Program Newsletter

Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

EWSD ML Liaison Prem Bhattarai coordinated a family donation of 100 beautiful blankets. These blankets were for any student or family in the EWSD who could use a blanket/blankets.

Lal Maidali and Oma Maidali are the husband and wife who donated the blankets. They are the owners of the Sagarmatha Grocery Store in Winooski.

Most of the blankets were donated to EWSD community members. Some of the blankets were donated to families living in temporary situations.

A big thank you to Prem Bhattarai and the Maidali family!

A big thank you to all who attended and presented at the NNETESOL networking event in September! Also thank you the the EWSD Facilities Team and Essex High School for taking care of the set up and clean up and providing space for the event.

Photos from the Networking Event

Here are some photos from the event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/t4WsJ3XyMzrU7ddN6.

Additional Resources

Here is the folder of resources that VT ML Director Stephanie Vogel and NH ML Director Janna Jobel spoke about.

Vermont was well represented at the October 2024 WIDA conference! In the photo below you will see two of our state Title III coordinators, three WIDA fellows, two VT ML Coordinators who led workshops and our ELLevation rep. We hope to see you next year!

Here are some translated lists of resources for families. The resources on the lists are the ones we use the most frequently. If you know of a resource that should be included that provides support to all people, regardless of immigration status, please let us know. There are many wonderful community organizations that provide support to the EWSD community and beyond.

If your family lives in any of these situations:

• In a shelter
• In a motel or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation
• In a car, park, abandoned building, or bus or train station
• Doubled up with other people due to loss of housing or economic hardship

Your school-age children may qualify for certain rights and protections under the federal McKinney-Vento Act. Please see the flyer below for more information.

If you are an educator and know of a family who may qualify, please ask your school's McKinney Vento liaison to fill out the referral form. Your school's McKinney Vento liaison will either be the administrator or a designated counselor.

Families and farmworkers often face barriers when it comes to accessing education. Vermont Migrant Education Program (VMEP) staff works hard to eliminate barriers and bridge the gap between resources and students. If you know of an EWSD family member who has worked or is working in farming or agriculture in Vermont and they are interested in being connected with this program, please let your school's EL teacher know.

Brochure in English

Brochure in Spanish

The United Nations publishes a Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Click here to learn about the image.

"No person should live in fear, and if we all work together, Vermont will be a true place of refuge, safety and economic opportunity for all". -Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity

Read the full opinion piece here.

A big thank you to the Language Justice Project for creating and sharing these translated videos for families about their rights with ICE.

Here are some additional links that may be helpful:

• Immigrant Rights Schools Need To Know- by Role
• School Crisis Playbook-Deportation Response.pdf - Google Drive
• Vermont Asylum Assistance Project- Know Your Rights
• I.C.E in Schools- Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
• We Have Rights-An Empowerment Campaign for Families and Community Members
• Know Your Rights- NEA

The EWSD is proud to offer a comprehensive support program for multilingual employees, including Workplace English classes, translation services, and a mentorship initiative. CTE ML teacher Marina Brzostoski leads the Workplace English classes, which she carefully designed to address participants' professional, personal, and educational objectives. The program pairs new multilingual employees with experienced mentors, providing targeted support and guidance. These well-attended classes recognize the diverse backgrounds of adult learners, focusing on practical language development. Interested EWSD employees are encouraged to inquire about the program. Click here to see the flyer.

Open Job List

Come work with us in the EWSD! Please see the link below for the full list:

https://ewsd.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

Language Support

The amazing EWSD Language Access Team created videos in multiple languages to share with families. There is a phone number applicants can call to leave a message with an interpreter who will help them apply. The link for the translated videos is below. The videos are provided in Nepali, Vietnamese, Spanish, Swahili and French. We hope to add more videos soon.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkrb-d3iMBwYb_gPfEyImUhhylRyGKXE1

Are you interested in being a part of the EWSD Multilingual Advisory Council? Our application process can be found on our new webpage. The council meets monthly to provide guidance on the direction of the EWSD Multilingual Program. You can also ask any Multilingual Liaison or translator to help you apply. We hope you can join us! A big huge thank you to lead facilitator Seham Alsakkaf and the EWSD Multilingual Advisory Council for all that you do!

