It is time to do the annual spring assessments of students on your caseload and start building Annual Instructional Plans (AIPs) for the 2025-2026 school year. Please refer to the instructions for the spring assessments, which is found below as well as on the SD61 homepage. It is a good idea to prioritize students in grades 5 and 8 as transition meetings will be taking place in May and having up-to-date information to share would be helpful.

Case managers are responsible for completing the spring assessments for students on their caseloads and writing new AIPs for the 2025-2026 school year. Oral language assessments and templates for unaided writing samples are in the shared Google drive entitled ELL/ESD Teacher Resources. Middle and secondary schools use the IPT reading assessments (Ballard & Tighe). Best practice for new students is to complete language assessments for all areas (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Depending on results of past assessments and demonstrated need for supplemental support in the classroom, returning students need a minimum of one language area. The criteria for ESD supplemental support requires that the results of an oral language assessment reflects a need for supplemental support.

Once assessments are complete, use the results to determine the development of new AIPs with new goals and suggested supports and adaptations. Be sure to select the appropriate assessment standard (primary/intermediate/secondary) in section B: Background. Sections A to E as well as H (uploaded assessments) should be filled in for all AIPs for the 2025-2026 school year before the end of June. In the fall and before September 30, case managers will complete the remaining sections F and G in the AIPs once their support schedules have been established.

All funding-eligible ELL students for next year require a new AIP for the 2025-2026 school year. Funding eligible means that next year they will have 5 years or less years of support on the 1701. At least one language assessment must be completed (oral, reading or writing) for every student this spring and new goals set in the 2025-2026 AIP by the end of this school year.

Please feel free to reach out to Jen Barber at jbarber@sd61.bc.ca for guidance or if you have any questions or would like further guidance.

With gratitude,

Jen Barber, District MLL/ELL Teacher Support

David Hovis, District Principal

Use your ProD funds to take this self-paced course on how to support newcomer Immigrant and Refugee students in any classroom using the SIOP.

An important new resource, Anti-Racism: A Guide for Teachers, is now available. Developed by a team of B.C. IBPoC educators, this guide will give B.C. teachers additional tools and strategies for including anti-racism education in their teaching practices to help foster learning through an anti-racist lens to address discrimination and celebrate diversity.