Category Archives: English learners

New Multilingual Education Publication Announced – Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Posted on by

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today the release of the new California Department of California (CDE) publication, Improving Education for Multilingual and English Learner Students: Research to Practice. The publication is designed to support local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement the English Learner Roadmap Policy in schools and improve instruction for both English learners and other students learning multiple languages.

“This publication will serve as a valuable resource for teachers, administrators, and other educators who serve California’s 2.5 million multilingual and English learner students,” said Thurmond. “It highlights research-based practices implemented by districts and schools, grounded in the English Learner Roadmap principles. This book is a needed resource for continuing to improve the education of the diverse student population we serve.”

Source: New Multilingual Education Publication Announced – Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Initial ELPAC Test Moves Online – Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Posted on by

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced this week that the assessment used to determine a student’s English proficiency has successfully transitioned online, giving educators a powerful tool to reach and support English learners while school campuses are closed.

The Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) has moved from a paper-pencil test to an online computer-based test and, as a result, produced real-time results. The online test became available to school districts and charter schools on August 20.

The Initial ELPAC serves as the state’s English language proficiency assessment to identify students as English learners. The test is administered to all students whose primary or home language is not English.

Source: Initial ELPAC Test Moves Online – Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

DeVos Appoints New Director for English-Learner Office – Education Week

Posted on by

By Corey Mitchell

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has appointed Lorena Orozco McElwain to lead the federal office for English-language-learner education, shaking up a long-standing tradition of selecting candidates with significant experience in bilingual or federal education policy.

While she once worked as a bilingual education teacher, McElwain, unlike her predecessors, made her mark as a high-ranking civil servant in several agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Library of Congress, and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Since 2018, she had served as a political appointee in the Agriculture Department.

McElwain succeeds José Viana, who left the post in December. Dating back to 2001, previous directors, including Viana, have come to the office directly from jobs tied to K-12 schools, academia, education advocacy, or within the federal Education Department.

Source: DeVos Appoints New Director for English-Learner Office – Politics K-12 – Education Week

Remote Learning for English Learners and Special Needs Students during COVID-19 – Public Policy Institute of California

Posted on by

For California’s most vulnerable students, including 1.2 million English Learners (EL) and over 700,000 students with special educational needs, remote learning in the wake of COVID-19 presents particular challenges. As districts across the state roll out distance learning plans to minimize disruption to K–12 students, educators must find alternate ways to meet all student needs.

English Learners and special education students typically require more in-person support, such as occupational and speech therapy, in their daily learning than students in general. Educators are struggling to devise and implement plans to address these requirements remotely. Access to internet and devices is one area of concern, but so is providing intensive learning experiences that can stand in for in-person services.

Most EL and special education students live in large urban areas with access to broadband, and school districts in these counties, such as in the Bay Area and coastal counties in Southern California, may be able to partner with philanthropy and technology providers to supplement households currently without broadband access. Rural areas, however, may not have the same supports.

Source: Remote Learning for English Learners and Special Needs Students during COVID-19 – Public Policy Institute of California

FSUSD English Learner Reclassification Celebration – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Tim Goree

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District is excited to announce its first ever, district wide English Learner Reclassification Celebration!

On April 24, 2018 at the Fairfield Community Center’s Willow Hall, the district will honor and recognize nearly 400 English learner students who have achieved English language fluency and mastery of academic skills. To qualify for reclassification, students must exceed standards set by the FSUSD Governing Board as measured by the state language assessment, a standards based assessment, teacher recommendation, and parent consultation.

Two separate celebration ceremonies will take place to properly recognize all of these students.

Source: FSUSD English Learner Reclassification Celebration

Fairfield-Suisun USD to discuss 2018-19 budget priorities – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

A discussion of 2018-19 budget priorities will be among the more significant items of an otherwise relatively light agenda when Fairfield-Suisun Unified leaders meet tonight in Fairfield.

Michelle Henson, assistant superintendent of business services, will lead the discussion, which will be based on Gov. Jerry Brown’s $190 billion 2018-19 state budget proposal, released in January and due for revision in May.

