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September 24,
2007
 Reprint from Start Tribune: The
Pride of
Humboldt
© Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii
, Star Tribune
Coach Matt Osborne spoke to his team about an upcoming
game. It’s quite
a challenge for Osborne, because many of his players are from other
parts of the world, including Laos, Thailand, Somalia and Mexico, and
many speak very little English. The boys' undefeated
soccer team has brought winning, camaraderie and acceptance to the
small urban high school. By James
Walsh, Star Tribune Last update: September 21, 2007 – 11:42
PM Cha Neng Lee sent the ball high toward the Como Park goal.
The Como
keeper at first appeared to have a bead on it, but the swirling wind
caught the ball just inside the far post and he couldn't get his hands
on it. And, just like that, St. Paul Humboldt High School had a 2-0
lead, and Lee notched what would turn out to be the game-winning goal.
And Humboldt continued atop the boys' soccer standings in the St. Paul
City Conference. You might think an undefeated team in mid-September really isn't
that big of a deal. After all, the 8-0 Humboldt boys still have many
games left to play. And maybe at any other school, with any other group
of 17 boys, you'd be right. But not with this team. Not at this school.
At Humboldt, where winning at anything has been about as rare as
Minnesota Super Bowl champions, these boys are becoming a big deal.
From places as far-flung as Laos, Thailand, Somalia and Mexico, most of
them are or have been in classes for students who cannot speak English. And their second-year head coach admits there are times when his players don't understand him -- or each other. "Sometimes, the practices run a bit longer," coach Matt Osborne joked about the extra time needed to get his point across. And, yet, they understand this: When you play as a team, anything is possible. "It's
great," beamed Blanca Eguia, a Humboldt staff member whose son, Moises
Flores, also is a member of the team. "They mean so much to this
school." At a time when high school soccer teams from Burnsville
to Fridley are benefiting from an infusion of talented young players
from countries around the world, perhaps no school is benefitting more
this year than Humboldt. Rumored to be close to closing just a couple
years ago, the West Side high school has since christened a new
artificial turf field, seen its enrollment start to creep up and is
working to hold on to more of its neighborhood kids. A pride infusion But it's the kids who have come from a world away that are pumping Humboldt with newfound pride. When
she wasn't shouting encouragement from the stands, teacher Lisa Boehlke
pointed out that Humboldt's English language learners had the highest
average scores on statewide math and reading tests of any group of
English learners in the state. Out of the 20 kids listed on the
Humboldt game program, 15 are or were in English language programs,
said Jane Hall, another ELL teacher. And all of them come from homes
where English is not the main language spoken. "It [being on a winning team] really makes them feel a part of the school," Hall said. "It makes them feel really involved." Osborne,
24 and in his second year coaching at any high school, knew that after
last season, this group of kids could be special. While they didn't win
many games, they competed, he said. And they began to buy into his
defense-first system. This year, while Humboldt has enjoyed no
blow-out victories, they have beaten such traditional conference powers
as St. Paul Central and St. Paul Highland Park on their way to an
undefeated record. Not a big deal? Humboldt's boys' soccer record
from 1987, when it shared the conference title, through 2006 is
31-208-9. That's an average of more than 10 losses a year. Humboldt
soccer has suffered losing streaks of 60 games, 26 games and 22 games. Senior Furo Tufa, an 18-year-old from Ethiopia, knows Humboldt used to mostly lose. This year is different. "We're
doing good, we're practicing a lot," said the speedy midfielder. "And
we listen to each other and we do what we're supposed to do." Even if, forward Nate Ashenafi admits, they don't always understand what each other is saying. "It
was hard last year. We didn't always know what we were doing," he said.
"But we got to know each other. And now it's all about teamwork." For
much of the Como Park game, Humboldt controlled the tempo and enjoyed
the majority of the scoring chances. After taking the 2-0 lead in the
second half, it appeared the Hawks would control the tempo for the
remainder of the game. Coaches know better Erik
Beeler is an assistant for Humboldt but has been a head coach at other
schools and for elite club teams. Humboldt's players still let down
their concentration too much, he said. But Friday was "a baby step"
forward. "We're getting better," he said, noting that most teams
need at least four years together to really hit their stride. While
many of the Humboldt players have been kicking soccer balls since they
were toddlers, few have played organized ball and fewer still are on
club rosters in the spring and summer. What Humboldt players
learn about soccer they pretty much learn during the high school
season. But at a 900-student school -- small by urban standards -- that
is too used to losing all these years, that appears to be good enough. "We
used to just stay in our own groups," Ashenafi said of the Asian,
African and Hispanic players. "But everyone sticks together now. It's
really all about the team." James Walsh • 651-298-1541 James Walsh • jwalsh@startribune.com
Reprint from Superintendent's
Bulletin: ELL Teachers as
Substitutes
TO: All
Principals
FROM: Valeria Silva,
Chief Academic Officer & Heidi Bernal, Director, ELL
Department
RE: Use of ELL
Teachers as
Substitutes
As you know, both federal and state laws prohibit
the use of ELL funds
to supplant instruction. Our federal Title III Program was
audited
last year, and one of the areas we were asked to account for was the
use of ELL funds to "supplement, not supplant" regular instruction.
