As we approach the end of the school year, the ML/Title III Team wants to express our appreciation for your hard work and dedication to multilingual learners. Each year holds unique challenges and our amazing ML educators always find a way to overcome, work around, or turn them into successes! This year has been filled with challenges as we returned to our in-person events and our schedules started to look “normal” again. We appreciate your perseverance and the positive impact you make every day on the lives of our students. We look forward to seeing you in June at the Growing Success for MLs Summer Conference.

A Few Spaces Remaining for the ELD Summer Conference   Time is running out to register for the Growing Success for MLs Summer Conference.   See details below under Conference Updates

ELD Standards/Instructional Practices

New Resource Available PSU Leaders' Guide to ELD Standards Implementation The purpose of this document is to provide local leaders with guidance for sequencing educator professional learning on the English Language Development (ELD) Standards and provide resources for implementing the recommended professional learning sequence.   Whether PSUs are just embarking on ELD standards implementation or are well on their way to full implementation, PSUs are encouraged to adapt this sequence based on the readiness of their educators.   View this Resource in the ELD Standards Resource Hub!

From the Field

Utilizing the NC ELD Mapping Document for Content-Based Language Instruction 

By Adriana Marston, ESL Lead Teacher, Duplin County Schools

amarston@duplinschools.net

The Duplin County Schools' ESL/ELD Department created a plan to deliver face-to-face professional development to all certified staff in each of the 14 schools in the district. These sessions covered an overview of the ELD standards and an in-depth look into the resources developed by NCDPI for the implementation of the ELD standards (See one of the slides shared during our training at Unpacking the NC ELD Standards). These training sessions were delivered by Adriana Marston, Maria Uribe, and Robbin Cooper. The goal of the training for this school year was to bring awareness to the importance of content-based language instruction when teaching MLs. Additionally, we wanted to highlight the Mapping resource which connects the NC ELD Standard Course of Study to other content areas' Standard Course of Study.

The feedback we have received from classroom teachers and administrators exceeded our expectations. Most classroom teachers expressed their appreciation for the practical focus of these training sessions. We showed teachers how content and language can be taught in conjunction with one another, even in a mainstream classroom setting. Teachers found value in the Key Language Uses. One teacher stated, "I learned that in order to better reach my ML students, I need to assist them with understanding the Key Language Uses used in my class."

If you want to learn more about our PD plan, contact us at amarston@duplinschools.net.

Professional Learning to Internalize the ELD Standards

By Jessie Lodle, ML/EL Team Lead, National Heritage Academies

jlodle@nhaschools.com

During the 2022-23 school year, the National Heritage Academies (NHA) NC schools have been continuing our work of internalizing the ELD Standards to build upon the work that we started in 2021-22. We have done this through in-person professional development sessions, virtual professional development sessions, and by teachers observing other teachers in ML/EL Learning Labs.

We have had two opportunities for full day professional development sessions where we were able to dedicate time to the next layer of unpacking the standards. During our Back-to-School PD sessions at the very beginning of the school year, we were able to dive deeper into collaboration and Key Language Uses, as well as a session on the Science of Reading focused on phonological awareness specific to multilingual learners. During our Fall Regional PD sessions, we were able to focus on Language Expectations, Functions, and Features, as well as a session on the Science of Reading focused on phonics specific to multilingual learners. 

We have also had monthly virtual professional development sessions with our teachers. Our March session was the one that specifically related back to the collaborative process in the NC ELD Standard Course of Study and connected teachers to the NC ELD Standards Resource Hub, and specifically the unpacking resources. However, we tried to weave ELD Standards resources in other sessions also. For example, we wove Key Language Uses in the Lexia Lesson Planning session and the collaborative process into the Progress Monitoring session as we focused on collaboration around data.

Finally this spring, we have had opportunities for ML/EL teachers to observe other ML/EL teachers at our schools through an opportunity we call ML/EL Learning Labs. Up to six teachers and administrators were able to sign up to visit another school to observe instruction. Prior to the visit, the teachers shared their lesson plans with the visiting teachers and administrators. Many of these teachers have incorporated the ELD standards into their planning process, so it was an authentic opportunity for others to see how they used the standards in planning and also to have conversations about both the planning process using the standards and collaborating with core teachers. Here is an example of a Learning Lab agenda that shows the collaborative process and how it has become a part of this teacher’s daily schedule.