Her presentation, casting an eye on the impact of the state’s numbers on the district’s, will come two weeks after she led a budget presentation at the trustees’ Jan. 25 meeting.

Specifically, Henson will note that projected average daily attendance (ADA) funding for the coming year will be about $9,450 for each of the district’s estimated 20,550 students, yielding some $194 million in state funding under Brown’s landmark Local Control Funding Formula. Additionally, she will tell the seven-member governing board, one-time discretionary funds from the current year will account for some $6 million in additional funds spent on students.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District to discuss 2018-19 budget priorities

New California law expands low-income parents’ access to subsidized child care | EdSource

Posted on by

By Ashley Hopkinson

In an effort to remove obstacles for Californians trying to succeed in the labor market, a new law could make access to child care easier for low-income parents taking classes to learn English or complete high school.

The law will expand the eligibility requirements for subsidized child care. It will make low-income parents who are are enrolled in English as a second language classes (ESL) or a program to earn a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED) eligible to place their children in subsidized care.

Although in the past some parents taking ESL classes were considered eligible for subsidized care, it was not specifically listed as a factor for eligibility.

Source: New California law expands low-income parents’ access to subsidized child care | EdSource

SCOE to discuss achievement plans for Juvenile Court, Detention Facility students – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

A Local Control Accountability Plan update, a state and federal legislative update, and achievement plans for students in the Juvenile Court and Community School program, Juvenile Detention Facility, and Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Services are on the agenda when the Solano County Office of Education leaders meet tonight in Fairfield.

Nicola Parr, director of student and program support, will offer the seven-member governing board a brief update on the county school’s LCAP, the document that guides virtually all of the agency’s spending, especially for poor, English language learners and foster youth programs.

Superintendent Lisette Estrella-Henderson will provide an update on state and federal legislation.

Victor Romualdi, associate superintendent for student programs and educational services, and Gricelda Rodriguez, program administrator of education options, will lead the reports on Single Plans for Student Achievement at the Golden Hills Juvenile Court and Community School, at the Juvenile Detention Facility, and the Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Services.

Source: Solano County Office of Education to discuss achievement plans for Juvenile Court, Detention Facility students

English Learner progress, facility use fee schedule on FSUSD agenda – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

English learner progress, a facility use fee schedule and a new appointee to the Measure J Citizens Oversight Committee are on the agenda when Fairfield-Suisun Unified leaders meet tonight in Fairfield.

Howard Kornblum, director of English Learners and Instructional Support for the district, will present the 2017-18 report on the progress of English Learners, students who are unable to communicate fluently or learn adequately in English and often live in homes where English is not the first language.

In his report, Kornblum will highlight to the seven-member governing board several things, among them: 1) Progress of English Learners toward proficiency in English; 2) Percentage of students reclassified as “English-proficient”; the number or percentage of students who are — or may be — at risk of being deemed “long-term” English Learners; achievement levels on state standardized tests of core subjects; and, for comparison purposes, previous year data.

Source: English Learner progress, facility use fee schedule on FSUSD agenda tonight

New Professional Learning Support Director – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

Posted on by

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that he has appointed Barbara Murchison as Director of the California Department of Education (CDE) Professional Learning Support Division.

Murchison will oversee the division’s efforts to support educators throughout their professional career, from recruitment to leadership opportunities. This division works in collaboration across the Department and the state, helping educators implement the California Standards and curriculum frameworks.

It administers several professional learning programs for educators at all levels and in all content areas, including science, technology, engineering, math, history-social science, literacy, and arts, with the goal of ensuring equitable learning opportunities for the state’s most vulnerable students, including English learners.

Murchison most recently served as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Lead, where she helped create a plan that meets federal requirements while shifting away from top-down decision-making and toward local control that helps local school districts better meet their own needs. The plan was developed over 18 months with input from thousands of Californians.

