Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines! ACCESS window opens today and will stay open until March 4th. My personal opinion on this would be to just get it done – the weather can and does cause problems every year. Remember, ACCESS is about measuring linguistic growth, not mastering content. All questions about this year’s testing should be answered in the current guide to ELP assessments. All current questions need to be directed to Drew Linkon at DESE, or WIDA and or DRC. Sorry, I have nothing.
DESE does have an ESL Listserve- all current information on ACCESS is being sent thru that platform. If you haven’t signed up, you should.
Crowder College is looking for a new Director for their High School Equivalency program. Look here for more information.
There are a lot of questions about what the ESSA will mean for ELLs. The short answer is: we don’t know yet. A lot will depend on the state. Here is information from the US Department of Education. Here is EdWeek’s take on it. AFT weighs in here. TESOL has their opinion here. Shawn Cockrum is working with other stakeholders to represent ESL in MO. They have hired a Director of ESL Curriculum at DESE. He will be starting this summer.
The US Department of Education also just released guidance on bullying and harassment based upon race, religion and national origin. They have provided lots of resources that may be of use to you and your districts.
The ESOL Odyssey ( a very nice little blog you should be following) has an interesting post about using Read and Write for Google Chrome. I think It has great potential for our students.
As you may know, the US Dept. of Education is looking for peer reviewers for their National Professional Development Grant competition.
WIDA Conference next year will be in Philadelphia on October 12-15. Please consider presenting, the call for presenters is open until January 22. TESOL Conference is in Baltimore April 5-8. NASDME is in San Diego April 24-27.
MASL is meeting April 24-26 in Tan Tar A. Penny Kittle will be speaking on Sunday from 9-12 about Book Clubs: Connecting Kids to Books. All ELA (and ESL) teachers can attend for free. Their site is a little confusing, but you can register here. I’m probably going to drive up for the day.
I am presenting Newcomers in Your Schools on February 19th. I have tons of resources to share! It’s a Friday, so you won’t be testing. You will not be sorry if you come, I promise. Spring ESL Academy is going to happen on April 22. Feel free to contact me if you would like to present or have any thoughts on what we should focus on.
The Missouri Federal Programs Conference is taking the place of the MELL Conference. We are looking for presenters.
Finally, I was a total sloth during my time off and was able to catch up on my documentary watching. PBS currently has one on their website called “East of Salinas” about an undocumented third grader and his teacher. It should be required watching for ALL teachers, but especially for those who work with this population. It’ll be gone soon, so take an hour out of your day and watch it.
I hope everyone is rested and recharged. Winter has finally arrived, so stay safe and warm. Thanks for all that you do!
DESE does have an ESL Listserve- all current information on ACCESS is being sent thru that platform. If you haven’t signed up, you should.
Crowder College is looking for a new Director for their High School Equivalency program. Look here for more information.
There are a lot of questions about what the ESSA will mean for ELLs. The short answer is: we don’t know yet. A lot will depend on the state. Here is information from the US Department of Education. Here is EdWeek’s take on it. AFT weighs in here. TESOL has their opinion here. Shawn Cockrum is working with other stakeholders to represent ESL in MO. They have hired a Director of ESL Curriculum at DESE. He will be starting this summer.
The US Department of Education also just released guidance on bullying and harassment based upon race, religion and national origin. They have provided lots of resources that may be of use to you and your districts.
The ESOL Odyssey ( a very nice little blog you should be following) has an interesting post about using Read and Write for Google Chrome. I think It has great potential for our students.
As you may know, the US Dept. of Education is looking for peer reviewers for their National Professional Development Grant competition.
WIDA Conference next year will be in Philadelphia on October 12-15. Please consider presenting, the call for presenters is open until January 22. TESOL Conference is in Baltimore April 5-8. NASDME is in San Diego April 24-27.
MASL is meeting April 24-26 in Tan Tar A. Penny Kittle will be speaking on Sunday from 9-12 about Book Clubs: Connecting Kids to Books. All ELA (and ESL) teachers can attend for free. Their site is a little confusing, but you can register here. I’m probably going to drive up for the day.
I am presenting Newcomers in Your Schools on February 19th. I have tons of resources to share! It’s a Friday, so you won’t be testing. You will not be sorry if you come, I promise. Spring ESL Academy is going to happen on April 22. Feel free to contact me if you would like to present or have any thoughts on what we should focus on.
The Missouri Federal Programs Conference is taking the place of the MELL Conference. We are looking for presenters.
Finally, I was a total sloth during my time off and was able to catch up on my documentary watching. PBS currently has one on their website called “East of Salinas” about an undocumented third grader and his teacher. It should be required watching for ALL teachers, but especially for those who work with this population. It’ll be gone soon, so take an hour out of your day and watch it.
I hope everyone is rested and recharged. Winter has finally arrived, so stay safe and warm. Thanks for all that you do!