According to law, we need to be able to demonstrate that we are
providing ELL services consistently and using federal and state LEP
funds appropriately. When ELL teachers are used as substitutes, they
cannot fulfill their duties to work with the ELL students in their
charge, and ultimately the students lose
out. While it is
understood that principals need to make the best use of all
personnel to meet daily building needs, the frequent reassignment of
ELL staff away from their regular contract duties has a negative effect
on the ELL students that they have been hired to
serve.
Please take some time to examine your plans
for substitute coverage and
develop a plan that does not include ELL teachers unless they are
scheduled as part of an equitable rotation that includes all other
licensed school staff as well. Thank you for your help with
this
matter.
If you have any questions, please contact
Heidi at
767-8232.
Testing Results &
Notification Form Update
SPPS
has not yet received the testing results from the testing
company. As
a result, we do not have the data we need to create the Notification
Form with the state and federal requirements. We
will be printing and
mailing the forms as soon as the data becomes available.
MinneTESOL Professional
Conference
 PreLAS Testing for
Kindergarten Students
A great big thanks to everyone who has
been involved with the English PreLAS
Testing!
English and Spanish PreLas Testing
Kits
We
need to take an inventory of our PreLAS testing materials.
Please work
with your PreLAS Coordinators to complete and submit the attached form
to Anh Tran ( anh.tran@spps.org) or fax
it to 293-5411 by Friday, September 28.
Choose from the following documents:
Spanish
PreLAS
We
will be testing all Kindergarten students with a home language of
Spanish with the Spanish PreLAS this fall. As with the
English PreLAS,
we are standardizing the testing for Spanish PreLAS and would like all
Spanish-speaking ELL staff (teachers and Bilingual Assistants) who will
be involved with the testing to attend a PreLAS training
even if you have received training in the past or
not. More
information about training will be posted in the weekly facts in the
coming weeks. A proctor will be provided for those schools
without
Spanish-speaking ELL staff. PreLAS Test Coordinators and LCD
Contacts
will be contacted via email with more detailed information about this
testing. Please contact Pablo at pablo.matamoros@spps.org
if you have immediate
questions.
 ELL Professional Development
Series: Language through Content and Instructional
Collaboration
The
district ELL department and the
Office of Academics are offering a series of professional development
sessions for content teachers who instruct ELL students. These
ELL - Language through Content
sessions were offered last year and had positive reviews. Many teachers
commented that the classroom strategies, materials, on-going in-class
support, and the focus on language and content lessons and objectives
helped them to use new strategies that were beneficial to all of their
students.
Our latest series started on
Thursday, October 20th with a full day session on Instructional
Collaboration designed for teachers working with grades 7-12.
We are looking into the possibility
of adding a future session dealing with Instructional Collaboration.
District content teachers working with grades 7-12 who missed the
Instructional Collaboration session may still register for the 2 full
days sessions that focus on strategies for success with ELL students.
Interested staff should plan to attend both Language
through Content sessions.
The sessions include model lessons
that illustrate the ten ELL strategies that are the focus of the
course. The sessions also include teacher guides to addressing reading
in math, science and social studies (a separate book for each
discipline). We will provide helpful background information about
language acquisition and will model and explain interactive strategies
for reaching and engaging ELL students in the content classroom. The
course is designed for content teachers who regularly work with a large
number of ELL students.
