Part of being an ESL teacher is analyzing the needs of your EL students and working with them on developing linguistic and communicative proficiency in English in the 4 domains of reading, writing, listening and speaking. ESL teachers help English Learners achieve a proficient level of English, both socially and academically, that allows English Learners to access the content and curriculum independently in their classrooms, but most importantly prepares them for careers and college, post high school.

Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974 (EEOA), public schools must ensure that EL students can participate meaningfully and equally in educational programs.

How do we do this?

1) Identifying and Assessing all potential EL students - school districts must have reliable procedures in place to identify any and all EL students.

2) Providing Language Assistance to EL students - EL students are entitled to appropriate language assistance services in order to become proficient.

3) Staffing and Supporting an EL program - school districts must have qualified EL teachers, staff and administrators to effectively implement their EL program.

4) Providing Meaningful access to all curricular and extracurricular programs - EL students are entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in all programs including pre-kindergarten, magnet, gifted and talented, career and technical education, arts, athletics, AP, International Baccalaureate (IB), clubs and honor societies.

5) Avoiding unnecessary segregation of EL students - EL students should be involved in all school activities, although it is understood that there may be a limited portion of their day that is spent receiving intensive language instruction outside of their regular classroom.

6) Evaluating EL students for Special Education and Providing Dual Services - if applicable EL students identified as Special education must be provided both language assistance programs and disability related services to which they are entitled under Federal law.

7) Meeting the needs of EL students who opt out of EL programs or Particular Services - Districts are still required to take steps to provide access for opted out EL students, monitor their progress and offer EL services again if a student is struggling.

8) Monitoring and Exiting EL Students from EL Programs and Services - School Districts must monitor the progress of all EL students to ensure they achieve English Language Proficiency and acquire content knowledge within a reasonable period of time.

WIDA is your go to resource to help you implement standards and equitable educational opportunities for your English Learners.

Using WIDA, along with your state standards help all ESL teachers:

1) meet the language needs of their ELs

2) assign appropriate accommodations and modifications based on individual proficiency levels

3) scaffold instruction for ELs in the ESL classroom and in the content area classroom, by supporting classroom teachers with guidance on differentiating their instruction and assessments.

In my newsletter of August 2019, I wrote about dyslexia and how 1 in 5 students who are struggling to read, are really struggling with dyslexia and we have to find a way to help them.

Usually people have one dominant eye but research finds that dyslexics have TWO dominant eyes and they are competing against each other to focus on letters and words, which impacts the ability to read fluently.

Reading interventions have to be tailor made for a student who has dyslexia. One size does not fit all. I found that many English Learners struggle with reading and most teachers felt they were struggling because they did not know the English language yet. But this is not the case for many ELs, who have undiagnosed dyslexic and are struggling to learn a new language at the same time they are trying to learn to read. My focus has been to try and not only help our ELs who are struggling two fold but all students who deserve to find joy in reading.

I've continued to research and look the world over to find a curriculum or product that can help students who are struggling with reading due to dyslexia. I'm pleased to announce that our CESA 3 member districts may have the opportunity to try a remarkable product once it is cleared for market in the United States! I've been in touch with this company and I like what I see, hear and the testimonials that have been provided.

For further information directly from the company to our CESA 3 Districts, please continue reading:

After 20 years of research, in 2017, two French scientists published their research which pointed towards the left-right asymmetry of the Maxwell spot being responsible for Dyslexia (1).

Jean-Baptiste Fontes, Lexilife founder, and CEO along with Thomas Zuber our Chief Science Officer saw this as the perfect opportunity to develop a concrete solution with a practical application and Lexilight was born.

Over the past couple of years, the technology has advanced, from our v1.0 to the current v2.0 which you might have seen on our brochures. While the team has grown in France, from Paris, Rennes, factory in Saint-Malo and internationally in London UK.

Our customer experiences all over Europe, with more recent testimonials at The Festival of Education back in June 2019 (2), have shown that over 90% show a clear improvement when using the lamp. While you will be able to find numerous other testimonials on our YouTube channel.

We see 2020 as a big year where we will expand and promote our product widely within the market. This is why, along with our recent trip to CES Las Vegas this month, we have been appearing on numerous news publications throughout the world.

(1) www.the-scientist.com/daily-news/symmetrical-eyes-indicate-dyslexia-30732

We look forward to you joining us in helping all the people with Dyslexia.

let's keep encouraging ALL of our ESL parents to continue helping their children become fluent readers and speakers in their FIRST language and do our best to encourage our students to keep learning in TWO languages! The world will be a better place! Our students are OUR future!

I'm pleased to announce a new pilot program from February 17 to April 17, that will help anyone working with English Learners have access to a comprehensive printable library that will help your English Learners soar! We will have access to the Standard and Plus plan for two months to determine if this is something we should pursue with a license, either through CESA 3 or at individual districts/buildings. Please see the link below for more information on this. If you would like to be a part of this pilot, please email me at vshaw@cesa3.org by February 5 and I will get you set up!

