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Am Anfang…
Thursday, March 12, 2020 will stay with me for as long as I live. Not only was it my 33rd birthday, but it was also my last full-time, in-person day of being a classroom German educator. It was my last day being surrounded by my middle and junior high students, meine Lieblinge. I did not know it, but that night, after an anxiety filled birthday dinner of sushi, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer would release an emergency order and close all schools starting the next day. I had already submitted my application for the World Languages Program Supervisor position and had no idea what the future held.
Fast forward 16 months, and I’m now a year into my role here at OSPI. While most of my work weeks have been spent in my apartment with the cats (pictures for a later newsletter!), I have never felt so welcomed as I have by the Language Community here in Washington. Over the past year, I’ve worked with all the content areas within OSPI, had one-to-one meetings with the Office of Native Education, collaborated with Bilingual Education, and have even made presentations about the Seal of Biliteracy to the statewide Registrars cohort! We’ve put forth a change to the WAC authorizing the Seal of Biliteracy to bring focus to American Sign Language and to clarify the rules regarding Native, Tribal, and indigenous language proficiency and Tribal Sovereignty. Since July 1, 2020, I have hiked Mt. Rainier (Tahoma), watched whales off Orcas Island, backpacked Dosewallips, skipped rocks in the Pacific, tubed down the Clackamas, and climbed Friction Slab on Mt. Erie, but all of those pale in comparison to the real hard work of creating equity within and among students, languages, and cultures with limits on the resources of budget, time, and people.
Learning languages is not a zero-sum game—nobody loses when we all learn to communicate with and see from other perspectives. My time here at OSPI will be dedicated to advancing and expanding the Seal of Biliteracy. Language education is compatible with all graduation pathways—from those students looking to enlist in our military, to those who seek to earn certification in trades, and to those headed to university and beyond. World Language instructors support the building blocks of all other educational endeavors and that is why I am so passionate about working with you all. Do not hesitate to contact me or my office, and thank you for joining me on this adventure.
Bis nächstes Mal!
-Frau Doctor Veronica
veronica.trapani@k12.wa.us
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WAC 392-410-350 Seal of Biliteracy Revision – Public Hearing Date
A public hearing about proposed changes and revisions to the Seal of Biliteracy WAC has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, September 14 at 10:00am.
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Washington State K-12 World Languages Learning Standards Revision Workgroup Creation
To ensure the quality of Washington’s World Language standards, OSPI reviews and revises them every seven to eight years. As the current WL standards were adopted in 2015, the time has come to create a workgroup to revisit the criteria and create benchmarks and indicators. We will be sending out applications for those interested in helping with this important work starting in September. Our goal is to keep equity, diversity, and inclusion at the forefront of our development process, as well as creating connections and honoring all the magnificent cultures within Washington.
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Super Less Commonly Taught Languages (Super LCTLs) Survey
Do you teach students who speak one of the following languages at home?
Bisaya/Visaya, Cebuano, Dinka, Fijian, Fur, Icelandic, Karen, Kirundi, Kosraean, Krio, Kunama, Lingala, Luganda, Mandinka, Palauan, Pohnpeian (Micronesian), Soninke, Tedim/Tedim-Chin, Toishanese, or Tongan
Fill out this quick survey about student interest in assessing for the Seal of Biliteracy and/or Competency Credits.
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Test Section Resets and Retakes will allow for the test taker to log back in to their original test and re-select the desired section. Only entire test sections will be reset and not individual questions/prompts. Once the test section reset or retake request has been processed, you will be able to instruct the test taker to sign back into their original test and complete that section. Read more on Avant's website.
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All Languages:
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Nov 18-21 | Stipend Award Program ($100) for First Time Attendees, BIPOC educators, New Teachers (<3 yrs)
National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) Summer Conference
International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT) Free Webinars
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July 27 | Pressbooks for Dynamic Language Teaching Materials and Open Educational Resources Webinar
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Spanish:
Education Office of the Embassy of Spain PROFEX Fall Trainings (en español)
- Last day to register: July 21
There are 6 different activities with a total of 30 hours each. They are completely free, and they will get a certificate of attendance issued by the Ministry of Education of Spain and the distance learning University of Spain (UNED).
