AFT ELL Teacher Cadre
At DSF Consulting, we’ve been working hard to ensure English learners receive the support they need to succeed in school. Here are some ways we have worked toward that goal in January 2014.
AFT ELL Teacher Cadre
Dr. Diane Staehr Fenner joined the American Federation of Teachers’ ELL Teacher Cadre for a book signing of her book Advocating for English Learners: A Guide for Educators. One of the Cadre members commented the following:
I just wanted to say that I read much of Diane Staehr Fenner’s book on my trip home. I LOVED it. It gave me some great ideas of things to try in my district and it validated what we already do. It is a great framework for getting our content teachers on board to share responsibility. It gave me some more ideas on how to build more partnerships with content teachers and analyze some of the dynamics we face. I really enjoyed it and am excited to continue reading!
Center for Applied Linguistics Webinar
Diane kicked off the Center for Applied Linguistics’ new Education Connections project by presenting a webinar titled “Introduction to the Common Core: Advocating for English Learners.” CAL’s project provides Common Core resources and support to teachers of ELs. You can view the archived webinar here.
Technical Assistance in Georgia and Kentucky
Dr. Ayanna Cooper’s work in January with Georgia and Kentucky around supporting ELs focused on language assessments, teacher and leader mentoring, program compliance and facilitating professional development for teachers and paraprofessionals. During informal classroom observations she assisted department leaders in collecting evidence of standards-based best practices such as EL student engagement, student discourse, higher order thinking questions and assessments. Follow up visits include presenting to district administrators and other leadership teams.
Escambia County, Florida Professional Development
Ayanna facilitated two days of professional development for approximately 100 educators at the 3rd annual Multicultural Conference hosted by Escambia County’s ESOL Department. Participants engaged in conversations around implementing the Florida Standards (Common Core), advocating for English learners, and increasing collaboration between ESOL and content area teachers. Other presenters included Dr. Adeola Fayemi, Program Director for Immigrant Children and Youth Grant & District ELL Plans and Dr. Wendy Williams, faculty member at the University of West Florida. Some quotes from participants included:
- “Your knowledge enthusiasm & experience allowed for a dynamic presentation! I’d enjoy more time learning from you”
- “Very interactive & interesting, lots of ideas”
- “I am really excited about the discussion we had at the end of the day about teaching different approaches. Thank you!”
Colorin Colorado Blog Posts
- Text-Dependent Questions for ELLs – posted on January 24, 2014
- Looking at the Crystal Ball: Common Core for ELLs in 2014 – posted on January 16, 2014