The Standard Plan provides you with:

• 1,000+ PDF lessons
• 3,000+ flashcards
• 200+ PDF resources
• 500+ audio files to accompany lessons
• Up to 30 student licenses (per teacher)
• Ability to assign digital reading, listening, and dialogue tasks to use in class or at home

The PLUS Plan provides you with:

Hundreds of interactive tasks and activities to use with students on their devices (tablets, phones or laptops). The focus of these tasks and activities is to encourage in-class digital pair work, as well as providing:

• Access to over 500 digital interactive resources
• Up to 100 student licenses (per teacher)
• Ability to assign 12+ digital interactive task types to use in class or at home
• Ability to view students’ digital results in real time
• Measure student improvement using digital history
• The ability to assign digital homework to your students for self-study

There is a WEALTH of information at the National Clearinghouse for English Acquisition (NCELA). Check it out!

WIDA's Can Do Descriptors show teachers, parents and students what an individual English Learner can do at the proficiency level they are currently at in the 4 domains of reading, writing, listening and speaking. All teachers and administrators should be familiar with the CAN DO Descriptors as most teachers and administrators will have English Learners in their classrooms/districts sometime in their teaching/administration career.

I think it's important to have individual conferences with your English Learners and go over their ACCESS test scores and use these Student Friendly Can Do Descriptor Charts to further explain and set goals for individual students as they track their journey towards social and academic English Proficiency. This can also be used to help content area teachers understand the 2nd language acquisition process and how to best accommodate English Learners in their classrooms.

And it's FREE! Click on the link below to explore!

ACCESS Testing may be over but there is more to be done!

2020

January 31 -Test Window Closes

January 31 -Test Setup Closed

February 7 -Deadline for DRC to receive materials

March 2 -Pre-Reporting Data Validation Window Opens

March 10 - Pre-Reporting Data Validation Window Closes

April 24 - ISRs and Data Downloads Available in WIDA AMS

April 24 - Post-Reporting Data Validation Opens

May 1 - Paper ISRs Received by Districts

May 8 - Post-Reporting Data Validation Closes

ACCESS TESTING until January 31!

Finish your testing and then make sure to join us for this informative WIDA workshop!

Interpreting ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports for Instruction

Co-Sponsored by UW-Platteville School of Education!

University of Wisconsin-Platteville

1 University Plaza, Markee Student Center

Platteville Room

Platteville, WI 53818

May 4, 2020

8:30 AM-3:30 PM

This training is designed for ELL Educators, K-12 Educators, Administrators, and ELL Coordinators with students who have been administered one of the ACCESS for ELLs suite of assessments in grades K through 12.

Description

The ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports provide specific information on students' academic English language proficiency. During this training, participants will explore how the WIDA Standards and Assessment System is connected to the ACCESS for ELLs score reports. Participants will examine the different types and uses of score reports. They will also make connections between the students’ proficiency scores and WIDA Performance Definitions.

Participants will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of the ACCESS for ELLs Assessment
• Identify the differences in the types of ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports and their uses
• Describe considerations and methods for disseminating information contained in the score reports
• Expose the academic language connection between score reports and WIDA Performance Definitions
• Recognize how to use the score reports in collaborative conversations to inform language development

Agenda
Morning Session

• Introduction and training overview
• Review the ACCESS for ELLs suite of assessments and make connections between the WIDA Standards and Assessment System
• Explore assessing language development verse content achievement
• Recognize the levels of English proficiency and what linguistic characteristics delineate each level
• Classify the different types of scores are conveyed on the score reports and how to understand their purposes
• Reveal the various score reports and their uses
• Communication and interpretation of scores with colleagues

Afternoon Session

• Explore the dimensions of the features of academic language
• Consider students’ English proficiency levels reported on score reports differentiating instruction
• Analyze the language demands of instructional task and identify the supports students’ would need
• Reflect on options for communicating how to use students’ scores to aid language development
• Locate resources on WIDA website
• Closing and evaluation

Register here:https://cvent.me/Z2R7a

I'm excited to provide for you the Mrs. Wordsmith bundles to look at prior to purchasing! These will be ready to check out mid-February. The dictionaries are amazing, the games are fun and the sight word books will help all students learn critical vocabulary. When checking out, please do not use the sight word sticker books, as they are single use books for individual students. These books are for you to look over and see what you think before you decide to buy your own set for your classroom! Play the games, use the dictionaries and see your students reach the reading stars!

CESA 3 pricing discounts are below:

Storyteller Master Bundle = $59.93 (if we have 4 orders from either one school or 4 districts)

Epic reader Master Bundle = $88.35 (if we have 4 orders from either one school or 4 districts)

Please contact vshaw@cesa3.org for orders.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me - vshaw@cesa3.org

Email: vshaw@cesa3.org
Website: cesa3.org
Location: Fennimore, WI, USA
Phone: 608-822-3276