Attached you will find the flyer for our sixth Latino Consent Decree Parent Advisory Committee meeting (LCD PAC). This meeting will be on March 26th, 2008 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at 360 Colborne in rooms A and B. The Immigrant Law Center of MN will be presenting No Second Chance to our Latino parents. This presentation covers current immigration and social issues.
Presenter Alissa L. Jones, Education Coordinator/Development Associate Immigrant Law Center of MN / Oficina Legal
An updated list of interpreters was sent to your principals. If you are looking for interpreters, please work with the appropriate staff in your building to schedule the interpreters.
Secondary Summer School
If you are interested in teaching ELL secondary summer school (levels 1 and 2) this year, please apply online at http://www.alc.spps.org
starting February 2nd. Once you have applied, please be sure to email
Brooke Stadler to confirm at brooke.stadler@spps.org. Thank you! Stay
warm, think summer!
New: The application deadline is April 1.
ORR Grant Surveys
For
those schools that received grant surveys on the Refugee Grant, could
you please return your copies as soon as possible by School Mail.
Thank you.
Kindergarten Cadre Meetings
ELL Kindergarten Cadre Meetings
ELL and Kindergarten Teachers are invited to attend cadre meetings to:
meet other colleagues working with kindergarten ELL students
share instructional strategies for working with kindergarten ELL students
discuss current research about language acquisition and literacy
enhance your understanding of collaboration
The remaining dates will be:
Thursday, March 13, 2008. 4:15-6:15, Room D - Focus: Assessment
Wednesday, May 7 2008. 4:15-6:15. Room - Focus: Instructional Program and Design
Register
on PDExpress. (There is only one course for all sessions, if you have
not registered, it is listed with a start date of November 29). Call
Jane Dunlap (767-8307) or email Anh Tran if you have any questions.
PreLAS Information
The preLAS spring testing window begins on
March 24th with all scores due on April 25th. Keep in mind that spring
break is from March 31st through April 1st. In order to increase the
reliability of the PreLAS results, the administration of the PreLAS has
been standardized for more consistency throughout the district.
Therefore, any ELL teacher or bilingual EA who will be administering
the test this spring and was not trained this past fall should attend
the following training session. Any ELL teachers or bilingual EAs who
feel they need to review the administration of the test are also
welcome to attend. Staff attending the training will need to work with
their building administration to plan for coverage.
"ELL: PreLAS Training"
Date: Tuesday, March 11
Time: 2:00 - 4:00
Location: 360 Colborne Room A
In addition, all preLAS Coordinators or
their designee need to attend one of the training sessions listed below
to check out a digital voice recorder to use for preLAS administration
as well as for instructional purposes. One recorder will be available
for each school. Student lists for the spring administration of the
preLAS will also be provided at this training. Staff attending the
training will need to work with their building administration to plan
for coverage.
"ELL: Digital Voice Recorder Training for preLAS Administration"
Session
A
B
C
Date
Monday March 17, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time
2:45 - 3:45
2:45 - 3:45
8:30 - 9:30
Location
360 Colborne, Room K
360 Colborne, Room K
360 Colborne, Room K
Space is limited so please register on
pdexpress as soon as possible to ensure your preferred time. All
sessions will be held at 360 Colborne. Please feel free to forward this
message to others who may need the information. Thank you for your
assistance!
Science Resources
Attention 1D and 2D teachers: Did
you know that the SPPS Science team at The Center for Professional
Development put together kits that supplement certain units of study?
The following is a list of some of the kits available for check out at the District Materials Center (DMC) at 1930 Como:
Electrostatic kit (Static electricity)
You and your body kit (Human body)
Erosion kit (Landforms)
Incredible Journey kit (Water cycle)
To view all Science resources available at the DMC:
Go to connect.spps.org First, click on ìDMCî Next, click on ìElementary Science Frameworkî Then, go to ìOther Science Kits and Books
To reserve materials, call or email Kim Hurlburt at the DMC: 603-4919 kim.hurlburt@spps.org
You cannot reserve online.
Did you know that the Como Planetarium offers a ìBasic Astronomy Curriculumî kit?
Go to the Como Planetarium website www.planetarium.spps.org . See Sky Curriculum (BAC) on the left or call 293-5398.
Another helpful resource created by the SPPS Science team at The Center is the Saint Paul Public Schools Elementary Science Framework .
This
document lays out Benchmarks, Sources, and Units of study in grades
K-6. It indicates which resources are available with each unit of
study/benchmark. Kits available to you are the DMC and BAC kits
(Unfortunately, FOSS kits are not available at the DMC). It also
references United Streaming resources and books (many of the books are
available at the DMC).
During the fall of 2008, there will be a field test for
GRAD written composition. We will be beginning prompt development
shortly. We are inviting high school teachers to submit writing prompts
that could be used for the GRAD written composition. The prompts will
be reviewed with a panel of Minnesota teachers during a Prompt Review
this August. Prompts must pass a review of bias and sensitivity as well
as a review of field test performance data before being used with
students in an operational test. Prompts must be brief, allow all
populations of students to access the prompt with common background
knowledge, and be appropriate for all student populations (e.g.,
English language learners). Previously-used prompts can be found online.