Please register on pdExpress at the following website.
http://pdexpress.spps.org/
 Spotlight: Cherokee
Heights
Elementary
This week, we are highlighting Cherokee Heights
Elementary. Cherokee
Heights Elementary is open to students in grades PreK-6. Spanish
speaking students in kindergarten and first grade have the option to
enroll in the school’s native language literacy program. This
program
was establish for Spanish speaking students who are in the process of
learning English. The program’s objective is to help students
develop
a firm foundation in their native language so they can learn English
more quickly and easily. Kindergarten students in the program
will
spend most of their day learning in Spanish. In first grade
only,
literacy is taught in Spanish. Beginning in second grade all
instruction is in English. Cherokee Heights
ElementaryELL
Webpage
 Immigration in
Minnesota
Over the past several decades, tens
of thousands of -immigrants have arrived in Minnesota. They have come
from all over the world, and settled throughout the state. They have come
for the same reason that attracted immigrants in the past: opportunity.
And they experience the same difficulties of adjusting to life in a new
country—-language barriers, culture shock, a sense of loss, and
isolation.
The Minneapolis
Foundation
has a website on Immigration in Minnesota that offers a wide variety of
resources and information. The site can be visited
at: http://www.minneapolisfoundation.org/immigration/overview.htm
Saint Paul Public Library
Resources
The
Saint Paul Public Library offers a variety of resources
on-line. These
include resources on learning English as well as links in other
languages. Below are some of the links available on their
website.
Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City
Event
On
September 27-30, 2007, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres
(MSF) hopes to bring an understanding of the refugee experience to the
people of the Twin Cities. Their display, "A Refugee Camp in the Heart
of the City," is free and open to the general public.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/education/refugeecamp/home/
Tour information
"A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the
City" is located in Loring Park, in downtown Minneapolis. The exhibit
will take place from Thursday September 27 through Sunday, September 30
from 9:00am - 5:30pm daily.
About the
exhibit
Aid
workers from Doctors Without Borders will guide visitors through the
camp exhibit, explaining the challenges of building shelter, finding
food and clean water, and handling waste disposal - all basic elements
of survival for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). In
the nutrition tent, visitors learn about the special therapeutic foods
used to combat malnutrition. Tours of the health clinic, vaccination
tent, and cholera treatment center demonstrate how the organization
provides basic health care and controls epidemics in refugee settings.
An
estimated 33 million people around the world have been forced to flee
their homes and live in temporary shelter, with nearly two-thirds of
them displaced within their own countries. The exhibit is made up of
actual materials used by Doctors Without Borders in its medical
humanitarian work aroundthe world. The exhibit will highlight the
plight of the millions of people currently displaced by conflict in
places like Sudan, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
as well as Thailand (Hmong refugees) and Somalia - where the majority
of Minnesota's refugees originate.
If you
are planning to
come with a group of 20 or more, scheduling of a group visit is
required. You can schedule a group visit by calling 1-800-490-0773, or
by using the online submission form. Individuals are welcome without
reservations.
Sixth Annual Hmong Resource
Fair
Saturday, September 29, 2007
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Aldrich Arena
1850 White Bear Avenue North Maplewood, MN
55109-3799 website
Zoo
siab txais tos! Welcome to the Hmong Resource Fair!
We are the Fair that brings health, education,
employment, housing and a variety of other resources to you every year.
Hmong Resource Fair is committed
to providing opportunities and a source of networking with local and
national organizations for the community.
Through strong partnerships and sponsorships, and the support of our
community, Hmong Resource Fair works to
make many informational resources free and accessible to the Hmong
community and the public.
Join us as we hit off this year with a bigger, more resourceful and
fun-filled
event!
Minnesota Human Rights Week 2007 (Sept 30 -
Oct.
6)
Every year millions of
innocent people fall victim to the abuse of
their own human rights. Occurring in a world where everyone is born
free and equal, this goes against the basic rights and freedoms to
which we are all entitled. Minnesota Human Rights Week
is dedicated to distinguishing human rights by educating individuals on
what they can do to help put a stop to the causes of human rights
violations. Throughout Minnesota Human Rights Week,
numerous organizations will be hosting educational events and seminars
devoted to raising human rights awareness and getting more people
involved in supporting a cause that will affect and improve the lives
of innocent people around the world.
Media Camp for all Asian Pacific American High School
Students
Oct. 18 - 21
Application
Deadline: October 12,2007
A fun-filled
4-day retreat with your Pan-Asian Pacific peers and it’s
FREE!
Multi-Media Production
Camp: learn digital photography & print production,
tell your stories through photographs, create & edit your own
videos.
Connect with your peers; attend
discussions, game night, banquet, and other fun-filled
activities.
Through
hands-on media training, the Media Camp for Asian & Pacific
Islanders American Youth will provide students a chance to explore
current issues in forms which can effectively reach a broad audience.
Students will learn Digital Photography and produce their own postcards
to tell their stories. Students will also have leadership
training
opportunities & build memories & friendships
that last a
lifetime.
