R10 BE/ESL News

March 1, 2020

TELPAS is here! Let's get ready to rock and roll!

Confused by the STAAR Dictionary Policies?

The STAAR guidelines for the use of dictionaries varies depending upon the content of each STAAR assessment. This can get a little confusing. Please select the picture to the right to see a side-by-side breakdown of the STAAR dictionary guidelines.

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TELPAS

TELPAS is in Full Swing -- Hang on Tight!

We would like to address one specific TELPAS question that seems to come up frequently regarding the TELPAS writing samples. Please see the question and its response below as well as a few TELPAS reminders. As always, if you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Region 10 English Learner Support Services.

Do I have to cover all my posters and anchor charts and create a secure testing environment while the students are writing their TELPAS samples?

NO! Writing samples are to be collected from authentic classroom writings that are grounded in the TEKS and ELPS. Samples should be selected from general classroom writing tasks and not from a "special" TELPAS writing assignment "given" on one specific day. Since these writings are collected from authentic classroom writing tasks, it is allowable for students to use the resources and accommodations they routinely and effectively use during class instruction. As cited on page 15 of the 2019-2020 TELPAS Rater Manual: Instructional accommodations do not interfere with the holistically rated assessment process if they do not invalidate the ability to evaluated the students English language proficiency levels according to the PLDs.

Things to Remember:

Per TEA, holding TELPAS writing "sessions" is not allowable.
Providing students with a pre-formatted 26-line STAAR-like template would not be allowable as students should be encouraged to write as much as they are able.
As the samples are to be collected from authentic classroom activities; ELs should not be the only students writing. All students should be participating in these tasks.
Photocopies of classroom writing assignments may be included in the writing collections as long as all copied pages are clear and legible. Suggestion -- make a copy of any writing sample that may be graded or subject to peer/teacher editing. Use the original for grading and/or review and file the copy with the TELPAS writing samples.

End of the Year LPAC Trainings:

March 24 in Princeton ISD
March 30 in Royse City ISD
March 31 at Region 10
April 1 in Midlothian ISD
April 13 in Sherman ISD
April 15 at Region 10
April 20 at Region 10
April 22 at Region 10

All Things TELPAS:

TEA Resources for English Learners:

Single State-Wide Assessments for EL Identification and Reclassification:

Bilingual/ESL Annual Symposium

Registration is Open! Do not Wait! Take advantage of early registration. For more information visit the Symposium dedicated Smore:

https://www.smore.com/hr3v1

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Are you interested in presenting at our Region 10 Annual Symposium this summer? Would you like the opportunity to attend the symposium free of charge while sharing your knowledge with others? Please complete the following form to submit your proposal. Deadline has been extended to March 31st, 2020.

https://forms.gle/uW6RdLYaX9WQiPik7

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We are looking for Sponsors and Exhibitors for our event.

More information can be found here:

http://bit.ly/R10PowerofUnitySponsors

Title III

Title III Symposium

Registration for the annual Title III Symposium is now open. You may visit the following link for registration, hotel and presentation proposal information.

http://www.title3.esc2.net/

Region 10- Title III Immigrant, Newcomer, Asylee, Refugee Fair

7 Useful Scholarships for Latino and Hispanic Students

Share this information with your High School Staff. Many opportunities for our students.

https://studentloanhero.com/featured/scholarships-for-latinos-ultimate-guide/

English Learner Portal

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Check out the redesigned English learner web portal!

The portal NOW introduces resources for parents and families of English learners and a NEW strand focusing on building community partnerships. This innovated portal provides a one stop shop approach for all stakeholders to access state and federal guidance and web-based resources to boost student outcomes. The site now offers a translation feature to toggle between the top languages in Texas.

Visit www.elltx.org and see how you can implement these great resources to increase the impact on the academic success of the State’s English learners.

Source: TEA

The Latino Family Literacy Project

Did you know that Lectura Books has a website dedicated to providing resources to increase family involvement in literacy?