Please encourage your high school English teachers to submit their
prompts to mde.testing@state.mn.us with “Writing Prompts” in the
subject line. The deadline for submitting prompts is June 16th.
The International School in Portland Oregon
The International School (a private school) in Portland, Oregon is a multicultural
environment where children are fully immersed in Spanish, Japanese or
Chinese language and culture. Children become bilingual as they learn a
full American curriculum with native speaking teachers, small classes,
and high expectations. But they do offer more than one language immersion program in their school.
The
Minnesota Humanities Center's work in bilingual and heritage language
programs highlights the importance of heritage languages, connects
educators to existing resources that enhance language development,
offers professional development on oral traditions and the connection
between language and culture, and collaborates with community representatives
to develop new culturally and linguistically appropriate resources.
The Humanities
Center provides assistance to families by working with those who
serve their early language and literacy needs: teachers, parent
educators, early childhood educators, librarians, social service
providers, and cultural organizations. This work supports the development
of English literacy skills of families while recognizing and supporting
heritage languages in Minnesota.
The Minnesota
Humanities Center offers the following bilingual and heritage language
programs:
Somali
Bilingual Initiative, including the training and events for
professionals who work with Somali families, such as the Somali
Language and Literacy Conferences and Sheeko Wadaag/Sharing Stories:
From Home Language to School Literacy with Somali Families; and
the Somali Bilingual Book Project
Bridging
Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS)
is a national technical assistance project working to broaden
the scope of information and collaboration among service providers
- in order to strengthen services to refugee youth, children
and their families.
BRYCS is pleased to present our newest publication, Raising
Children in a New Country: An Illustrated Handbook.
This booklet was created as a tool for refugee and immigrant
serving agencies, as they help newcomer parents adjust to
the different laws, norms and practices around raising children
in the United States. Please see our Publications
page if you prefer to download the handbook in smaller
segments. To order print or CD copies of the Handbook, please
email info@brycs.org or
call 1-888-572-6500. If you are interested in translating
this book into other languages, please refer to the Translation
and Copyright Guidelines for Service Providers and
accompanying sample cover page in PDF
or MSWord
format.
Broadcast Date: All Things Considered, 03/04/2008, 5:26 p.m.
Students march for Minnesota Dream Act
by Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
March 4, 2008
Hundreds of teenagers marched to the state Capitol Tuesday morning to
show support for what's known as the Minnesota Dream Act. But despite
the show of enthusiasm, the legislation has little chance of passing
this year.
St. Paul, Minn. — The proposal would let the children of illegal
immigrants pay in-state tuition if they've attended a Minnesota high
school for three years, and graduated.
Hundreds of students gathered at a church in St. Paul Tuesday morning before their short march to the Capitol.
Larger view
A lot of students participating in the rally are not immigrants.
They're supporting friends who could possibly benefit from the Dream
Act.
Students like eighth grader Mitzi Aguliar, 14, who moved from Mexico to
Richfield, Minnesota about nine years ago and wants to be a
photographer.
"Why put barriers on education?" she asked. "We're all human and we all
deserve a future. And my parents pay taxes, so what's the whole big
deal?"
David Cruz, a sophomore at Roosevelt High in Minneapolis, also was born in Mexico and has lived here for about six years.
"Many people, they lose hope that they could do something in the
future," Cruz said. "And that's why you have gangs and teen pregnancy.
And if they gave us equal education everybody could get a chance. All
of those things would reduce, and people would start dreaming again."
Some students worry that an anti-immigrant backlash in the wake of last
month's bus crash in Cottonwood might hurt the Dream Act's chances.
The woman accused of causing the crash, which killed four children, was
found to be in the country illegally, and didn't have a driver's
license. For a while, authorities didn't know her real name.
The sponsor of the Dream Act in the state Senate has no plans to call
for a vote this year. Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, said that's
because of the governor's threat of a veto.
"As long as we have Tim Pawlenty as governor, I don't think it's going to go anywhere," Pappas said.
Pawlenty has said he doesn't like the idea of giving benefits to
students who aren't citizens, when Iowans, for example, can't go to
Minnesota schools at the in-state rate.
Pappas said a vote would only invite false hope.
Organizers say they are encouraged that 22 state colleges and
universities charge tuition at a flat rate, meaning residency doesn't
matter -- everyone pays the same.
They also note 11 other states have passed versions of the Dream Act.
They are: California, Texas, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois,
Kansas, Utah, Mississippi, Nebraska, and New Mexico.
Tuesday's march also included a college fair for the teens, which plays
into a larger effort. If the Dream Act doesn't pass, organizers say at
least it gets young people involved in politics.
The Minnesota push is separate from efforts to pass a federal DREAM
Act. At the federal level, DREAM stands for the Development, Relief and
Education for Alien Minors Act. It includes a path to citizenship if
students serve in the military or attend school. The state bill is
aimed only at the in-state tuition issue.