Understanding Somalia: An Interactive
Workshop
Instructor:
Dr. Cawo Abdi, Department of Sociology, University of
Minnesota
This
workshop is intended for K-14 teachers to give them a better picture of
Somalia's recent history and current issues. The two-hour session will
include a brief lecture, further reading resources for teachers, and
tools for teaching about Somalia and Africa. There will be time for
teachers to ask questions and share curriculum and lesson plans.
Understanding Somalia will take place during the
Somali Family Resource Conference
(registration
site),
hosted by Somali Family Services of Minnesota, and SFF encourages
teachers to attend the full day conference. The conference
aims to
bring members of the Twin Cities communities together to promote
understanding and inter-cultural exchange in the Somali community.
Conference
Keynote Address (noon): "Sister Schools: Minnesota and Somalia" by
Mohamud Hamud of Puntland State University, Garowe, Somalia.
For more
information about the Somali Family Resources Conference, please visit
http://www.ussfs.org.
WORKSHOP DATE:
Wednesday, October 24
TIME: 1PM
- 3PM (Workshop Only); Somali Family Resource Conference 9AM - 4PM
LOCATION: Room L3000 Minneapolis Community
and Technical College
COST: FREE - this
workshop is funded by the Institute for Global Studies' Title VI grant
and Somali Family Services of Minnesota
CREDIT:
Teachers earn 2 CEUs. Academic credit not
available.
REGISTER:
http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach/registration.html
Free Workshops (and CEUs) for teachers interested in Global Issuesp
Hello everyone. 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. For more information on other issues and events related to global studies in education read the attached
newsletter, "Outreach".
The workshops featured below include:
- Exploring National Identity in the European Union
- Understanding Somalia: An Interactive Workshop
- Art of Documenting: Photography and Modern China
Perhaps some of these topics will relate to the literature/topics you teach or the students you work with.
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: Introduction - National Identity in the EU
Thomas Wolfe, Department of History, University of Minnesota
Saturday, September 22, 2007 9:00 - 4:00 in room 710 Social Sciences
Building, U of M
Workshop 2: Identity and Multiculturalism in France
Trica Keaton, Department of American Studies, Njeri Githire, African American and African Studies, and Pam Wesely, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota
Saturday, October 27, 2007 9:00 - 4:00 in room 710 Social Sciences Building, U of M
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
Please distribute widely
Grant
Opportunity
Gates Millennium Scholars and Page Education
Foundation at October 23 Forum for Students of Color Interested in
College Scholarships
One-stop shopping for two important scholarships exclusively for
students of color.
The Minnesota Minority Education Partnership (MMEP) will hold an event
to encourage Minnesota's students of color to apply for the Gates
Millennium scholarships and Page Education Foundation scholarships on
Tuesday, October 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, at the St. Paul College, in
the Commons Area. St. Paul College is located at 235 Marshall
Avenue,
in St. Paul.
Students of color, their families, high school guidance counselors,
college access advisors or any other professionals who advise students
on college preparation or entry are encouraged to attend this event, as
are community members who are interested. Representatives
from both
organizations will be on hand to will present information on the
application process and acceptance criteria, and to provide tips to
make the application process easier.
It should be noted that the bulk of these scholarships are awarded to
high school students who are interested in attending college, not to
students who are already in college.
Both the Gates Millennium Scholarships and the Page Scholarships are
awarded only to students of color. They have different
acceptance
criteria, different requirements for disbursement, and differing award
levels - and together provide an important array of options for
students of color and their families that are concerned about financing
a college education.
This event is a part of MMEP's new initiative to develop a state-wide
network of college access programs, called the Minnesota College Access
Network (MCAN).
"We want all students from middle-schoolers to high schoolers and their
families, to attend the presentation and get a feel for how the
application process works" said Jennifer Godinez, Associate Director of
MMEP and Executive Director of MCAN. "It is important to
think about
and plan for college early. Start thinking about college at middle
school and you and your family have time to develop a
plan."
For more information on the criteria for Gates Millennial scholars, go
to www.gmsp.org
For
more information on the Page Education Foundation, go to www.page-ed.org
Questions about this event should be directed to Mona Harris
at mharris@mmep.net.
Light refreshments will be served and RSVP's are not
necessary.
St. Paul College is located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood in St.
Paul, on the corner of John Ireland Boulevard and Kellogg Avenue, an
easy exit off of 94. Directions and maps can be found on
their web
site: www.stpaul.edu
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