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May 5, 2008
"To teach is to learn twice." - Joseph Joubert
Professor: Someone who talks in someone else's sleep.
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 Reprint from the Superintendent's Bulletin: Special Education Allocations and Restructuring
5/1/2008 1:45 PMTO: All Principals
FROM: Valeria Silva, Chief Academic Officer
Nancy Stachel, Deputy Chief Academic Officer
Cecelia Dodge, Director, Special Education
RE: Special Education Staff Allocations
Principals should
have received faxes on Friday, April 18th indicating the FTEs of
special education teachers, EAs and TAs for 2008-2009. The
Special Education Department will be following up individually with
principals over the next two weeks in schools that are receiving
increases or decreases in special education staffing to share the
criteria used and to help plan for fall.
Cecelia Dodge will be out of town much of the weeks of May 5th and 12th. Please do not hesitate to contact your Executive Director or Mary Kelly via email: mary.kelly@spps.org or call 767-8331 if you have questions in the mean time. The restructuring of special education, starting July 1, 2008, will allow for improved communication and better service to schools.
Washington Middle School Grand Reopening
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Grand Reopening
Program 10:00AM to 10:30AM
Tours at 10:30AM
You
are cordially invited to our Grand Reopening. Please join us as we
celebrate the completion of our $17 million renovation. A landmark in
Saint Paul’s North End neighborhood, Washington Technology Magnet
Middle School proudly continues a tradition of academic excellence,
inclusive and welcoming programs, and outstanding opportunities to the
students and families of Saint Paul with the new BioSMART initiative.
Come meet our students and staff! Come enjoy the architectural
creativity in the space and light of our new design! Come experience
Washington!!!
We look forward to seeing you!
Staff Appreciation
We would like to say thank you to the ELL Staff for all the work that they do. We appreciate all the effort, time, and resources you put into the work you do with students. Thank you for being there. You are the best!
 PreLAS, First Grade Language Academy Students, and DVRs
Thanks
to everyone involved with the preLAS assessment of our kindergarten
students! Please share that data with your colleagues, particularly as
you plan for next year. PreLAS Coordinators will receive information
about kindergarten students who are eligible to attend a Language
Academy for first grade, in the next few weeks.
If you have
more than one preLAS kit at your school, please keep one for your
building and return all additional kits to the ELL Department at 360
Colborne. Please attach a note to any returned kits if there are
damaged or missing materials from the kits. Extra kits will be made
available for checkout for the fall testing window, which is from
August 20th through September 24th.
We would really appreciate
any feedback on the use of the digital voice recorders (DVRs) for the
preLAS assessment or for instructional purposes, so please send them to
Anh via school mail or email (anh.tran@spps.org). The DVR kits will
need to be returned to the ELL Department by the end of the school year
and may be checked out again in the fall. If you have any questions
about any of this information, please contact your TOSA.
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:
- 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.
 A Topic for Discussion: 10 Myths about Learning to Read by Sebastian Wren
Michael Pressley, in his excellent book, Reading Instruction that Works,
concluded with a discussion of what he considered to be "Ten Dumb and
Dangerous Claims About Reading Instruction." All of the points he made
were quite compelling, but one wonders if these are his "top ten" picks
for the most dangerous myths about reading instruction.
Some might at least argue that the list should be re-ordered
(placing some higher on the list than Pressley did), and certainly some
would argue that there are a few myths that should have made the cut
that he never mentioned. Curious readers are directed to his book to
review his "top ten" list (the book is well written and highly
informative), but here we will examine a second perspective of the most
damaging myths and misconceptions about reading instruction. Let us
begin with a myth that Pressley did not mention, but which is arguably
the most pernicious myth currently influencing reading instruction read rest of article
MN GRAD Writing Prompts
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.
ELL Spoken Here - Article by Neal Starkman in T.H.E. Journal
Online resources and educator networks are
providing teachers of English language learners
with a support system they don't often get within
their own school districts.
 OF THE COUNTLESS TEACHERS of English language learners to whom Catherine
Collier has provided counsel and support, there is one, she says, whose story resonates the most.
Collier recalls a talk she had with an ELL classroom aide who approached her following one of her workshops.
The woman explained that, until participating in Collier's class, she had believed the daily difficulties
and feelings of isolation she experienced working with ELL students were uniquely her own.
"She always thought it was just her," Collier says, "that the things she was feeling and experiencing
were just hers-that it was her struggle. It was absolutely jaw-dropping for her to
hear that her experiences were in fact an identified pattern of adaptation. Everything
that happened to her was something that happened [to others]. She was almost in
tears….Now she has a safe place to talk and to share."