It has been extremely rewarding to learn and grow this year alongside all of the teachers as we work together to implement these standards. Our focus next year is going to be on monitoring language progress. I am excited to see the opportunities that this will give us to further explore the ELD standards and use them on an even deeper level.

Professional Learning Opportunities

WIDA eLearning Available until September 31! 

Do you…

• want to learn more about working with MLs in Science, Social Studies, Mathematics or ELA? 
• have long term ELs?
• wonder about home language use in the classroom?
• need CEUs for licensure?

WIDA Workshops are free and available to all NC public school and charter school educators! Self-paced online workshops are available from September 1 to August 31 of the current school year. 

*Note: There is no cost associated with registering to attend the face-to-face workshops or completing the online offerings. 

Choose from 9 titles with two specific to leadership!

Leadership Self-Paced Workshops

• Leading for Equity: Classroom Walkthrough | 2 Hours | Register
• School Improvement Planning for the Equitable Education of Multilingual Learners | 7 Hours | Register

eLearning Workshops

• Classroom Teachers: Engaging Multilingual Newcomers | 2 Hours | Register
• Social Studies: Engaging Multilingual Learners through Inquiry | 4 Hours | Register
• Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics | 4 Hours | Register
• Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena | 4 Hours | Register
• Home Languages in the Classroom  | 20 Hours | Register
• WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach | 4 Hours | Register
• Reframing Education for Long-term English Learners | 1 Hour | Register
• Making Language Visible: Exploring the Key Language Uses | 1 Hour | Register
• Equity-Focused Professional Learning Communities: A Resource Guide and Study Guides | 1 Hour | Register

WIDA provides educators with a certificate upon completion of each workshop. If participants do not receive the certificate, they may contact the WIDA Client Services Center.

Multilingual Learner Success: From Inquiry to Policy 

Speaker: Dr. Ester de Jong

This webinar is part of Strategies and Innovations for Multilingual Learner Success (or ML Success) project supported by The N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and North Carolina Collaboratory. The webinar highlights teacher inquiry that informs policy and practices to support multilingual learners.

Register to attend and explore the flyer to access more information.

Conferences Update

See upcoming conferences below and let us know what conferences need to be added for next month's publication. 

2023 Growing Success for MLs Summer Conference Join us June 20-22 at McDeeds Elementary School in Southern Pines, NC for the Growing Success for MLs Summer Conference.   ALL educators of multilingual learners (MLs) are invited to choose one three-day strand to attend.   Spaces are limited, register today!

June Conferences

SIOP June 26-28, 2023   Virtual Conference “Making an Impact” - Register

Spotlights

Inaugural Spanish Spelling Bee

By Carmen Rosado, Harnett County Schools

crosado@harnett.k12.nc.us

Dual language/immersion (DL/I) scholars from Angier Elementary, Boone Trail Elementary, Coats Elementary, Dunn Elementary, and Highland Elementary schools competed in the first-ever Harnett County Schools Spanish Spelling Bee Contest, Yo con letras leo, held at Angier Elementary School on Thursday, April 20th, 2023.

Carmen Rosado has dreamed about celebrating the knowledge and achievements of Harnett County’s DL/I students. This year, in conjunction with the great group of DL/I teachers, the first-ever Harnett County Spanish Spelling Bee was held. Sixteen students participated and, after 4 hours and 25 rounds, Briana Pedroza became the first Harnett County Spanish Spelling Bee Champion.

Congratulations, and a job well done by all participants! 

The spelling bee was a success and Carmen’s next plan is to host a Battle of the Books in Spanish.

Our students would like to compete with students from other PSUs in a state-wide competition. 

Contact Carmen at crosado@harnett.k12.nc.us with questions about the Battle of the Books in Spanish or if you are interested in a state-wide Spanish Spelling Bee Competition. 

Each school has a photo release signed by the parents.

