELL
News and Updates from the ESOL office for ELL support
April 2017 Updates
Collaboration is key!
Without everyone's participation we would not be able to accomplish the work that we do. We are blessed to have supportive teachers, administrators and district staff that work closely with us in order to better serve our students.
Compliance reminders-
As you begin to plan your annual/extension of services meetings please consider the following:
- Did you get input from other teachers?
- Will you be needing translation/interpretation services?
- Did you schedule 3 professionals to attend the meeting?
You may begin scheduling these on May 1st (for ELLs with an August DEUSS date). The state recognizes that most of your ELLs have an August DEUSS date, for this reason, they allow us to hold these meetings up until October 1st.
Here is the state rule: S.R. 6A.6.09022 https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?title=SPECIAL PROGRAMS I&ID=6A-6.09022
Follow these links for the documents you will need:
Invitation letters
https://intranet.volusia.k12.fl.us/forms/Forms/2009/2009-036.pdf
https://intranet.volusia.k12.fl.us/forms/Forms/2009/2009-036sp.pdf
ELL Committee Minutes
https://intranet.volusia.k12.fl.us/forms/Forms/2009/2009-031.pdf
https://intranet.volusia.k12.fl.us/forms/Forms/2009/2009-031sp.pdf
If you choose to hold your meetings in May, we will not have data to determine extensions/exit please use the following statement when writing your minutes:
Your student will continue to receive ESOL services for the 2017-18 school year, pending ACCESS 2.0 and FSA-ELA data. If after we receive this information, your student meets exit criteria we will send home a Notification of Exit from the ESOL program.
Continue to look closely at your ESOL Master List from CrossPointe S714 for data accuracy; particularly when reporting Plan Dates, Annual Reevaluations and Report Card Reviews.
Take a look at the video embedded below, it's a clip on Creating an Active and Engaged Reader. Enjoy!
As always, you may contact the ESOL office for help at extension 44736.
Gianna Acevedo Alamo
Coordinator, ESOL
Elementary ESOL support
It’s incredible to believe how fast this school year has gone by. So much has been accomplished in efforts to support our ELLs and our general education teachers. It’s been exciting to see general education teachers feel heard as we provide them with valuable resources which can be used in their teaching.
I would like to complete the school year by holding our last Professional Learning (PL). This PL will be held at Spirit Elementary, on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, from 8:00 -3:30 in the ESOL room. We will take this time to create standard base thematic inter-active notebook lessons.
We will also use this opportunity to analyze our data from the beginning of the school year to the present, evaluate what we can do different the next school year, and create additional resources for general education teachers such as specific research base ESOL strategies.
Please feel free to contact Betsy Sotomayor, 44737, or at bsotomay@volusia.k12.fl.us for support on how to “Teach, Assess, and Grade (TAG)” our English language learners. This support can be provided either during grade level PLC or during a faculty meeting.
Secondary ESOL support
How to support ELL students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE):
Volusia County Schools is experiencing an increase of ELL students with limited or interrupted formal education. These educational interruptions can range from months to, in some cases, years. The reasons for these interruptions may vary. In many instances, these students lack literacy skills in their own native language. Adding to that challenge, SLIFE students that arrive to a US school are now faced with the additional challenge of learning a new language. Teachers often express the need for guidance on how to meet the instructional needs of SLIFE students. WIDA and Colorín Colorado offer valuable information and resources for teachers that will aide in the understanding of the unique needs of SLIFE students. This information also provides teachers with ways to support SLIFE students in the classroom and the unique instructional approaches they require.
In the May 2015 issue of WIDA “FOCUS ON” SLIFE: Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education teachers can find:
Who are SLIFE?
Teaching the Whole Student
Factors that Influence ELL Performance in School
Establishing the Starting Line
Instruction that Works within the Zone of Proximal Development
Q&A with Dr. Deborah Short
Programming Options and Approaches
Planning and Instructional Considerations for Supporting SLIFE
References and Additional Resources
To access the WIDA article, follow the link:
http://www.njtesol-njbe.org/handouts15/WIDA_Focus_on_SLIFE.pdf
The article in Colorín Colorado: How to Support ELL Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFEs) By Kristina Robertson & Susan Lafond provides teachers with information on:
Who are Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFEs)?
Which countries do Students with Interrupted Formal Education come from?
Ten Ideas for Providing School-Wide Support to Students with Interrupted Formal Education
Ten Ideas for Teaching Students with Interrupted Formal Education in the Classroom
To access this article follow the link:
http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/how-support-ell-students-interrupted-formal-education-sifes
Family Engagement
Strategies to Involve Parents in Education:
Parent involvement in their children’s education can be one of the biggest predictors of student success. It is very important to keep trying new things to involve parents of ESOL students and to build a culture of engagement at your school. I recommend you visit the following website:
http://www.teachhub.com (Teaching Strategies to Involve Parents)
http://www.coloringcolorado.org/families
Our next Parent Leadership Council is coming up this Thursday, April 20, 2017 from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at Deland Administrative Center (DAC). This meeting is prepared to inform parents about STEM and Summer School 2017.
For more ideas related to ESOL Family Engagement feel free to contact Ines Ramos Feliciano at extension 44738.
ESOL strategy of the month
Think-Write-Pair-Share:
A collaborative learning strategy designed to differentiate instruction by providing students with time and structure for thinking about a given topic. This enables them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with a peer. With this strategy, a problem is posed, students have time to think about it individually, write their thoughts, work in pairs to solve the problem, and then share their ideas with the class.
video sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXeMXwdoj_A
For more information contact Betsy Sotomayor at extension 44737
ESOL office staff:
Gianna Acevedo Alamo
Coordinator, ESOL
E-mail ghaceved@volusia.k12.fl.us
Betsy Sotomayor
ESOL TOA - Elementary
Email bsotomay@volusia.k12.fl.us
Sandra Quijano
ESOL TOA - Secondary
E-mail squijano@volusia.k12.fl.us
Ines Ramos-Feliciano
ESOL TOA - Parenting
E-mail iramosfe@volusia.k12.fl.us
Sonia Rodriguez
Office Specialist
E-mail serodrig@volusia.k12.fl.us
Email: ghaceved@volusia.k12.fl.us
Website: http://myvolusiaschools.org/esol/Pages/default.aspx
Location: Highbanks Learning Center, East Highbanks Road, DeBary, FL, United States
Phone: 386-734-7190
Twitter: @ESOL_VCS
ESOL endorsement courses
If you submitted a Course Completion Notice, your assignments are being graded. With the recent loss of one of our staff members, Gianna Acevedo Alamo is managing these.
You will see evidence of completion by checking your course status in MyPgs. Future offerings will be announced in the Professional Learning announcements memo from Alice Partlow. Thank you for your patience during this difficult time.
I would like to thank Nicoleta Wells and Christine Wassem for their incredible amount of help.