Monitored Former English Learners
It just got easier for you to find your Monitored Former English Learners. Look for the new icon in PowerSchool!
Remember to share this new flag information with your data managers, registrars, and school counselors. They will see this icon generate when ACCESS scores indicate a student has exited, when records are transferred between schools within NC, and/or when ACCESS scores are added from out of state for a student who is Exited. They might be the first ones to see this flag when registering a student, so be sure they know who to contact for monitoring services.
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An updated list of your MFEL students roster can be found in PowerSchool by following these simple steps:
- Go to State Reports
- Click on the sqlReports 5 tab
- Click on the “English Learners” cell
- Click on the MFELs report
- Hit the Submit button
Under Title III of the ESEA, as amended by ESSA [Section 3121(a)(5)], Charters and LEAs must report on the number and percentage of former ELs meeting state standards for four years. We are expected to establish a rigorous monitoring system that includes appropriate steps to assist students. Chapter 8 of the Department of Education’s Newcomer Toolkit outlines tools and resources for monitoring our Exited language learners.
Click this link to Chapter 8: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/english-learner-toolkit/chap8.pdf
If you see any discrepancies in your Exited data, please submit an RCR to susan.walz@dpi.nc.gov using the RCR process.
Do You Want Current And Accurate Information In A Timely Manner?
We want to get information to you as quickly as possible. Having accurate contact information for your School district or Charter school is a critical step in making this happen. Please complete the Updated EL Contacts form with the following information:
- EL Coordinator (name and email)
- EL Data Manager (name and email)
- Federal Programs Director (name and email)
Accurate Data Impacts Funding
As a School district/Charter school, it is critical that you are reporting accurate data as it impacts your funding sources. Quality data should be accurate, well documented, match reality, complete, consistent, and verifiable.
What are some “best practices” for you to consider?
- Recognize that data gathered at the local level drives enterprise-wide decisions.
- Ensure that all data handlers understand the importance of accurate data.
- Understand/support resources needed to attain/maintain quality data.
- Provide/support initial and ongoing data quality training initiatives and ensure that these opportunities extend down into the data-entry level.
- Build profiling and/or audit reports into local source systems.
- Keep quality at the forefront when developing new collection systems by building validation checks on the front end.
The Data Management Group at DPI asks that everyone working with student data review and sign this data agreement. Signed security agreements can be stored in your school district/charter school locations.
The ESL/Title III team is working on creating “best practice” videos and presentations to help guide these processes. If you have anything you would like to contribute or suggest, please email your suggestions to susan.walz@dpi.nc.gov or marshall.foster@dpi.nc.gov.
PowerSchool Continues To Have Issues With The Instructional Updates
We are still experiencing a problem with PowerSchool when trying to add W-APT and/or Screener Instructional Updates. Rather than adding a new record, it is writing over the original record. Please do not add any Instructional Updates in the W-APT Screener section of the EL Record in PowerSchool. PowerSchool is working on correcting the problem and hopefully, we will see a resolution in the near future. Initial current year W-APTs or Screeners can be added without any problems. A current EL record can be created to indicate a student is an English Learner. You will be able to add the scores once the problem is resolved. Please do not submit any RCRs with Instructional Update scores as the problem cannot be corrected at the State level either.
ACCESS Pre-Reporting Data Validation Window
April 1-12, 2019
Data validation is the process of reviewing student ACCESS test records to identify errors and make corrections before score reports are produced. When the data window is open, LEAs will be able to make real-time data corrections in WIDA-AMS to individual student demographics, accommodations and test results. For example, if a District/School label was adhered to a booklet, but demographic information was not bubbled or bubbled incorrectly, this information could be added or edited during this time. The seven fields that are required for data validation include first name, last name, district, school, student ID, birth date, and grade level. This process is critical to making sure our data is complete and accurate!
There is an excellent WIDA Webinar that was recorded and is now available on the WIDA ACCESS Resources website for anyone required to participate in this data validation process. Please review this link: https://portal.wida.us/ACCESSTraining/Video/Webinars/2019/PostTesting-Data-Validation2.21.19.aspx This webinar was prerecorded and will not be presented by WIDA until late April. This date will not work for our State so PLEASE review this webinar on your own and email susan.walz@dpi.gov.nc if you have any questions or concerns.
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SPOTLIGHTS
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Project EnACTeD
With the growing number of Dual Language/Immersion (DL/I) programs and the increasing number of English learners in NC K-12 schools, there is a need to better support all NC teachers working with emergent bilinguals and English learners.
