RBERN West Newsletter

Become a presenter: submit a proposal to conduct a workshop that addresses emerging topics which highlight current issues; these workshops should be engaging and provide opportunities for our attendees to actively participate in deep discussions. To become a presenter, click here.

Nominate an outstanding and exemplary colleague for an award: individuals may be nominated for one of seven professional awards. To nominate a colleague, click here.

Encourage talented students to participate in one of our contests: students may enter a contest for an outstanding essay or artwork; there will be three awards given at each grade band level: elementary, intermediate, and high school. For more information, click here for the essay contest, and click here for the art contest.

NYSESLAT Ordering Instructions: Click HERE

Please contact Pearson’s New York State Customer Support at 888-705-9415 Monday – Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (ET) with any questions about accessing PAN and/or ordering requesting materials. Contact the Office of State Assessment at 518-474-5902 or via email with any questions about NYSESLAT or student participation.

Although the examples given will be for Checkpoint B, these workshops are open to teachers of any level (Checkpoints A through C). These in-person events will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (with a one-hour lunch on your own) on two consecutive days.

Thursday, July 6th - Friday, July 7th - Erie 1 BOCES (355 Harlem Rd., West Seneca, NY 14224

Participants must commit to attending both days. Participants who satisfy the attendance requirements of this workshop will receive a total of eight (8) hours of CTLE credit. To participate, educators must register in advance using the following online form. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until the venue capacity has been reached. These sessions are offered free of charge, are in-person only, and will not be recorded for future viewing.

Linked here is the December 2022 edition of the OBEWL Newsletter. This month's issue has the following featured articles:

This month’s issue has the following featured articles:

• Letter from the Associate Commissioner
• New York State Seal of Biliteracy Infographics for 2021-22 Released
• Associate Commissioner Alvarez Addresses the 16th Annual Hispanic Parents Leadership Conference
• Clinically Rich-Intensive Teacher Institutes for Bilingual Education and English to Speakers of Other Languages
• ELLs’ Social Emotional Learning —Part II: Building Capacity to Implement and Improve Social-Emotional Learning Practices
• East Ramapo and the Hudson Valley RBERN Collaborate on Advanced Literacies Professional Learning Community
• New York State Language Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN) Hosts Online Series: “Immigrant Connections”
• Latin and the Revised World Language Standards—Interpersonal Speaking & Listening
• Spring 2023 World Language Professional Learning Series Announced

News from Other NYSED Offices

Please check back monthly as we add events and update any sections that say "TBD"!

The first Professional Learning Circle for Teachers of Ukrainian Students met over Zoom on November 9th. We were joined by educators from across the Western New York Region and shared a Resource Guide for Educators of Ukrainian Students.

If you would like to join this PLC to discuss educating and supporting recently resettled students from Ukraine, we invite you to join us on January 10th, February 8th, and/or May 9th. You may register on Frontline at the link below, even if you cannot attend all of the sessions. We hope to see you there!

Consider participating in this Language RBERN Immigrant Professional Development Series. Sessions include:

Understanding the Background of Central American and Venezuelan Students & Families (Focus on NYC)

• PART 1: SATURDAY / DECEMBER 03, 2022 / 9AM - 12PM
• PART 2: MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023 / 12PM - 3PM

Supporting EL & Immigrant Students & Families: It's More than Just Language

• SATURDAY / DECEMBER 10, 2022 / 9AM - 12PM

Immigrant Family & Community Engagement in Schools

• PART 1: SATURDAY / JANUARY 14, 2023 / 9AM - 12PM
• PART 2: SATURDAY / FEBRUARY 4, 2023 / 9AM - 12PM

More information and the link to register are found here.

Join the MidWest RBERN Regional SIFE Taskforce

So you have identified student(s) as SIFE, now what? This taskforce is recruiting members with an interest and/or expertise in working with SIFE. Our aim is to provide support for educators who are currently working with SIFE by creative problem solving and highlighting the best practices of identification, placement, programming, and resources to ensure Students with Interrupted Formal Education have equitable access to schooling. Our bi-monthly meetings will be held on the following dates virtually over ZOOM from 4:00-5:30 pm.

February 8, 2023

April 12, 2023

June 7, 2023

Please click HERE to register

For more information about Canisius College's Teacher Residency Program, click here.

Graduate Program Application (fordham.edu)

This document provides the scale score ranges for the 2022 New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), along with guidance and information concerning the interpretation of the scale scores.

Similarly, this folder contains NYSITELL raw score conversion charts.

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden indicated that the United States would be receiving more than 100,000 refugees from the Ukraine. It is anticipated that significant number Ukrainian refugee students would be entering New York State public schools. To assist districts and schools, the Statewide Language RBERN has compiled a list of translated materials for your use. Each of the documents are hyperlinked for ease of access.

NYS Statewide Language RBERN Team

Niagara University College of Education teacher candidates enrolled in EDU578 and EDU579 learned the foundations of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and the role multicultural literature plays in instruction this fall 2022 semester. Within an in-depth global exploration of culture and values, candidates were able to glean inter-cultural awareness, stretching literacy beyond our national borders.

Each teacher candidate was assigned two English language learners (ELL) from LaSalle Preparatory School in the Niagara Falls City School District (NFCSD). Throughout the semester, the teacher candidates and ELLs wrote to one another in a dialogue journal. The prompts for each week's journal entry asked strategic questions in order for the candidates to learn about the unique cultural and linguistic background of the ELLs.

The teacher candidates then conducted an authorship project with their ELLs from LaSalle Preparatory School. This project included writing of an “original” story based on the culture and/or personal experiences of the student and family. The teacher candidates wrote the story and the students from NFCSD created the front/back cover illustrations for the book. The students from NFCSD took a field trip to NU and visited Castellani Art Museum where they participated in an art making workshop for their illustrations.

After the stories were completed, they were sent for printing. The final class session was held at LaSalle Preparatory School where family members of the ELLs, teachers, and administrators joined together for an author’s share and dinner. NU candidates presented the final book creation to the group and it was given to the families to enjoy.

RBERN West welcomed Maria Pérez Gómez, author of The Magical Closet Mystery to the E1B campus on December 9th, 2022. She led a powerful presentation for bilingual educators titled The Power of the Le Lo Lai: An Invitation to Purpose, Pride and Hope. Thank you to all the bilingual educators that work tirelessly to advocate and support our students to reach high levels of academic success in two or more languages! We see you! Pa’lante

To purchase The Magical Closet Mystery

Maria's Website

The Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network West is part of a statewide system of support, funded by the NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages (OBE-WL).

Mission: Collaborate with educators, parents, and community members to promote academic excellence and ensure high school graduation for all multilingual learners.

Vision: A community that provides access to an excellent and equitable education for multilingual learners that prepares them to be prosperous participants of a free and democratic society.

Email: rbernwest@e1b.org
Website: rbernwest.e1b.org
Location: 355 Harlem Road, Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: 716-821-7531
Twitter: @RBERNwest