Source: New Professional Learning Support Director – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

Vacaville schools supe offers detailed look at district – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

In her annual report to the governing board, Vacaville Unified Superintendent Jane Shamieh on Thursday offered a detailed, data-filled snapshot of the school district during the 2016-17 academic year, a mixed bag of good and, she appeared to concede, sometimes disappointing news.

Using a computer-aided slide presentation, Shamieh, standing at a lectern in the Educational Services Center, laid out the numbers, from enrollment and student demographics to the annual budget and CASSPP scores to the graduation rate and physical education programs to student intervention and support practices and changes in child nutrition, to name a few segments.

She also offered year-end data about the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, the document that outlines parameters for student achievement, closing the so-called “achievement gap,” and enhancing school climate, among other things. (The LCAP, a key component of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, guides virtually all spending for California’s 1,000 school districts, especially for programs affecting English learners, low-income students and foster youth.)

Source: Vacaville schools supe offers detailed look at district

Vacaville school district ranked in detailed income-expense comparative analysis – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

Vacaville Unified leaders late last week were nowhere near a school cafeteria but they heard plenty of information from representatives of an advocacy educational resources firm that provided food for thought as the district’s new academic year begins Thursday.

Two employees from the Sacramento-based School Services of California Inc., which offers business, financial, management and support for the state’s 1,000 school districts, laid out the numbers during Thursdays’s governing board meeting, an comparative analysis of district income and expenses side-by-side with a dozen primarily other Bay Area districts for the 2015-16 year (the most recent for which their specific data was available).

School district officials had requested the analysis, Sheila Vickers, a company vice president, told trustees. The analysis and comparisons cast an eye on districts with similar average daily attendance and percentages of “unduplicated” students, that is, English learners, low-income and foster youth.

Source: Vacaville school district ranked in detailed income-expense comparative analysis

State Board of Education approves English Learner Roadmap | EdSource

Posted on by

By Theresa Harrington

To help California’s more than 1.4 million English learners navigate through the public school system, the State Board of Education has approved an “English Learner Roadmap.”

The Roadmap is the first new language policy adopted in nearly two decades to serve the one in four public school students throughout the state who are classified as English learners. It is expected to help schools in the more than 1,000 districts statewide to meet updated state and federal education requirements and laws.

Approved last week, the Roadmap aims to help English learner students and their parents know what courses, programs and services are available to them. It was created partially in response to the passage of Proposition 58 last year, which eliminated some legal barriers to bilingual education. Prop. 58 paves the way for all students to “receive the highest quality education, master the English language, and access high-quality and innovative language programs,” according to a news release.

Source: State Board of Education approves English Learner Roadmap | EdSource

State board, advocacy groups fundamentally disagree over plan for complying with federal education law | EdSource

Posted on by

By John Fensterwald

After much talk and testimony at a nine-hour meeting, the State Board of Education made modest changes last week to its draft of the state plan for complying with the Every Student Succeeds Act. Board members are confident the plan will soon be ready to pass along to the federal government for approval. Members of a coalition of two dozen civil rights and student advocacy organizations said the changes will do little to improve a plan that’s still vague and weak.

“After months of feedback and engagement, the current plan still doesn’t address the core issues that we know are absolutely essential to support high-need students,” Samantha Tran, senior director of education programming for the nonprofit Children Now, wrote in an email. “The state seems to be abdicating an essential civil rights role, and it’s disheartening.”

Source: State board, advocacy groups fundamentally disagree over plan for complying with federal education law | EdSource

New funds available to train bilingual teachers in California | EdSource

Posted on by

By Ashley Hopkinson

In the midst of a statewide teacher shortage, the new California state budget includes $5 million to address a shortfall of bilingual teachers, a shortage a new study concludes will continue following the passage of Proposition 58 and the expected growth of bilingual programs.

The new state law, in effect on July 1, lifted an almost 20-year ban on bilingual education and gives districts more flexibility to offer bilingual classes to all students. Under the old law English learners had to be taught in English, unless a parent signed a waiver to enroll their child in bilingual or dual language programs — classrooms where students are taught in English and another language such as Mandarin or Spanish. The goal is learning to read, write and speak in both languages.