Mayra Hayes, EL Director from Guilford County Schools (GCS), quoted research from the Houston Education Research Consortium, when she urged all classroom teachers to be better prepared to support the growing number of English learners, and Leslie Baldwin, World Languages Program Manager at Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS), pointed out: We need more DL/I teachers because immersion programs are growing at an exponential rate. We need to ‘grow our own’ and train bilingual educators to be successful in the immersion environment so that we can meet the skyrocketing demand for teachers.
To respond to this need, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), in partnership with GCS and WS/FCS, started the Engaging and Advancing Community-centered Teacher Development (EnACTeD) project with funding from a U.S. Department of Education National Professional Development grant. The EnACTeD project is designed to offer online professional development (PD) to educational professionals working with English learners and provide tuition support for NC K-12 teachers interested in completing the add-on licensure coursework at UNCG.
In addition to many GCS and WS/FCS educators who have participated in the PD and UNCG add-on licensure program, teachers from other NC school districts have also joined the program. Shameeka Wilson, a teacher at Balfour Elementary School in Asheboro City Schools, is currently taking the ESL add-on licensure courses as part of her progression toward obtaining an M.Ed. degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from UNCG, and she shared this: Project EnACTeD has offered me the opportunity to take classes centered around the historical aspects of TESOL, educational theory and implications, dual language instructional practices, and methods courses for TESOL. I have also had the opportunity to attend EnACTeD events which bring together students, working professionals, and university professors who are all dedicated and support the mission of the project.
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English Learner Family Toolkit
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) have released the first two chapters of the English Learner Family Toolkit. The chapters are designed to assist families with navigating the U.S. school system by providing helpful questions they might ask teachers and school staff.
For more information please visit the OELA’s home page.
The Toolkit does not encompass all resources about services for English learners but does offer a sampling. For the reader’s convenience, the toolkit is free and accessible online.
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Looking for Contact Hours for Licensure Renewal?
WIDA eLearning Workshops
North Carolina is one of the pilot states offering the first four WIDA eWorkshops. These online workshops are available until summer 2019. Districts with a combination of more than 10 Content area/ESL teachers/Administrators who complete at least 3 of the workshops each, will be eligible for a special award to continue their professional growth.
Flyer: WIDA eLearning Workshops
1. If you already have a WIDA account, login to your account and look for the eLearning Center Icon.
2. If you do NOT have a WIDA account, complete this form: I need a WIDA account to complete the online workshops.
For more information contact Xatli Stox at xatli.stox@dpi.nc.gov
WIDA Early Years - New Webinar Available
What K-12 Educators Can Do to Support Young Multilingual Children
This webinar discusses school readiness and raises three key guiding questions: Is your district ready to support young multilingual children? Is your school ready? Is your staff ready? Young multilingual children are children ages birth to five who are developing more than one language. Ensuring a smooth transition from early care and education, or ECE, environments to K-12 systems is critical to their success.
Objectives
Participants, or viewers, will be able to:
• Discuss differences between the WIDA Standards Framework components for Early Years versus K-12
• Identify appropriate ways to integrate WIDA Early Years resources into local practice
• Identify ways to address unifying themes in the WIDA Essential Actions for Early Years and K-12
Target Audience
This webinar is designed specifically for K-12 educators. However, the content can also benefit early care and education (ECE) audiences. We encourage collaborative teams of K-12 and ECE educators to view the webinar together.
• K-12
- EL/Bilingual teachers
- Content teachers
- District and School Leaders
• Early Care and Education
- Practitioners
- Teachers
- Program Leaders
"Are We Ready?" Webinar (Login to your WIDA Account)
"Are We Ready?" Handout
SAVE THE DATE!
The summer EL Support Conference will be held the first week of August in Greensboro, NC.
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CCES 2019
March 18-21 in Greensboro, North Carolina
The CCES team has released a detailed schedule that will allow you to build your schedule based on sessions, presenters, or conference presentations. Use the quick link to navigate to the detailed session guide at http://bit.ly/2019CCESSessionDetails or visit our schedule webpage to see all the information that has been posted about the conference.
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NC Migrant Education Program Summit
April 30, Summerfield, NC
Attend the NC Migrant Education Program Summit
Date: April 30
Time: 9-3pm
Location: Laughlin Professional Development Center. 7911 Summerfield Rd, Summerfield. NC, 27358
Register at: https://goo.gl/forms/ikq3cAJvBv9uE1Fl2
For more information, contact Heriberto Corral, Migrant Education Program Administrator at heriberto.corral@dpi.nc.gov
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