The Vermont Multilingual Program Coordinators and Directors Support Group is a group that meets monthly with the goal of fostering meaningful collaboration, advocacy, and inclusivity among educators who serve multilingual learners across the state. We are inclusive of anyone who runs any part of a multilingual program no matter your title, so please don't hesitate to join! If you are interested in joining the support group, please email tparks@ewsd.org.

"So, if AI has gotten so good, and so good at translation in particular, why are there still so many jobs for translators and interpreters? 'Well, I don’t think it’s that good,” says Daron Acemoglu, a superstar economist at MIT who studies AI. “I think how good AI has become is often exaggerated". Sebasto: “AI still struggles with complex linguistic tasks that require creativity, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand subtle nuances in meaning".

Click here to read more.

The EWSD K-8 English Learner PLC (professional learning community team) has made notable progress in developing students' speaking skills. In our last meeting, K-8 EL teachers introduced innovative strategies like brain frames, thinking maps, and AI-generated conversation prompts to support English Learners' communication development. EL Steering Committee leaders Terri and Courtney have led the way in sharing strategies for linguistic skill-building.

• Tools for Increasing Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking into Core Classes (shared by Courtney)
• Using AI with Multilingual Learners (shared by Terri)

Every year, all identified English learners must take the WIDA ACCESS test. Here is a link to the Vermont WIDA calendar. Our test window is open from January to March.

If you are an EWSD school test coordinator for ACCESS, please make sure to send Tamara your certificates of WIDA training. Gentle reminder- all active ELs must take the ACCESS test even if they have declined services (see page 7 of this document or the US Dept of Ed EL Toolkit).

If you are a district ACCESS test coordinator, here's the AOE Field Meeting Slides that HeidiJo/Stephanie sent out in case you missed them in your email inbox.

Thank you to the EL teachers for all your hard work during ACCESS testing season!

Learning more than one language is an asset to individuals, families, and our entire society.

Early childhood teachers can share the benefits of bilingualism with families and their communities, find ways to support children’s home languages, and encourage families to keep their language strong.

Developing the child’s home language provides the foundation for reading and writing, preparing children to be biliterate.

Researchers have found many benefits to being bilingual and biliterate. Click here to see just a few!

Dozens of languages other than English are now spoken in the homes of many of Vermont’s school children. EL teachers provide the bridge for learning for these students.

Licensed teachers interested in earning an additional endorsement in teaching English Language Learners, may do so through the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MATESOL) program (36 credits), or as a stand-alone Certificate in Teaching English Language Learners program (18 credits).

All three programs prepare successful candidates to teach English learners in Vermont public schools in grades PK-12.

In the EWSD, the Multilingual program serves English learners and multilingual parent/guardians who require translation and/or interpretation. Are you curious about the main federal laws and policies that protect K-12 Immigrant Students and English learners and their families? If so, please click here to read an article by Julie Sugarman from the Migration Policy Institute.

Evaluating students for special education who are multilingual and learning English requires additional considerations. EWSD teachers and leaders have developed this tool to support teams in that process. We want to provide this resource to help with special education referral and determination for multilingual learners.

Initial Considerations

Special Education Referral & Determination Checklist for Students Receiving EL Services

For EWSD Staff: After reviewing the checklists, please let us know what types of follow-up would be most helpful by completing this short survey.

Image source: Colorin Colorado

Would you like to learn more about the EWSD Multilingual Program?

Here are a few links you may find helpful:

• EWSD Multilingual Program Home Page
• Eligibility for EL (English Learner) Services
• Resources for Families
• Translation Services
• EWSD Lau Plan/Program Procedures

Email: tparks@ewsd.org
Website: https://www.ewsd.org/page/multilingual-learner-program
Phone: (802) 857-2008