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October 29, 2007
 Hmong Parent Advisory Council
Please join us for the Hmong Parents Advisory Council meeting on November 5, 2007 at 6:30-8:30 in Rooms DEF at 360 Colborne. All staff are invited to attend. Also, please give the following flyers to the Hmong students and families in your school. All Hmong parents are encouraged to attend. Childcare, Homework Help, and Hmong Dance are all provided for children. If parents need transportation or have questions, please have them call Michael Thao at 767-8314 or Pangjua Xiong at 767-8313.
ELL Hosts Visitors
This year, the ELL Department has hosted visitors from several cities and professional groups. We would like to thank the schools and staff that have participated in these visits. Below, are highlights of our recent visits. In September, we hosted the Council of Great Cities Schools which is conducting a study on districts which have demonstrated success in working with ELLs. In October and November we will finish up formal visits with APQC, which is conducting another study limited to four districts that were invited to particpate based on their innovative ELL programs. Steinbach, Manitoba, the fastest growing city in Manitoba, also visited in October as they have seen increasing number of German-speaking ELL students both from Paraguay and Germany. They have had some interesting cultural issues in working with the two groups and were very interested in the Hmong, Latino and Somali cultural kits that SPPS has developed. They were also fascinated with the Mall of America and outlet malls due to the exchange rates between the dollar and loonie... Next week, we will be hosting visitors from Rochester and Spring Lake Park who are coming to see what we are doing in math collaboration at the elementary and secondary levels. The week following that, we will be hosting the Providence, Rhode Island School District for four days as they come to find out what makes us so special. All we have to really tell them is that we have a great staff in our schools.
Reprint from Superintendent's Bulletin: LCD Staff Training
Action Requested: Required Annual Training for all Latino Consent Decree (LCD) Staff
10/19/2007 2:15 PM
TO: All Principals All LCD Staff
FROM: Valeria Silva, Chief Academic Officer Heidi Bernal, Director, ELL Department
RE: Required Annual Training for all Latino Consent Decree (LCD) Staff
UPDATE: Please register for one of the following for ELL: Latino Consent Decree Staff Training sessions on PDExpress : - Monday, October 29. 4-6. Room D
- Tuesday, November 6, 4-6. Room D
- Thursday. November 29, 4-6 Room D
The annual Latino Consent Decree training is designed for all qualified
bilingual teachers, bilingual educational assistants, ELL/LCD teachers,
and district personnel directly responsible for providing or
administering educational programs and services for Latino students
under the LCD stipulation. It will provide an overview of the court
mandates in this area, district philosophy regarding bilingual
education, explanation of language categories, ESL services,
assessment, district guidelines, and LCD staff roles and
responsibilities. All LCD staff are required by the stipulation to
attend one of the sessions. A stipend will be paid.
Please contact Pablo Matamoros ( Pablo.matamoros@spps.org) if you have any questions.
TEAE Result Letters
The TEAE Individual result letters were sent to each school. Please work with your school administrators to make sure the letters are sent home to the family by
either backpack, mail, parent conference, etc.
If you have any questions please email: phi.vu@spps.org or rennie.zimmer@spps.org. Milkweed Prize Winner at the Red Balloon
Meet Ellie Mathews, the winner of the 2007 Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature for The Linden Tree. She will be at the Red Balloon Bookshop on Saturday, November 3. Please see the attached flyer. Download Flyer
The New and Improved English Language Proficiency Report
As
you may recall from the Opening Week Meeting, we are no longer using
the ELL checklist. The ELL Reporting Think Tank has developed a new
English Language Proficiency Report based on the National ELP Standards
from TESOL. Teachers will be able to access the report on the Office of
Academics website where other progress reports are located.
Below
is the information about the ELP report which Heidi Bernal sent to
principals last week. Included is information about up-coming training
sessions. The ELL contact teacher from every elementary school should
attend one of the three sessions. This person will then train the ELL
teachers in her or his school. If the contact teacher cannot attend,
please designate another ELL teacher to attend one of the trainings in
her/his place. Please note, we have the capacity for only one ELL
teacher from each building to attend the training. See the chart below
for training dates.
Please register using PDExpress.
The English Language Proficiency Report 2007-08
Saint
Paul Public Schools ELL Department has developed a new English Language
Proficiency (ELP) Report. This ELP report replaces the ELL “Checklist.”
The purpose of this report is to monitor English language proficiency
and progress. The report will be used for all ELL level 1 – 4 students
(as reported on the ELL Eligibility list and in CAMPUS).
The ELP
report will be completed by the ELL teacher providing direct services
to the student for fall, spring, and end-of-the-year reporting periods.
The ELP Report:
- is aligned with national and Minnesota ELP standards.
- addresses social and academic language in the context of the content areas.
- can be accessed online using the same procedures as for the Progress Reports used by classroom teachers and specialists.
- should be printed and distributed to families at conference time by ELL teachers.
- will be filed in student’s cumulative folder upon completion at the end of the year.
The
ELL teacher is responsible for completing the ELP report for each ELL
eligible student. They should also collaborate with classroom teachers
to complete the summary report in the areas in which they serve
students (e.g., if the ELL and general education teacher deliver
collaborative instruction during Readers Workshop).
ELP Report Training
The
ELL department will be training a contact teacher from each building in
the use of the new report. One ELL teacher from each school must be
released from teaching duty to attend one of the following sessions,
which will take place at the District Administration Building (360
Colborne).
