New Team Members
Due to an increase in the number and complexity of projects we are working on, DSF Consulting is pleased to announce the addition of two new team members in August 2012. Please read about all our talented team members here.
Jesse Markow
In addition to providing EL consulting services for DSF Consulting, Jesse Markow is the Director of Communication and Business Development for the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) project at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, where he has worked for 6 years. He communicates with agencies as they seek information about Consortium membership and activities and acts as project manager for State Education Agencies (SEAs) once they have joined. Prior to joining WIDA, he worked as project lead for the development of customized, large-scale, criterion-referenced statewide assessments for 10 years, overseeing test design, item development and review, standards alignment, open-response scoring, and issues of accessibility for test takers. He also has experience as an educator in a variety of school environments at grade levels 6-12 and university level in cultural studies, geography, and other subjects for eighteen years. In addition to education credentials he has a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from the Executive Education program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sabrina Wesley-Nero, Ph.D.
Dr. Sabrina Wesley-Nero is an educator, teacher educator, and researcher dedicated to the academic success of language learners. With over 10 years of experience in education, Sabrina has worked as a classroom teacher in elementary ESL, Spanish bilingual, and Spanish immersion classrooms; an adjunct faculty member for George Mason University; Director of Research and Program Evaluation at Center for Inspired Teaching; and Director of Curriculum for The New Teacher Project (TNTP). Dr. Wesley-Nero is a graduate of Georgetown University and has a MEd in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Multilingual and Multicultural Education and a PhD. in Education from George Mason University. Sabrina has presented at national conferences on issues related to second language learners and teacher preparation, worked as an educational consultant for Washington, DC, area schools, and designed teacher education curricula. Her research focuses on the preparation of effective teachers for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Service
Diane has agreed to serve as the lead reviewer to develop an ESL/TESOL subject specific version of the edTPA which is being developed by Stanford University and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).
For the first time, edTPA (formerly Teacher Performance Assessment) will give teacher preparation programs access to a multiple-measure assessment system aligned to state and national standards – including Common Core State Standards and the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) – that can guide the development of curriculum and practice around the common goal of making sure new teachers are able to teach each student effectively and improve student achievement. Demand for edTPA grew so rapidly that Stanford University engaged Pearson as an operational partner to help deliver it to the wide educational audience that asked for it. Involvement with edTPA is endorsed by AACTE and the Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium (TPAC), comprised of 24 states and the District of Columbia and more than 160 teacher preparation programs participating in edTPA activities. edTPA was field tested in Spring 2012.
Mention and Connection in Education Week Magazine
Two of DSF Consulting’s projects related to English learners were featured in Education Week magazine in August 2012.
The first mention was an in-depth article about our partnering with the University of Massachusetts Boston to design and pilot the Rethinking Equity and Teaching of English Language Learners (RETELL) course, which will provide the basis of professional development to 25,000 content area teachers in Massachusetts.
The second article in EdWeek contained coverage of the Association of Latino Administrators and Supervisors (ALAS) National Convening in Washington, DC. DSF Consulting was contacted to leverage its vast network to reach out to key thought leaders from across the country in the field of English learner education and advocacy, and Diane co-moderated a breakout session. This convening brought various stakeholders together to discuss issues and suggest strategies to ensure that Latino students will succeed in US schools.
Policy Publication
Laura Kuti co-authored a technical report, National Evaluation of Title III Implementation – a Survey of States’ English Language Proficiency Standards, which was released in August. Diane’s contribution to this review was acknowledged in the report as well. This report describes the results of Laura and Diane’s in-depth review of all 50 states’ English language proficiency standards as part of the federally funded National Evaluation of Title III Implementation study under contract to the American Institutes for Research.