ELD Department News
Keeping you in the know!
ACCESS 2.0 - Ready, Set . . .
- ELD Think Tank Presentation
- ACCESS Materials Pick Up
- Processing Schedule
- and more!
ACCESS 2.0 Alternate UPDATE:
Per CDE's ACCESS 2.0 Goldenrod: "Test Administrators administering the Alternate ACCESS must hold a State of Colorado educator license." Paraeducators may not administer Alternate ACCESS. This is a change for this year.
Materials Delivery:
ACCESS 2.0 Materials are expected to be delivered to the DCSD Warehouse on December 15th. You, your SAC, or a school administrator may pick materials up at the DCSD Warehouse (701 Prairie Hawk Drive) on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, between 7:30 and 4:00.
ACCESS 2.0 Training:
Face to Face Training on December 9, 2016:
ELD staff must attend DCSD's face to face ACCESS 2.0 training. If you were unable to attend the November 22 training, you are required to attend the make-up training on December 9, 2016 at the West Support Center in Castle Rock (701 Prairie Hawk Drive, 80109) from 8:00-3:00. Transitions for 16-17 and online training will be completed in the morning, and the ACCESS 2.0 presentation will begin at 12:00.
You and your team members are required to have all ACCESS 2.0 online training completed prior to leaving for Winter Break. Please be sure you pass all relevant quizzes at wida.us.
Additional Materials:
Here is the link to the Additional Materials Order Form. You may now place your order for additional materials. We will check this order form daily during the ACCESS testing window. Any orders placed prior to Winter Break will be placed on December 15, 2016.
Lessons Learned:
Take your team's advice - follow this link for your great thinking regarding ACCESS 2.0 and lessons learned!
ACCESS Growth Data
Grade Reporting
Elementary Progress Report
If a child is on a formal plan such as an ELLP, the teacher may select a box on that child's EPR where any of the four components of the GVCs have been modified as suggested by their plan. The teacher will check the box that reads "personalized plan." This appears as an asterisk beside the rating with the identifying "personalized plan" language to guide parents. You should, however, only select the asterisk in the areas where the student has goals that are defined and different from other grade level expectations.
Secondary Grades
DCSD middle and high schools (non-charters) may not use asterisks when assigning grades for students on plans, including ELs. The asterisk will be disabled as a feature.
Pass/Fail can be used to grade middle and high school ELs, and this is recommended for our NEP ELs.
Enrollment of Potential ELs: W-APT Reminders
When a new student enrolls and a language other than English is listed on the enrollment form, you must administer the W-APT and then collect a body of evidence to determine when the student should be identified as an EL.
Written parent notification of assessment is required, and an phone call prior to the end of the school day on which the student was assessed is highly recommended.
Students who earn less than a 5 in any domain, but earned a 5.0 or greater overall, may be identified as an English Learner if a body of evidence confirms W-APT results. If a body of evidence refutes the domain with a score lower than 5, you may determine the student does not qualify for ELD support.
State Mandated Testing Information & Accommodations
If a student has been educated in Spanish in the last year, they are eligible to take the PARCC Spanish ELA assessment.
CDE has released the 16-17 State Accommodations Matrix (Crosswalk). You will find accommodations appropriate for ELs who are on and IEP or 504 within this document.
Here is the link to the DCSD State Assessment google site. Please connect with your SAC regarding school-specific questions. See the image below for specific information from CDE.
Are you CLD endorsed? Do you know someone who is interested in becoming CLD endorsed?
As you know, DCSD requires all ESL teachers to hold, or be in the process of obtaining, the CLD or LDE endorsement. If you are new to DCSD and are still looking for a program to complete your CLD endorsement, CU Denver is one option. If you are interested, please apply soon! Classes begin in January!
Here is the message from previous newsletters . . .
Effective practices are critical in supporting every student in the school experience, including English Learners. DCSD is excited to partner with CU Denver to offer an opportunity for certified staff to earn Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) graduate courses leading to the CLD Endorsement and/or Master's Degree.
If you or someone you know is interested in earning the CLD certificate, endorsement or Master's Degree, please contact Remy Rummel and Cindy Close.
Great Read! The Opportunity Gap in Literacy
Great tools from ThinkCIRCA:
Last week teachers across Colorado gave us great feedback on our ELD webinar.
In case it's helpful to you, I'm sharing some free instructional resources designed to support your developing bilinguals.
Our Content Team developed a custom ELL Resources for the Instructional Core packet that includes research-based practices to share with your teachers.
Packet Highlights:
- Classroom routines for speaking and listening practice and vocabulary acquisition
- Graphic organizers in Spanish for teaching argumentative writing and critical thinking
- Universal strategies for English Language Development (to be paired with ThinkCERCA lessons)
- Overview of English Language Development expectations (based on WIDA)
Important News from Previous Newsletters
Program Evaluation
One significant part of our OCR agreement is to implement a comprehensive framework for program evaluation. You have been working on starting the program evaluation process by completing your data spreadsheets. If you haven't already, please make a copy of this document to begin documenting and analyzing your students' growth. Here is a link to ELD Program Evaluation FAQs. Stay tuned for a training video!
ELD Support Sessions
ELD Teachers are not required to attend support sessions and should not try to attend all of the support sessions as they are intended to provide ample support for the entire ELD Department. It is the ELD teacher’s responsibility to secure the principal's or supervising administrator's approval prior to attending a Support Session. If a staff member attends a Support Session, it is assumed he or she has obtained permission to attend.
Individual google calendar invitations will be sent for each Support Session, and we appreciate your RSVP if you plan to attend. Each Support Session will be posted on the ELD Department Calendar. If there are no "yes" rsvps, the Support Session will be cancelled.
ELD Programming Expectations
Quick Links
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109415669014016956676
District ELD Google site - including the ELD Department calendar on the HOME page
https://sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/district-esl-site/home
Family Outreach Proposal Form:
ELD Meeting Map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Z6QogfyjwuOmRUmwtuJ45e57zhw