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French:
AATF is undertaking some great DEI work and it is vital to collect data to help move their equity initiatives forward. The taskforce page is a great resource for lesson plans about DEI as well as Social Justice.
During the first three weeks of July, on Tuesday-Thursday mornings, the American Association of Teachers of French held its annual convention virtually. This convention, which was originally scheduled to take place in New Orleans, could serve as a model of a successful virtual convention. The sessions treated a variety of subjects from teaching techniques to the history of French in Louisiana. The days began with the traditional "dictée" and concluded with music and theatrical presentations. In addition, there were daily prizes awarded to participants in games and other activities. Executive Secretary Jayne Abrate reported that almost 1,000 members attended sessions. All AATF members now look forward to July, 2022's in-person conference in New Orleans.
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German:
GETMAPP - Sponsored by the AATG in Conjunction with Wunderbar Together
This project is a collaborative initiative funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by the Goethe-Institut. A new way to view materials: Standards-based and accessible on almost any device. This project seeks to combine teacher comments with high-quality digital materials. German teachers can collaborate, communicate, and share their digital materials here. Best of all, no downloading to clog up your email or phone.
Opportunity to Work at the German Parliament – The German Bundestag invites you, in cooperation with the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität Berlin, and Technische Universität Berlin, to apply for an International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS) to spend five months in Berlin.
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Japanese:
Summer Institute
Featuring a Japanese language pedagogy workshop offered virtually for the first time. Full details and free registration information is available.
- Wednesday, August 4
- Guest presenter Junko Hosoi of Aragon High School in California will share about incorporating authentic reading resources beginning in level one.
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Chinese:
Meeting the Challenge of Academic Language in Chinese Registration Link
- August 29 | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
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Tamil:
Online Resources - Useful resources for Tamil reading, writing, listening, speaking and activity based worksheets.
Proposed Tamil National Standards for US Info Sessions
- Every week on Tuesday from July 13 through August 10
- Each session will have 60 min presentation and 30 min Q & A starting at 8:30pm EDT/5:30pm PDT
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Italian:
Tatjana Babic Williams, Senior Lecturer of Italian at Purdue University, has made available on the HubICL the intercultural activities developed in collaboration with Dr. Annalisa Mosca and experts from Purdue’s CILMAR (Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment, and Research). The intercultural activities and reflection assignments can be used in novice and in advanced Italian.
2021 Coccia-Inserra Teaching Award Application
- Open to all full-time language teachers certified in Italian who are teaching a minimum of two classes of Italian at the K-12 level
- Deadline for application is July 30
- Award comprises of $5000, split into two:
- a) $2500 is to be used exclusively to advance the Italian language and culture curriculum and programming within the recipient’s classroom;
- b) $2500 is to be dedicated to the professional development of the winning teacher (for direct payment of academic fees to an institution of professional development in Italian language and culture at home or abroad).
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Classics:
2021 ACL Institute Recordings will be available through July 31. You may still register for Institute and receive access.
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Turkic Languages:
Teaching Turkish and Turkic Languages During Pandemic: Past, Present and Future Directions
- October 28
- Deadline for submissions is August 31
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Slavic and Eastern European Languages:
Second Deadline for proposals, submitting rosters for Roundtables, and submitting rosters for Fora on Instructional Materials.
Annual ASEEES Convention: Diversity, Intersectionality, Interdisciplinarity
- In person event: November 18-21 | New Orleans, LA
- Virtual Convention: December 2-3
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We need submissions for World Languages’ new Community Corner. Stories, triumphs, pictures, art, poems, whatever! If it has to do with Washington and World Languages, it belongs here. Please send all submissions to worldlanguage@k12.wa.us with the subject line, “Newsletter”.
In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of my fuzzy coworkers:
1. Fawkes asleep on the job in his crinkle tube.
2. Phoenix not helping with herb gardening.
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ALL STUDENTS PREPARED FOR POST-SECONDARY PATHWAYS, CAREERS, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
Led by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, OSPI oversees K-12 public education in Washington state. Our mission is to provide funding, resources, tools, data and technical assistance that enable educators to ensure students succeed in our public schools, are prepared to access post-secondary training and education, and are equipped to thrive in their careers and lives.
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