First row from left to right: 2nd Place: Jennifer Liu, 4th Grade, Dunn Elementary School,  1st Place: Brianna Pedroza, 3rd Grade, Dunn Elementary School, and 3rd Place: Taery Avalos-Beltran, 5th Grade, Angier Elementary School. Back row: Carmen Rosado, HCS Title III//DL Lead

Bringing the Global Perspective of STEAM to Robeson County

By Sandra Lopez Greenfield-PSRC ML Lead, Public Schools of Robeson County

The Multilingual Program Team started a strategic collaboration with KIOSC (Knox Innovation and Sustainability Centre) from Melbourne, Australia to bring the global perspective of STEAM to Robeson County through an innovative learning station named La Casa. During the lesson, our multilingual learners built La Casa, a prototype of community well-being, in collaboration with their parents to practice skills and knowledge from the construction field. Dr. Kulari and Mrs. Leanne from KIOSC built background knowledge and provided comprehensible input sharing a live presentation.  

In alignment with the big idea of the ELD standards, Integration of Language and Content, our multilingual learners and their parents learned specialized vocabulary for science, math, and art with a design thinking perspective. Our multilingual learners also made Kangaroos, Australian Wombats, and Koalas printed in 3D donated by KIOSC for this special event.

Special thanks to Dr. Keri Sullivan from UNCP, Dr. Dia Thomas from Bladen County, and to our Science Coordinator, Mrs. Susan Hendrix, and to our Science colleagues in Australia, Dr. Kulari Lokuge Dona as well as Mrs. Leanne Caira from KIOSC, Australia for their support and participation, and Tamer Elsharkawy, ESL Teacher in our schools. 

This video clip will help you experience some moments of this meaningful collaboration among students, parents, and educators. For more information about this project, please reach out to sandra.lopez@robeson.k12.nc.us

(Video clip and photo used with permission)

Creating a Tapestry of Cultures "La Creación de un Tapiz de Culturas"  By Monica Bryant, ELD Teacher, Richmond County Schools  monicabryant@richmond.k12.nc.us   I always believe in the capabilities of my students. As an educator, I should provide opportunities for students to maximize their potential and leverage their skills and identity. This is why, when I came across a virtual exchange project facilitated by Margita Vojtkulakova in 2020, I knew it would be a great chance for my students to showcase their skills and culture while learning more about writing. With the approval of our district’s supportive administrators during the fall of 2022, I reached out to Katrina Nacar, a colleague I met in the Philippines who is now in Taiwan. She loved the idea, so from there, we built our plans. We communicated via Facebook Messenger, email, and video call. I created a Google Drive where we uploaded our outline, materials, students’ work, and other resources related to our project.    I used the NC ELD Standards Course of Study’s Key Language Uses to determine the kind of writing activities we will do with our students. We facilitated lessons and guided our students with their written outputs. The theme of the outputs is different aspects of culture because we wanted to promote cultural awareness among our students. I shared my students’ work with Katrina and vice versa through Google Drive. We assigned the exchanged works to our students to proofread and edit. We did not alter anything in our students’ works because we wanted them to be as authentic as possible. Our students used Google Docs to write their outputs and Canva to lay out the page. At the beginning of the project, we also created a FlipGrid activity where they were able to introduce and learn about each other.    During this project, I learned more about my students, especially those who have a passion for writing. Alisson worked closely with me on this project. She loves writing stories. Stephanie’s essay from this eBook placed runner-up in the Carolina Canvas Awards 2023 from Carolina TESOL. I am optimistic that this is just the beginning of the many future exchange projects I will be doing with my students. I know that this experience has been and will be enriching for us. My aspiration is for my students to work with different students across the globe.    I hope you enjoy the stories shared through this project as much as we have. Access our flip book at The Weavers: A Collaborative Book by Multilingual Learners From Taiwan and the US.

Family Engagement Night for Multilingual Families - Easy as 1, 2, 3

By Kelly Land, ML Teacher, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

kellyj.land@cms.k12.nc.us

Want to host an easy and effective family night for your ML families? It can be done! My school hosted a successful family night last fall with minimal cost and effort. The event was a huge success and the families all appreciated the night with their students. I am in the final stages of our Spring 2023 family night and cannot wait to share what we have planned and reveal the details of this event. I am also already planning ML family events for the 2023-2024 school year!