Lots of wonderful resources were included in their October Newsletter that was relevant to English Learners. Information can be found on their website https://www.lecturabooks.com/

October's edition has been shared below:

Lectura Books

October 2019

FREE Webinar Training for Parent Engagement, Reading, and Academics

As an educator, you know the importance of family engagement. However, with the changing demographics in the United States due to the influx of English Learners (ELs) and newly arrived immigrants, you might find it difficult to communicate with EL students and their parents. Typically, to obtain these skills, you have to travel to a seminar and spend countless hours developing these skills and learning about how to engage EL families. But that is a thing of the past! Read more.

Honoring the Families' Knowledge Base for Family Engagement

Family engagement is very important to the academic, social, and emotional development of children. However, creating meaningful links between home and school can be complex and difficult to achieve, especially with English Learners (ELs). Read more.

When We Talk About ELLs We are Talking About the Entire Family

English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing population in the U.S. public education system. According to the National Education Association, there are about 10 million ELLs enrolled in U.S. public schools. By 2025, it is estimated that, one out of every four students in U.S. public schools will be an ELL student. Read more.

Family Reading Circles and the Home-School Connection

Reading Circles became popular in the school setting during the 1980s. They started out as student-led discussion groups that functioned similarly to book clubs and served a significant role in the improvement of literacy and language skills. Fast-forward to today, and the traditional Reading Circle has taken on a new life. Read more.

5 Ways Poverty Impacts Learning

The poverty rate in the United States was a staggering 12.7% in 2016. That translates to a total of 40.6 million people living in poverty in the United States. The Federal government set the poverty threshold to around $24,000.00 for a family of four. With that being said, 21.2% of all children in the United States are living in poverty, which is about 1 out of every 5 children. Read more.

A Fun Way to Break the Ice with Parents at School

Children are not the only ones weary about going to school and new situations. Parents oftentimes are apprehensive of going to their children's school and meeting with staff and teachers. This can be even more stressful for parents of English Language Learners (ELLs), as they too are either ELLs or non-English speakers themselves. Read more.

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The following resources are available to support our Newcomer/Immigrant students:

Supporting Immigrants in Schools Videos and Resource Guide

are now online and free for everyone to access:

www.cuny-iie.org

The Newcomer Toolkit

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/newcomers-toolkit/ncomertoolkit.pdf

Bilingual/ESL Coop Services

Upcoming Sessions

The following sessions are open to any LEA and free of charge for members of the BE/ESL Coop. You may register by visiting our website and searching by title or session ID.

https://txr10.escworks.net/

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pdf

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BE_ESL Cooperative_Session Offerings - Currently Offered 2019-2020.pdf

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Did you file for Exemptions and/or Waivers?

Are you looking for ways to allocate the 10% BEA funds?

We Can Help! In addition to services included in the Coop, we also provide customized professional learning and results-driven

coaching services for a discounted rate to Coop members.

For more information, please contact Emma Selig.

Spanish Spelling Bee

We have rescheduled the Region 10 Spanish Spelling Bee!

You now have plenty of time to still have your local Bee and get your LEA student representative signed up to participate in the regional competition.

To register your students please dad their information to this link: https://forms.gle/KWwhVu9oqWjJwWEg9

Resources and Local Events

8 Ways to Scaffold Writing for English Learners

Great blog post by Valentina Gonzalez.

You can it here:

https://seidlitzblog.org/2019/04/10/8-ways-to-scaffold-writing-for-english-learners/

Looking for ways to increase your PLN?

If you are looking for flexibility and more options than the traditional PD sessions, try Twitter Chats. There is a huge EL network on twitter.

Check out this calendar with chats with moderators who are experts in the EL field.

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2020-2021 Tejas Star Reading List

The Texas Library Association is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 Tejas Star Reading List. This carefully curated list of Spanish and bilingual titles is designed to encourage children ages 5 to 12 to explore multicultural books and to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. The Tejas Star Reading List is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum.

There is an old Spanish saying that states, “Quien sabe dos lenguas, vale por dos,” meaning that a person who knows two languages is worth twice as much. It is the hope of the Tejas Star Reading List committee that these books will play a part in making this a reality for readers.

The list includes fiction and non-fiction picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels with themes of cultural identity, STEM and environmental action, as well as stories about Latin-American countries and important historical figures. Among the 24 books on this year’s list are stories that may make readers laugh, cry, celebrate who they are, and take ownership of their world.

Bilingual/ESL Team Contact Information