That safe haven is Collier's CrossCultural Developmental
Education Services, based in Ferndale, WA. For two decades,
the company has been providing professional development and
teaching materials to ELL teachers. The face-to-face workshops,
technical assessments, and college courses have been
complemented the last eight years by the company's website,
born out of what Collier says was a "desperation for outreach."
The site offers all sorts of useful resources, including
books and games, assessments, software, a parent page, and
an "Ask Dr. Collier" feature.
Online educational tools such as Collier's provide an assist
all teachers, but for ELL instructors, a technology-fueled support
system is critical to helping them deal with pressures and
emotions that their colleagues generally don't experience. As
an important example, though the No Child Left Behind Act
holds all teachers accountable for student performance, ELL
teachers have a less favorable starting point.
See the article on-line for a list of resources.
TEAM UP Website
The TEAM UP website is an online resource for teachers and teacher educators with an interest in learning more about teaching English language learners.TEAM UP – Teaching English Language Learners Action Model to Unite Professionals – was developed at the University of Minnesota as a professional development model that would bring together teacher educators and teachers to address the school choices that can best enhance language and academic learning for bilingual learners in our schools.
http://www.teamupmn.org/
Teacher Appreciation Week at Learning A-Z
Get Books, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Other Activities
We all owe much of our success in life to teachers everywhere. We at Learning A–Z want to thank educators the best way we know how—by opening up access to our websites. Last year during Teacher Appreciation Week, we held an Open House that provided FREE access to ALL of our educational websites. Response was so overwhelming that we are going to do it again, and for even longer!
Explore Six Websites Bursting with Materials
Each day during this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5–9, plus May 12, Learning A–Z will open one of its six password-protected websites. This will allow teachers to leisurely explore all of Learning A–Z’s resources, including our newest website for differentiated instruction, Science A–Z.
We invite teachers everywhere to sample the Internet-delivered books, lessons, activities, and worksheets—for FREE.
Enjoy Six Days of FREE Access
The websites will be open on the days indicated below, from midnight to midnight Central time.
May 5
Thousands of printable books, including leveled readers and supporting materials
May 6
Interactive leveled reading library and online progress management system
May 7
The most complete collection of elementary writing resources anywhere
May 8
Custom vocabulary lessons and activities to match thousands of topics
May 9
Skill-specific materials for students needing extra reading help
May 12
Science units with multi-level books, lessons, experiments, and labs
For more information, please contact support@learninga-z.com or call 866.889.3729.
With our thanks,
The Learning A–Z Staff
Please distribute this announcement freely.
Visit all the Learning A–Z family of websites:
Learning A-Z Members:
https://admin.readinga-z.com/main/NewsletterSettings
Learning A-Z Non-Members:
https://admin.readinga-z.com/main/PreviewNews
Learning A–Z, Inc.
1840 East River Road, Suite 320
Tucson, Arizona 85718
Refugee Journey Experience
Imagine
that your home and everything you have was destroyed and you decided to
flee. You are one of the estimated 33 million refugees in the world
today. You are invited to walk in the shoes of a refugee.
Saturday, May 17
1-6pm
First Covenant Church
810 S. 7th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(free parking)
$12 per person – includes Somali lunch
Ages 12+ are welcome.
RSVP by Friday, May 9
(763) 420-9155 or sarah.miller@iteams.org
www.worldreliefmn.org
http://www.teachertube.com/
Puppet Making Class
In
partnership with the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, CHAT will be
offering a PUPPET MAKING CLASS where participants will make larger than
life sized puppets in Hmong clothing to walk in the International
Children’s Parade on May 31, 2008 in downtown Saint Paul!
This is a GREAT opportunity! Classes will happen at CHAT: 995 University Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55104
for more info, call 651-603-6971
Please
tell and encourage every young person you know to participate! And, the
BEST part of all… CHAT will own these puppets and use them forever!
University of Minnesota Course Offering in Multicultural Literacy
Course offering Summer 2008:
Teaching Multicultural Literature in Secondary School
July 7-18, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: Jill Ewing Flynn, flyn0103@umn.edu
CI
5410 section 2 is a three credit course that provides a theoretical and
practical foundation for secondary teachers to increase effectiveness
in the instruction of literature from diverse cultures. Students will
address
pedagogical and curricular issues as well as explore
complications surrounding the use of such texts, learning effective
skills and strategies for working with multicultural literature in the
secondary classroom.
Class activities will revolve around
several academic texts and articles designed to provoke thought and
discussion about issues of teaching diverse literature in the secondary
classroom. Students will then incorporate new ideas and philosophies
learned through reading and discussion into practical designs for
teaching specific pieces of diverse literature. In participating in
these activities students will also be asked to carefully examine their
own philosophies and cultural beliefs as they relate to their
pedagogical practices.