The change came about because of Proposition 58, which voters approved last year by a vote of 73.5 percent to 26.5 percent. It implements the California Multilingual Education Act of 2016 and allows public schools to teach English learners and all students through multiple programs.

Source: New funds available to train bilingual teachers in California | EdSource

English-learner report, student achievement plan on Dixon Unified agenda – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified leaders, when they meet Thursday, will consider the annual District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) report, approve new courses at C.A. Jacobs Intermediate School, discuss a teacher survey on elementary school reconfiguration, and likely approve the Measure Q Citizen Oversight Committee membership roll.

Mike Walbridge, assistant superintendent of educational services, will present the DELAC report.

Every California public school district, grades K-12, is required to form a DELAC if it has 51 or more English-learner students. The committee is comprised of school staff, parents of English-learner students, other parents and community members who are interested in English-learner programs. The committee advises the district’s governing board (in person, by letters or reports, or through an administrator, on programs and services for English learners).

In the agenda documents, Walbridge noted that an unspecified number of parent members will offer a brief “needs assessment as part of the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan) stakeholder engagement process.”

 

Source: English-learner report, student achievement plan on Dixon Unified agenda

Local control formula closing funding gap but not equity gap, report says | EdSource

Posted on by

By John Fensterwald

Four years after its passage, the Local Control Funding Formula has narrowed and, by some measures, reversed the funding gap between the lowest- and highest-poverty districts in California.

But an infusion of funding hasn’t translated yet into improved opportunities for low-income students and English learners ­– and may not achieve that goal without tighter disclosure rules and more innovative approaches to distributing districts’ resources, a student advocacy organization said in a report published Thursday.

“We need more clarity on where money is going. Without transparency, community stakeholders, policymakers and the broader public are left to wonder whether this massive public experiment and investment is paying off,” said the Education Trust–West in “The Steep Road to Resource Equity in California Education.”

Source: Local control formula closing funding gap but not equity gap, report says | EdSource

Vacaville Unified official: New school accountability system gets mixed marks – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

The newly released state public school and district accountability system, which uses multiple measures of school progress and performance, gets a mixed reaction from Vacaville Unified’s chief academic officer.

“Overall, I like the concept and the idea of looking at multiple sources of data; I think that’s really good,” Mark Frazier said of the California School Dashboard, launched last month by the state Department of Education.

“But one of the things that is disappointing is, that some of the data they’re using (suspension rate, English learner progress and graduation rate) is not as up-to-date as it could be,” he added. “That data is so old it’s hard to interpret.”

Source: Vacaville Unified official: New school accountability system gets mixed marks

State department of education releases $100M in college-readiness grants – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

For many California’s high school students, dreams of attending college are being nurtured by a state grant.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Wednesday announced that nearly 1,000 school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, will receive about $100 million in grants to help students prepare to attend college.

The grants, which are available through the 2018–19 fiscal year, come from a $200 million College Readiness Block Grant program administered by the California Department of Education. The expenditure also was approved by Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature.

The goal is to increase the number of students who enroll in college and complete a degree program in four years, with a special emphasis on helping English learners, low-income students, and foster youth.

 

Source: State department of education releases $100M in college-readiness grants

Vacaville Unified supe offers A-to-Z district snapshot – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

Despite recent bad news that several Solano County unified school districts have some of the lowest average-daily-attendance funding in California, Vacaville’s can still lay claim to some decidedly positive news.

Science kits in elementary classrooms, Chromebooks for every student across 16 district campuses, Measure A projects, PE teachers at every elementary school, and increased pay for employees were among the highlights cited by Superintendent Jane Shamieh during her 2015-16 annual report when she updated trustees and the public during last week’s governing board meeting.

Stepping down from the dais in the Educational Services Center and standing behind a lectern to face trustees, she moved quickly during her slide presentation, recalling last year’s major board actions and initiatives for students and employees, something of an A-to-Z snapshot of the district.

 

Source: Vacaville Unified supe offers A-to-Z district snapshot