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Equity & Excellence for English Learners

Poster Session: Call for Proposals

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PosterSession2018MATSOL invites currently matriculated students in teacher preparation programs to submit a proposal to present a poster session on a topic related to English learner education at MATSOL 2019 Conference.

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Posters should contain a summary of an academically sound scholarly or creative project presented in a visually engaging format, highlighting work through charts, graphs, maps, etc. Proposals should include the main topic(s) and description of the visual display. Presenters should plan on short, informative discussions with convention attendees throughout the entire poster session.

Proposals due March 1, 2019 — View the Call for Proposals…

MATSOL Comment on Proposed Public Charge Rule Changes

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logo-matsol_181007_400x192MATSOL recently submitted comments regarding the public charge rule changes being proposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. MATSOL’s comments focused on the negative effects of the proposed change on immigrant students and their families. View MATSOL’s comments

TESOL International Association also submitted comments that highlighted a number of concerns with the proposal’s plan to use English language proficiency to determine if immigrant applicants are likely to ever utilize certain public benefits, which would cause their requests for green cards or visa changes to be denied.  View TESOL’s comments

Review Proposals for the MATSOL 2019 Conference

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colorful-up-hand-background-vector-id457484253Proposal reviewers play an important role in ensuring that presentations at the MATSOL conference reflect the best practices in the field and needs of the MATSOL audience. We look for reviewers with expertise in all audiences and presentation topic areas so that all proposals receive fair peer reviews.

Who may apply?

You may apply to review proposals if:

  • You are a MATSOL member in good standing
  • You have internet access and can use online proposal management system.
  • You are able to review proposals between December 20, 2018 and January 15, 2019. Expect to spend 1-2 hours on the reviews.

Note: You may review proposals if you have also submitted a proposal to present. 

Proposal reviews take place online via ProposalSpace, our online proposal management system. A rubric is provided with the evaluation criteria and scoring guide. All proposals are double-blind reviewed. The reviewers will not know the authors’ identities, and the authors will not know the reviewers’ identities.

How to apply?

Submit the online reviewer application form by Wednesday December 12, 2018: Proposal Review Application.

You will be notified by email if you are selected and will receive information on how to conduct the reviews.

Update on Creating New ELE Programs

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The following information was shared in the Commissioner’s Weekly Update on November 16, 2018:

Reminder on Creating New English Learner Education Programs and Available Grants:

Department encourages districts to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Language Opportunity for Our Kids (LOOK) Act to offer new programs to meet English learners’ linguistic and academic needs. The Department’s Office of Language Acquisition has extended the deadline to submit preliminary proposals to December 21 in order to give districts more time to plan. The office will review preliminary proposals in two business days and will help districts finalize their complete proposals by January 1. More information, including a quick reference guide on “Starting a New English Learner Education Program”, is available at the same link.

Two competitive grants to plan for implementation of new English learner education programs are available for districts that have more than 1,500 English learners and for districts serving Gateway cities.

The Department will hold webinars on at 3:00 p.m. Monday, November 19 and at 11 a.m. Tuesday, December 11 to share information about the proposal process and grants. Any district that is planning to propose a new English learner education program or would like to learn more about the opportunity is encouraged to participate if they did not participate in the earlier webinar. Registration is open online.

Links & Resources – Nov 2018

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Become a MATSOL Member to receive our links and resources in MATSOL’s monthly e-bulletin! 

  • 6 Facts about English Learners in U.S. Public Schools
  • iDod Fact Sheets: Data on immigrants, customized for you
  • The School-to-Deportation Pipeline
  • Joining Together to Create a Bold Vision for Next-Generation Family Engagement: Engaging Families to Transform Education
  • Video Snapshot: See How One Monolingual Teacher Supports Many Dual Language Learners!

INTERACTIVE FACT SHEET
6 Facts about English Learners in U.S. Public Schools

There were nearly 5 million English language learners in U.S. public schools in fall 2015, according to the most recent available data from the National Center for Education Statistics. This represented 9.5% of U.S. public school enrollees, an increase from 8.1% in 2000. View fact sheet…

RESOURCE
iDod Fact Sheets: Data on immigrants, customized for you 

Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) provides academics, policy-makers, and the public with unbiased and objective information related to immigrants and immigration in the United States. This service is provided, free of charge, to help individuals and institutions examine the immigrant populations of their particular geography. From George Mason University. View resource…

REPORT
The School-to-Deportation Pipeline

As immigration enforcement becomes more aggressive, schools have become increasingly risky places for undocumented students. From Teaching Tolerance. View resource…

REPORT 
Joining Together to Create a Bold Vision for Next-Generation Family Engagement: Engaging Families to Transform Education

Commissioned by Carnegie Corporation of New York this report is intended to spark a conversation around the power of family, school, and community engagement. The paper begins with a challenge, namely: How do we work with families and communities to co-create the next generation of family and community engagement, providing equitable learning pathways—both in and out of school and from birth to young adulthood—that will enable all children to be successful in the 21st century? View resource…

RESOURCE
Video Snapshot: See How One Monolingual Teacher Supports Many Dual Language Learners!