The event in November 2022 was held in our school’s cafeteria on a Tuesday evening. All of our  ML families were invited, including the students who recently exited the program the previous school year. Invitations were sent way in advance and sent in both English and in students’ home languages. The night began with families arriving and being greeted by staff along with interpreters. The families were then shown the way to the dinner choices and then sat and ate with their families. We then continued the night with a welcome from administrators and introduced all staff in attendance. The students who exited the program were then announced individually and came on stage to receive their certificate for exiting the ML program. A group picture was taken with ML teachers, school administrators, and the students holding their well-earned certificates. The night concluded with each student receiving a deck of playing cards with instructions in English and their home language for math review games. The games were ways to practice math facts at home to improve math skills. Families were then thanked again for coming to the event. Most of the families continued to stay and played math games as a family. The food and playing cards were donated by using Sign Up Genius and sent out to the school community for donations. This helped keep the event cost down which was an issue we faced.  

I hope this inspires you to plan your first or next ML family event. As mentioned above, it can be as easy as 1, 2, 3! Contact me at kellyj.land@cms.k12.nc.us if you want to learn more details about the event.

(Video clip and photo used with permission)

^{This listserv features highlights and/or initiatives regarding ELD happening in Public School Units (PSU) across the state. The information included in this message is self-reported by leaders of NC PSUs and shared verbatim. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, NCDPI does not endorse and makes no warranties, representations, or undertakings relating to the news shared by PSUs in this listserv update.}

Networking and Collaboration UPDATE

Connect With Other Educators

Join the educator groups in the library of open education resources #GoOpenNC. This is an opportunity to connect with other educators and share best practices, resources, and ideas. As a member of these groups, you have access to a collaborative platform where you can share your expertise, ask questions, and receive support from peers. Whether you are a new or experienced educator, this community offers a wonderful space to build your professional learning network.

Join these groups and be a part of this community of practice!

• ML Teacher Network
• ESL/ELD Lead Teachers
• LinguaFolio for North Carolina

Program Compliance

Title III Language Instruction Educational Program (LIEP) Service Plan

The LIEP for Title III PRC 104 subgrantees will need to be completed and submitted for review prior to its being uploaded into the CCIP. Please read and follow the information in the LIEP subgrantee 2023-24 document and email marshall.foster@dpi.nc.gov with any questions.

Professional Development Survey: Closes June 1, 2023

The Professional Development Survey, required for Federal Reporting, will be closing on Jun 1, 2023. The United States Department of Education (USED) requires each Title III English Learner Program subgrantee to report on its implementation of language instruction programs (LIEP) to their SEA (NCDPI). NCPI is then required to report this information to the USED.

The survey questions relate to the implementation of language instruction programs in your Public School Unit (PSU).

For more information

2022-2023 ACCESS and Alternate for ELLs Scores

ESL Coordinators and District Testing Coordinators should work collaboratively to ensure ACCESS for ELLs and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs score reports are sent home to parents/caregivers in a timely manner. 

Score Reports will be available electronically in WIDA AMS on Friday, May 19, 2023.  Public School Units can print score reports from WIDA AMS to send home with students. PSUs can also wait for the printed reports arriving in testing offices on June 12, 2023.

Of Interest

Wake County Public Schools has an opening for the Director of English as a Second Language (ESL)   This position provides leadership, supervision and coordination of the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of curriculum and instructional practices within the area of ESL to ensure that all multilingual learners meet and exceed the state standards. It also provides oversight of required state testing data, assessments, and compliance with all state and federal requirements for multilingual learners.   Questions? Contact: Shaneeka Moore-Lawrence, Ed.D. Senior Director of K-12 Instructional Supports Academics--Wake County Public School System 919-533-7753 (phone) Ext. 37753

Connect with the NCDPI Multilingual Learner/Title III Team!

ESLTitleIII@dpi.nc.gov

Twitter: @NCDPI_MLs #NCMLs #NCELD

NCDPI ELD Web Page | ELD Standards-Resource Hub | ELD GoOpenNC Hub

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