Objectives: In this course, students
will *reflect on their own cultural backgrounds and beliefs as related
to their teaching. *reflect on how students' cultural backgrounds may
influence their interactions with literature. *examine methods of
integrating multicultural literature into the curriculum. *develop
effective strategies for teaching specific works of multicultural
literature.
Guiding questions:
1. How can teachers
successfully and critically engage students in diverse works of
literature? How can teachers incorporate new texts and rethink old
texts? What pedagogical practices can teachers learn to more
effectively teach these texts?
2. What can we learn from
students' responses to multicultural literature? In what ways do
students' cultural and social stances and assumptions
affect their readings of multicultural literature?
3.
How might differences and/or similarities between the cultures of
teachers and of students come into play during the instruction of
diverse types of literature? In what ways might classroom, school, and
community contexts affect how teachers approach the teaching of
multicultural literature?
Major assignments for the course will
likely include a dialogue journal, group presntation/model lesson, and
a personal "philosophy" paper (due
approximately one week after
the final class period) in which students examine some of the questions
listed above and discuss how they will use this knowledge to teach a
piece of literature in the future.
Assignments, readings, and
class activities will be tailored to the needs of the students who
register for the course. Please email Jill (flyn0103@umn.edu) with any
questions! Thank you.
2008 Summer Institutes at the University of Minnesota
Medieval Film: Exploring European Culture through Time and Place
June 23 - 27, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Ray Wakefield, Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch, University
of Minnesota
Immigrant Dreams & Contemporary African Diasporic Literatures
June 23-27, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Njeri Githire, Department of African-American and African Studies,
University of Minnesota
Transitional Justice: Seeking Truth and Accountability for Systematic
Human Rights Violations
July 7 - 11, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Barbara Frey, Human Rights Program, and Martha Bigelow, Department of
Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota
Documenting the Hmong Diaspora: Literary, Cinematic, and Oral Historical
Approaches to Diaspora
July 14 - 18, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Mitch Ogden, Department of English, University of Minnesota
Contemporary European Politics and Society
July 28 - August 1, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Carl-Gustaf Scott, Department of Political Science, Hamline University
The Worlds of Islam
August 4 - 8, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
G.S. Sahota, Department of Asian Languages and Literatures, University
of Minnesota
*About the Institutes*
*Registration Fees
***Summer Institute fees are $75/institute and include 30 CEUs,
readings, field trips, and lunch for each day of the institute.
*Location
*All institutes will be held on the University of Minnesota's
Minneapolis campus. Details about room and building locations will be
mailed out with your readings prior to the start of the institute.
*Academic Credit*
If you wish to register for undergraduate or graduate credit, you will be assessed tuition at the current rates and if you are not a current U of M student, you may register through the College of Continuing Education at the reduced departmental masters rate of $388/credit. Each
institute is a 2 credit course. Contact your home department to see if these courses will count towards your degree or licensure programs.
*Housing*
Teachers from outside the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area are eligible to stay in on-campus housing in single rooms. Each institute has a
limited number of housing scholarships available to teachers on a first-come, first-served basis. After the housing scholarship funds are
depleted, you may still pay for a room at the rate of $50/night. Visit
http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach to download an application.
<http://igs.cla.umn.edu/pdf/HousingApplication.pdf>
*Travel Stipends*
To encourage teachers from outside the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area to attend our *week-long summer institutes*, we have a limited number of
travel stipends available. Teachers may apply for stipends up to $250 and they may be used to defray the costs of airfare or mileage. Visit
http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach to download an application.
*Register Online*
To register, visit http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach/registration.html
Detailed descriptions about each institute are online at
http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach/profdev.html.
Questions? Contact Molly McCoy at outreach@umn.edu or 612-624-7346.
The summer institutes for teachers are developed and administered by the Institute for Global Studies at the University of Minnesota through the support of a Title VI grant from the US Department of Education.
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
2008 International Essay Contest for Young People - Creating a Culture of Peace
International Essay Contest organized by UNESCO and the Goi Peace Foundation
with the sponsorship of the Earthrise Society.
The theme for this year's contest is "My project to create positive change
in my environment. How can I foster sustainable development in my
community." The deadline for entry is June 30, 2008. First prize winners
will receive a cash award and a trip to Japan.
Please see the complete guidelines below. The same information can be
found on the Goi Peace Foundation website:
http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0801_00.htm
To read winning essays from last year's contest, go to
http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0702.htm
Please spread the information about the essay contest to young people in
your network.
May Peace Prevail on Earth!
The Goi Peace Foundation
National TPR Conference
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/
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