In this snapshot, we focus on Albert, who is learning two languages at school. We see just how the monolingual teacher, who speaks English only, provides support—in English and in Spanish! View resource…

LOOK Act Updates from DESE

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LOOK Act Implementation Documents
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has posted documents related to LOOK Act implementation in the English Language Learners section of the website:

In Resources: http://www.doe.mass.edu/ell/resources.html

  • ELE Program Proposal Reference Guide & Proposal Forms
  • Parent information in multiple languages:
    • District Response to ELE Program Transfer Request 
    • ELPAC Information for Parents 
    • Parent Notification Regarding English Language Education
    • English Language Education (ELE) Program Placement

In Guidance: http://www.doe.mass.edu/ell/guidance/default.html

  • Guidance for English Learner Parent Advisory Councils

English Learner Education Updates 
Update from the Commissioner to the Board of Education, Oct 30, 2018: http://www.doe.mass.edu/bese/docs/fy2019/2018-10/item5.html (Scroll to the PPT flie at teh bottom of the page.

  • New process for starting ELE programs
  • Training and Technical Assistance
  • State Seal of Biliteracy
  • Bilingual Education Endorsement
  • Seal of Biliteracy

Seal of Biliteracy Criteria
The Commissioner has announced his decision regarding the levels and criteria for the State Seal of Biliteracy, establishing a two tiered award, the Seal of Biliteracy and the Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction, starting at a minimum of Intermediate-High level on the ACTFL proficiency guidelines for world languages. Read the statement form the Language Opportunity Coalition’s statement and plans to support additional “pathway” awards at the local level.

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Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project: 2019 Data Report
The Language Opportunity Coalition published a report on the third and final year of the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project in Massachusetts. View report…

Report on Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project

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sobl-hs-2018The Language Opportunity Coalition published a report on the third and final year of the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project. The pilot ended in June 2018 with approval of the official State Seal of Biliteracy, with implementation beginning in the 2018-19 school year.*

  • 26 school districts made 1,339 awards in 2018.
  • Languages included Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hebrew, Mandarin, French, Arabic, Marathi, Urdu, Haitian Creole, Polish, Latin, German, Italian, Tagalog, Urdu, Cantonese, Korean, Bengali, Arabic, Hausa, Thai, Russian, ASL, Hungarian, Dutch, and Luganda.

View the report…

* We are awaiting the Commissioner’s decision on key aspects of the state award, as well as release of the guidance document by DESE.

 

Translanguaging: Using Home Language as a Classroom Resource

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Rhode Island Teachers of English Learner Learners (RITELL) has invited MATSOL members to attend RITELL Conference at their discounted member price!

Translanguaging: Using Home Language as a Classroom Resource
Featuring keynote Ofelia Garcia
Saturday, October 20, 2018
8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Providence RI

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MATSOL Fall Institute: Enhancing Parent Engagement & Family Partnerships

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Strong family-school partnerships are built on mutual respect and trust and are based in a foundational belief that student success and district improvements are a joint responsibility. MATSOL’s two-day fall institute will explore these collaborative relationships at the classroom, school, district and community level.

Enhancing Parent Engagement & Family Partnerships

Thursday & Friday, November 8 & 9, 2018
Leominster MA

Day 1: Principles and Practices for Building Family-School Partnerships

Thursday, November 8
Presented by:  Dr. Bertha-Elena Rojas

Day 2: Harnessing the Power of Partnerships in the Classroom and Beyond

Friday, November 9
Presented by:  Dr. Debbie Zacarian

Audience

PK – 12 ESL, bilingual, classroom teachers; content teachers; specialists; coaches; supervisors and administrators.  Teacher educators from higher education institutions and professional developers involved with pre-service and in-service work.

Register for one or two days. A 15 PDP opportunity is available for participants attending both days.

Information and Registration

Public Comment on English Proficiency Benchmarks

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kdefgrvd_400x400The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is soliciting public comments on draft guidelines for the use of benchmarks toward attaining English proficiency through Friday, Sept. 21.

The draft guidelines include information on the English learner benchmarks (annual targets toward attaining English proficiency), guidance designed to help districts implement and understand the benchmarks, and an English Learning Success Template for districts to use as a resource to assist students who have not met their benchmarks.