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December 9, 2020
IDEA's 45th Anniversary 

This year marks the 45th anniversary of President Gerald Ford signing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Check out the Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) anniversary-related OSEP Fast Facts and the IDEA 45 Years page, the hub for all OSERS content related to the commemoration.
New Portal Captures CARES Act Funding

A new online portal shows how states, local educational agencies, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) are using federal aid from the CARES Act’s Education Stabilization Fund to keep learning going for students during the pandemic. 
Ensuring Continuity of Learning and Information
Check out our continuously updated Resources. These resources are intended for school personnel and institutions of higher education to improve distance learning and the support of ELs and their families during school closures.
NCELA Resource Library
Visit our database of 20,000+ resources.
Year in Review: 2020 Resources for EL Educators
2020 has been a very eventful year for us all with many local, national, and global issues impacting the educational landscape. Through it all, OELA remains committed to serving ELs and their families, and the administrators and educators who support them.

This year, we dedicated ourselves to producing new resources that facilitated the switch to distance learning, highlighted EL-focused instructional approaches, and convened leading voices in the field who provided useful insights. These resources can be used to improve the education of ELs, better understand educational policies that impact ELs, and facilitate a deeper understanding of how to best engage EL families.

Take a look at the highlights below and be sure to download any resources you missed!
Announcements
Resources to Support School Closures
As a part of our COVID-19 response, we launched a new page on NCELA: “Ensuring Continuity of Learning and Operations,” which features free resources intended for school personnel and IHEs to improve distance learning and help support ELs and their families during school closures. The content is divided into three sections:


Do you have a resource to share? Submit your resource for consideration by completing the Remote Learning Resources Submission Form.
Podcast Series and Webinars
OELA’s educational specialists hosted a range of EL experts in sixteen new podcast episodes and webinars on instructional approaches and strategies for educators. These resources highlight promising practices related to dual language education, teacher preparation, teacher collaboration, distance learning, students with interrupted formal education, early childhood instruction, and culturally responsive school practices.

Visit NCELA to check out all of our podcasts and webinars.
Benefits of Multilingualism 
In 2020, we celebrated language as a dimension of American diversity, with the Benefits of Multilingualism infographic, which emphasized the cognitive, educational, economic, and sociocultural benefits of learning multiple languages.

On Fluent Fridays this summer, we shared our Diversity of Voices video series, featuring OELA’s educational specialists sharing their experiences with language and how multilingualism has impacted their lives.
Fact Sheets
This year, we released 14 new fact sheets on ELs, covering topics such as common home languages, high school graduation rates, college and career readiness, Head Start enrollment, rates of absenteeism, retention, and suspension, and more. 
Upcoming Events
Drawing upon recent recommendations regarding evidence-based instructional practices, this webinar will explore concepts and activities for developing ELs’ oral language by interacting with peers and engaging in the learning and doing of science.
Join the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) for a two-day virtual institute providing proven strategies and practical resources that attendees can immediately use to create a welcoming environment for newcomer students and facilitate their learning.
Through an engaging online platform, join a global community of English language professionals to build your professional English language teaching (ELT) network; learn from and interact with thought-provoking keynote speakers; gather research, strategies, and best practices from experts in the field; and visit the Virtual Expo for information on the newest ELT products and services.​
April 27-29, 2021
Hybrid Conference
The NABE conference will be structured as a two-day hybrid conference with a Pre-Conference on April 27 and the Conference on April 28-29. The theme is “Honoring the Past, Treasuring the Present, and Shaping the Future.” 
In the News
Delaware State News
Milford school district, where the EL population continues to grow, is trying to “build bridges” for EL families by connecting them with other families and with district and community resources. The district will hold virtual meetings with EL families to survey their interests and needs and provide information regarding accessing students’ grades, college readiness, and other education-related topics.  
KSL.com
Edison Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Utah was recently one of the eight schools to be recognized by the Utah State Board of Education as “exemplary” for its efforts on behalf of ELs. The EL population at the school makes up 64% of students. In addition to ELs at Edison Elementary meeting the state’s annual growth goal, the school reached the additional benchmark of 10% of their ELs achieving English proficiency. 
The Hechinger Report
This report presents the results of the Hechinger Report/Associated Press analysis of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) enrollment data from 40 states. The analysis reveals that there is often a large disparity of enrollment in STEM and CTE high school courses for Black and Latino students, with the latter often steered away from STEM education and encouraged to enroll in CTE courses. The report provides examples of this disparity from regions around the country.  
eSchool News
Culturally responsive teaching is a way to have multicultural and multilingual students see themselves and their communities reflected in educational content. This assets-based approach leads to higher achievement and motivation for emergent bilingual students. This publication offers six tips that can be implemented by educators in a remote setting to create a culturally responsive classroom. 
Ellevation
This Ellevation blog post provides tips and strategies on how to create a productive dual language environment for young learners in a remote setting. The suggestions include making connections with learners’ home lives, creating a productive bilingual environment, and strengthening partnerships with the partner language teachers. 
Professional Learning
Set yourself apart to teach with a certificate from TESOL International Association, a globally recognized provider of ELT professional learning. Gain foundational knowledge in the theory and practice of English language teaching, focus your skills on teaching adult or young learners, and apply what you’ve learned through an in-person or virtual teaching practicum.
NABE invites all education experts, researchers, authors, and successful practitioners with information of interest to submit a proposal for its 50th Annual International Conference. NABE seeks proposals that engage participants in topics related to quality education for ELs and Dual Language Learners (DLLs) such as achieving educational equity, ensuring social justice through strong linguistic and academic attainment, and providing equal educational opportunities.
CARLA has announced the course lineup for its Summer Institute Program. The institutes are primarily targeted at elementary through postsecondary foreign/world language educators and language teacher educators. 
Take part in an engaging online professional learning community and earn a certificate for 12 hours of professional development upon successful course completion. All SupportEd online courses are go-at-your-own-pace with intermediary deadlines, and most courses are based on books by Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder. Optional graduate credit is available. Courses include: Strategies for Making Content Accessible to ELs; Strategies for Building ELs’ Academic Language; Effectively Reaching Your Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE); Creating a Culturally Responsive School Climate; and Effectively Advocating for ELs.
Job Opportunities
Mastery Schools
Philadelphia, PA
TNTP
Flexible Location, West and Southwest Regions Preferred
Alexandria City Public Schools
Alexandria, VA
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Disclaimer: NCELA Nexus is intended to share information that can be of use to educators, parents, learners, leaders, and other stakeholders in their efforts to ensure that every student, including ELs, is provided with the highest quality education and expanded opportunities to succeed. The information and materials presented on NCELA Nexus do not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by NCELA, the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), or the U.S. Department of Education.