Date/Time/;Room*
Tuesday,October 23 / 2:30-4:00 / Room E
Monday, October 29 2:30-4:00 / Room E
Tuesday, October 30 / 8:00-9:30 / Room E
*Room locations are at 360 Colborne
This
contact teacher will then be expected to train all other ELL teachers
in the school. This must take place before the November 9th Conference
Preparation Day.
Thank you for your support of the new ELP
reporting procedures and training. If you have any questions, please
feel free to contact Anh Tran (anh.tran@spps.org).
Embedding Hmong Culture into the K-3 Social Studies Curriculum
We are offering training for using the “Embedding Hmong Culture into the K-3 Social Studies Curriculum” and the “Embedding Hmong Culture into the 4-6 Social Studies Curriculum” kits. Participants will receive background information about the Hmong and a social studies kit to use in their classrooms.
You can sign up on PDExpress. If you have any questions, please contact Pangjua Xiong at (651) 767-8313.
Training Dates for K-3 Kit:
Thursday, November 1, 2007, 4:30-6:30 @ 360 Colborne, Room A
Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 4:30-6:30 @ 360 Colborne, Room A
Training Date for 4-6 Kit:
Thursday, December 6, 2007, 4:30-6:30 @ 360 Colborne, Room A
Download Flier
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 dates will be:
- Thursday, November 29, 2007. 4:15-6:15. Room E
- Wednesday, January 23, 2008. 4:15-6:15. Room D
- Thursday. March 13, 2008. 4:15-6:15. Room D
- Wednesday, May 7 2008. 4:15-6:15. Room D
Register on PDExpress. Call Jane Dunlap (763-8307) or email Anh Tran if you have any questions.
 Secondary Resource: National Council of Teachers of English
The Weekly Facts has highlighted this site in the past, but we felt it was worth repeating. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) maintains a website with good information specifically for secondary ELL learners. NCTE
recognizes bilingual and bicultural education as basic components of
the ELA field. Teachers of English in bilingual settings should have
professional preparation, if not certification, in the field. NCTE
encourages teachers of English to cooperate with colleagues in
bilingual education programs. It encourages teachers with only a few
non-English-speaking students to become familiar with bilingual
education aims and methods and to draw upon ESL literature for help in
meeting the needs of those students. NCTE assumes the responsibility,
on both the national and the affiliate levels, of working with other
organizations involved with bilingual education and especially with
teaching English to speakers of other languages. From the NCTE Position
Statement on Bilingual Education  On this page, you will find a good article by David and Sharon Freeman, entitled Connecting Students to Culturally Relevant Texts
 Spotlight: Roosevelt West Side School of Excellence
Roosevelt has a proud tradition within the West Side community. The school has developed a solid reputation in the West Side community with its reading program. A strong component of the reading curriculum is the Spanish version, Lee Conmigo. One of the kindergarten grade classrooms receives 90% of the instructions in Spanish. These students then transition to first grade where they receive math and writing instruction in English and reading instruction in Spanish. When children exit from Lee Conmigo, they start reading solely in English. Language support is provided in small groups by Highly Qualified English Language Learner, (ELL), teachers. By the end of first grade Spanish-speaking children have developed strong English skills. These skills prepare them to be successful readers when they transition into English. In second grade, both of the ELL and non-ELL students learn from an English based curriculum. ELL students continue to receive language support until they exit from the ELL program according to the guidelines set by the ELL Department. Roosevelt ElementaryELL Pages
 That's so gross!
Each month, Colorín Colorado publishes a list of books on a given theme. This month, they have chosen: That’s So Gross! – Take II
Grant Opportunity: Target Field Trip Grants
Target Field Trip Grants
are one part of the Target commitment to supporting education. This
innovative program provides educators with grants of up to $1,000 each
to fund a field trip for their students. Application deadline is
November 1.
MinneTESOL Professional Conference
Friday and Saturday, November 2-3, 2007
University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis
To register online go to:
https://www.acteva.com/go/minnetesol
For more information or to download the registration form, please visit the MinneTESOL website at: www.minnetesol.org/
Free Workshops (and CEUs) for teachers interested in Global Issues
Below is a series of workshops, geared for K-16 teachers,
focusing on issues related to global studies. There is an opportunity
to earn $100 for creating curriculum related to the workshop themes. If
interested in this opportunity read on.
The workshops featured below include:
Workshop Series: Exploring National Identity in the European Union
This
four-part workshop series examines the dynamic role of nationalism and
national identity in the European Union. The series kicks off with
a
closer look at the institutional nature of the EU and its effect on
national identity, including a discussion that provides a framework for
teachers to explore their own understanding and teaching of
nationalism. Using this lens, the following three workshops will
investigate national representations in art such as literature,
theater, and visual arts, of specific European countries. The aim is
to allow teachers to delve into the cultural identities of each nation
and consider the role of the European Union in the shaping of national
identities and the perception of identity.
Workshop 1 has already taken place
Workshop 2: has already taken place
Workshop 3: Sweden: Immigration and Cultural Change
Lena Norrman, Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch, University
of Minnesota
Erika Holmquist-Wall, Assistant Curator at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:00 - 4:00 at the American Swedish Institute
Workshop 4: Becoming an EU Member Nation
Saturday, December 8, 2007 9:00 - 4:00 in room 710 Social Sciences Building, U of M
Each workshop is $15. Fee includes lunch, CEUs, readings and materials.
Teachers have the opportunity to earn $100 for developing lesson plans
upon completion of the course.
To register, visit www.igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach.
Questions? Contact Molly McCoy at outreach@umn.edu or 612-624-7346
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