Spotlight on Field Insights: High-Impact Standards Implementation

The Spotlight Series is designed to support your planning and implementation of impactful strategies for multilingual learners. As PSUs work to enhance NC ELD standards implementation, we're excited to feature real-world examples of these standards in action. This series offers detailed support for the ELD Standard framework, highlighting how these examples address specific language expectations.

In this second issue, we again draw from our 2024 Summer Conference slide decks, presenting key standards with practical examples and insights. These practices align with best practices and support your instructional goals and the NCSCOS. 

Spotlight 2:

Using Mentor Texts to Support MLs’ Writing Development

• Specific content and ELD standards
• Tips for using the resource
• Closure

Explore Spotlight 2: Using Mentor Texts to Support MLs’ Writing Development in the notebook! 

Spaces Still Available for WIDA Español 

PLUS Optional Site Visit!

December 10, Pitt County OR December 12 (Optional site visit 12/13) Burke County 

This one-day hybrid workshop will investigate practices that support language development and equitable instruction through teacher collaboration, student collaboration, and leadership support. Participants will have access to tools and resources to support a plan for collaboration that promotes language development for multilingual learners. 

NOTE: Burke has offered an optional DL/I Site Visit from 8:30 - 10:30 am, the day after the training, on Dec 13. 

WIDA Español: Instructional Planning for the Bilingual Classroom. 

Description: This one-day bilingual workshop will invite participants to explore instructional planning for the bilingual classroom from an asset-based perspective, recognizing that emergent bilinguals bring many contributions to the school community. Specifically, participants will discuss bilingual students’ dynamic identities and communicative repertoires in the classroom. This workshop will connect ways educators can intentionally maximize the linguistic practices of emergent bilinguals through a multimodal approach to teaching and learning. 

Participants will collaborate to analyze instruction that is guided by the sociocultural context and is reflective of emergent bilinguals’ linguistic and cultural practices.

Participants will be able to

• Recognize the value of emergent bilinguals' assets to reflect on language ideologies
• Analyze ways to create meaningful contexts for language use connected to content concepts  and skills
•  Reflect on the demands of teaching and learning in the content areas Agenda
• Identifying Bilingual Students’ Assets
• Meaning-making through Multiple Modalities
• Attending to Bilingual Practices and Cultural Flexibility through Instruction

Register for WIDA Español: Instructional Planning for the Bilingual Classroom  

Call for PLC Facilitators

Project Overview

Project Ignite (Innovation to Grow, Nurture, and Inspire Teachers of English-Learners) is seeking teacher leaders with experience working with educators to support multilingual learners and their families to serve as Professional Learning Community (PLC) facilitators. The PLCs will focus on promoting literacy through 1) providing families with evidence-based strategies and/or 2) facilitating the use of data by educators to enhance students’ literacy skills based on the needs of the school and local communities.

 PLC facilitators may propose specific topic of focus related to working with multilingual learners in general classroom settings, in dual language/immersion (DL/I) programs settings, with additional support services, or in other community settings. You can find sample PLC topics on the Project Ignite website: https://ignite.uncg.edu/professional-learning-communities/.

 PLC Participant Responsibilities

All participants will engage in 24 hours of professional development activities during the academic year (August - May) including:

• 9 hours of asynchronous modules
• 2 hours of small group PLC sessions (1.5 hours per month for 8 months)
• 3 hours of whole-group sessions involving all PLC participants (1.5 hours per semester)

PLC facilitators will participate in 20-hours of online professional development in the spring semester (January - May) in addition to leading PLC activities.

Grant Funding

• Stipends are allocated for PLC facilitators ($800) and teacher participants ($600)
• PLCs may choose to apply for additional funding from the grant for family engagement events and activities that promote literacy.

Facilitator Interest Form
You can complete this form to express your interest to serve as a Ignite PLC facilitator. The form takes 15-20 minutes to complete. In addition to your proposed PLC topic, the form includes several open-ended questions inviting you to share your background, experiences, and plan to facilitate PLC discussions. There are limited PLCs we support every year. Representatives of the project team will follow up with selected PLC facilitators regarding the online PD for facilitators starting in January.

For questions regarding Ignite PLC, please contact Ye (Jane) He at y_he@uncg.edu.