Diversity of Voices Highlights Language Backgrounds of OELA Team
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Language plays an important part of our lives. Here in OELA, we have a diverse staff that represents a myriad of languages that we are excited to highlight in July and August. Every Friday, our goal is to feature the voices of our team members speaking about their language backgrounds.
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As we celebrate language as a dimension of American diversity, we encourage you to share these
#FluentFriday posts with your community adding the languages you speak and the ways being multilingual has shaped your life.
Check out the first two videos:
- Jessica Swan is an Education Program Specialist and speaks Spanish as well as some Italian, Czech, and Albanian. Listen to her voice as she explains how language has enabled her to connect with others and see the world through their eyes.
- Ann Navarro is an Education Program Specialist and speaks Spanish and English. Growing up, biliteracy was an essential part of her everyday life, and she knew from an early age that education generally and bilingual education specifically would be a part of her profession. Listen to her voice as she explains how her knowledge of language has enabled her to teach students and communicate with their families.
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NAM Grant Highlight: Mâyuhtyâôk (Building Pathways) for Wampanoag Student Achievement
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This summer, the Numukayuhsunônak (Our Children Speak Two Languages) program in Mashpee, MA, is celebrating its first ever Wampanoag Tribal student to successfully complete Wôpanâak Pâsuq (Level 1), Nees (Level 2), and Nuhsh (Level 3), along with submission of an outstanding multi-part language portfolio.
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Ms. Alyssa Harris, a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and graduating member of the Mashpee High School Class of 2020, was recognized by the board of directors of the
Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project (WLRP)
and the Office of the Superintendent for Mashpee Public Schools “for exemplary performance and completion of a comprehensive set of Wôpanâak language portfolio activities.” Harris is also the first student in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to ever pursue the Seal of Biliteracy in a Native American language.
Numukayuhsunônak is a five-year bilingual program offered by the nonprofit organization WLRP with funding from OELA's Native American and Alaska Native Students in School program.
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NPD Grant Highlight: Educators and Families for English Learners (EFs4ELs)
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- Provide pre-service and in-service teachers with training/professional development and licensure attainment to systematically build the capacity of classroom teachers to support EL achievement;
- Deliver an online professional development infrastructure for EL instructional skill acquisition to augment in-person coaching and PD and enhance teacher skills and connection;
- Support the capacity of administrators, instructional coaches, and staff to bolster the success of EL teachers and learners in grades Pre-K-6 through improved instructional skills, data use, and classroom supports; and
- Expand partnerships with and enhance parent skills of EL learners through technology, targeted intervention and systematic outreach.
When COVID-19 physically closed EFs4ELs’ partnership schools in mid-March, parents of their ELs were faced with additional struggles. EFs4ELs created family engagement videos in English, Somali, and Spanish to offer insights for parents around optimal learning contexts.
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Spotlight on Dual Language Programs
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Dual language education promises to give students access to key 21
st century skills—namely bilingualism, biliteracy, and global awareness—and because of the expected benefits for ELs, more schools are adopting this model.
According to data from school year 2016–17, 30 states reported using Spanish in their dual language programs, making it the most used partner language.
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The next, most prevalent partner languages were Chinese/Mandarin, French, German, and Vietnamese.
Learn more about dual language education programs in these OELA publications:
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July 21, 23, 28, and 30, 2020
Online Training
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ExC-ELL is an evidence-based model of instructional practices for teaching academic language, vocabulary, discourse, reading comprehension, writing skills, and social-emotional competencies in all content areas. Participants in The ExC-ELL Virtual Institute will learn, practice, and apply ExC-ELL instructional strategies in interactive breakout sessions, a discussion board, and implementation tasks.
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July 25, 2020
Virtual Conference
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VirtuEL is a free, online conference for teachers of ELs. This year’s keynote presenter is author, blogger, and educator, Larry Ferlazzo.
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Join REL West, the Region 15 Comprehensive Center, and the National Center to Improve Social & Emotional Learning and School Safety for a free webinar and panel discussion on how school district and site leaders can support the social and emotional needs of students as they return to school.
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November 19-22, 2020
Virtual Convention
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The 2020 NCTE Annual Convention will be held online in November. Registration rates and session details will be available by the end of July.
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Monterey Herald
Monterey, CA is a very linguistically diverse place with schools that have the largest number of multilingual students in the state. This article explores ways this local community can support ELs, their families, and other members of the community who need language support.
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Lake County Record-Bee
With the Coronavirus pandemic exposing discrepancies in equity for many ELs around the country, new approaches to supporting underserved populations of students are needed. This article urges educational and legislative leaders to invest in innovative and quality professional development and support for EL educators.
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KUNR
This radio interview reports on the impact of distance learning on ELs from Nevada’s Washoe County School District. The conversation focuses on what the transition from in-person to online learning looked like for ELs and their families and how the district’s staff provided support and ensured uninterrupted access to instruction for elementary and secondary EL students.
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Yahoo News
Members of the Lindenhurst community, the largest Polish community in Long Island, NY, protested their school district’s decision to end the Polish-English dual language program after only one year. Members of the community argued that the program was very successful and should continue, while district’s staff cited a shortage of qualified teachers and an inability to identify bilingual students during the pandemic as the factors in favor of ending the program.
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ELLevation
With many schools around the country adopting a remote or hybrid model of instruction for at least the first part of the 2020–21 school year, educators of ELs must also pivot their focus to long-term EL support in a remote setting. This blog entry provides tips for schools and districts on how to support EL educators, students, and families in the upcoming school year. Tips focus on the provision of professional development, fostering family engagement and community support, and empowering EL students and families.
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Edutopia
This article provides strategies for modeling and scaffolding instructional tasks for ELs during remote learning. Strategies include providing examples, explicit guidance, and clear task expectations; implementing language frames; using video instructions; and chunking steps for completing assignments. The publication highlights examples for all the modeling strategies.
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This course provides an overview of important issues facing education professionals, particularly English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, in supporting ELs with disabilities.
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The Call for Submissions for the 2021 AERA Annual Meeting is open and the deadline has been extended to August 14, 2020 at 11:59 pm PDT. The 2021 AERA Annual Meeting will be held April 9–April 12 in Orlando, FL.
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Second Language Research and Practice is accepting submissions for research articles of up to 8,500 words and descriptive reports and position papers of up to 5,000 words. To be considered for the 2021 volume, manuscripts must be submitted by January 15, 2021.
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American Institutes for Research (AIR)
Washington, DC, Rockville, MD, Crystal City, VA, Chicago, IL, San Mateo, CA, or Austin, TX
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Democracy Prep Public Schools
Camden, NJ
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Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
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El Sausal Middle School
Salinas, CA
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Tuesday, July 28, 2020, for inclusion in the next edition of Nexus.
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National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA)
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