Understanding East African History and Cultures
Friday and Saturday April 11-12, 2008, 9 a.m to 4 p.m.
This
workshop will explore East African community members' experiences in
the urban educational setting with a focus on the country of Somalia.
Workshop participants will examine: the
history and cultures of Somalia and the region of East Africa;
implications of the disintegration of a state; the relationship between
the use of home language and English; the impact of life in refugee
camps on student learning; and how information about East African
cultures can be integrated into the curriculum.
LOCATION: Minnesota Humanities Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, St. Paul, MN 55106.
FEE: OFFERED AT NO COST--
and with sub-pay stipend -- to K-8 teachers from high-poverty schools
in the seven-county metro area,* through generous support from
NorthStar Education Finance, Inc
The
national TPRS® Conference will be held at the University of Minnesota,
July 21-25, 2008. TPR Storytelling is a method for teaching languages
that was invented by Blaine Ray, in 1990 and is based on the work of
James Asher and Stephen Krashen. Check out the website to get more
information - http://ntprs2008.eventbrite.com/
Special Offer to Teachers
New Resource
The USCRI Healthy Living Toolkit is designed to educate refugees and immigrants to become proactive health consumers and promoters in their communities. The Toolkit supports health professionals, health promoters, ESL teachers, resettlement case managers in assisting refugees and immigrants to navigate the health system in order to reduce the health disparities among these populations. The toolkit has been developed in a culturally appropriate manner. View by the Toolkit by Subject Communicable Diseases Domestic Violence Health Care Hygiene Maternal and Child Health Nutrition Related Diseases Respiratory Diseases Women's Health View the Toolkit by Language Arabic Bosnian Burmese English Farsi (Persian) French Haitian Creole Hmong Karen Kirundi Russian Somali Spanish Swahili Vietnamese
From the Weekly Insider Feb 27 2008 - March 4 2008 The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools Weekly Insider is a web-enhanced newsletter that offers news alerts, grant announcements and general web site updates delivered directly to your email box on a weekly basis. The Center is located at the School of Public Health and Health Services at The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Egal Shidad project seeks to incorporate traditional values into stories about health created by and for Minnesota's Somali immigrant community. It is named after Egal Shidad; a familiar and beloved "wise fool" in folklore of Somalia. Egal Shidad's choices as he travels through life are both entertaining and instructive. Through video, radio and English Language Learning (ELL) curricula stories about healthy lives, Egal Shidad will work with health educators to develop and deliver multi-media, story-telling units on important health topics for local broadcast on television, web and radio, in both Somali and English. These units will have multiple uses, including as English language curricula.
What: Egal Shidad Project Kick-Off Event
When: March 10, 2008 from 2 - 5 pm
Where: Brian Coyle Center, 420 15th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55454
Egal Shidad is a collaborative partnership between four non-profit organizations - ECHO (Emergency and Community Health Outreach), KFAI - Fresh Air Radio, (CSCM) the Confederation of Somali Community in
Minnesota and SPNN-TV (St. Paul Neighborhood Network). This project is part of the New Routes to Community Health, a national program of the Benton Foundation, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
For more information or to get an invitation mailed to you contact: egalshidad@comcast.net
Teaching Ambassador Fellowships
Fellowship to help teachers learn policy and grow as leaders, contribute to national education dialogue FOR RELEASE: February 8, 2008 Contact: Samara Yudof, Stephanie Babyak or Jane Glickman (202) 401-1576
Secretary
Spellings today announced the creation of Teaching Ambassador
Fellowship (TAF) positions at the U.S. Department of Education, which
will offer highly motivated, innovative public school teachers the
opportunity to contribute their knowledge and experience to the
national dialogue on public education. "This is a terrific
opportunity for educators to share their voices directly with
policymakers, and I look forward to hearing from them," said Secretary
Spellings. The TAF includes two kinds of opportunities for teachers
across the U.S. Up to 20 Classroom Fellows will be chosen who remain at
their local schools under their regular teaching contracts, and will
provide their experience and perspectives to the Department through
various assignments and projects part-time. Up to five Washington
Fellows will become full-time federal employees in Washington, D.C.,
working on education programs and participating in policy discussions.
Teaching Ambassador Fellows will be named by early summer for the
2008-09 school year. Teaching Ambassador Fellows will be selected
based upon their record of leadership, impact on student achievement
and potential for contribution to the field. Highly qualified K-12
public school teachers of all subjects who have spent at least three
years in the classroom are eligible to apply. To ensure collaboration
at the school and district levels, teacher applicants must have the
full support of their school principals. Throughout the year fellows
will collaborate on projects that contribute to the field of education
and policy at the national level, and each fellow will be encouraged to
work with his or her principal and with government liaisons throughout
the year. Applications are due by April 7, 2008. Visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/ to learn more and apply for the TAF.
Michelle Carter, MA, JD Interim Director of Research and Sponsored Programs Minnesota State University, Mankato Wigley Administration Building 325 507-389-2322 office 507-389-5459 fax
LCD Meeting
ORR Grant Surveys
Science Resources
