ELLevation Strategies Increase your Ellevation knowledge ❖ Data awareness: Familiarize yourself with our powerful new student list.Watch our quick videos. (Admin. & specialist Use ONLY) ❖ Instructional Solutions: Learn how teachers can now search for instructional activities by grade level, subject areas, academic topics and standards. Quick video on finding activities. Another video on the essentials of the Activity page. ❖ Watch this short video we've created to introduce classroom teachers to Ellevation Strategies and how easy we've made it to find the perfect instructional activity based on the subject, topic, grade and even standard they're teaching that day. ❖ Share this checklist and videos with your principals. Be sure to watch the video of Don Hernandez, a real principal and a compelling voice on the difference Ellevation Strategies is making in his district.
New State Approved Assessment for identification
Pre-LAS & LAS link webinar for administering these assessments As you are probably already know the state has adopted a statewide assessment for identification into a language program (Bilingual/ ESL). The test that will be used is the Pre-LAS for PK-K (Oral) & LAS Link for grades 1st -12th (Oral, Reading & Writing). Fortunately, our district has used this test in the past. Therefore, some of our teachers are familiar with its components. In order to keep track of mandatory test administration all bilingual, ESL, LPAC Clerks, instructional coaches or anyone that campuses will utilize to help with the administration of this test, will need to go through an online training modules on how to administer and score these exams. The process is as follows: (click the links below) 1. What assessments do I need to administer? 2. Instructions that need to be followed to get started 3. Frequently ask Questions 4. Print out the certificate of completion
LAS Links Paper Assessment
LAS Link Materials Needed for Testing
Teacher & Parent Resources
Professional Development Professional development activities are designed to improve performance of the regular, bilingual and ESL staff in serving English language learners. A needs assessment based on competencies and requirements identified in TEA guidelines will determine professional development content. The district/campus will fund attendance at regional and state workshops according to needs. Professional development activities will include: ● Developmentally appropriate bilingual education programs for early childhood through the elementary grades. ● Affective, linguistic and cognitive instruction in the bilingual program. ● Programs designed for English language learners identified as gifted and talented students. ● Programs designed for English language learners identified with special needs. Each campus needs to have two representatives and an alternate to serve on the Bilingual Advisory Council. These teachers will serve for two years. The names of campus representatives and alternates need to be submitted to the bilingual director by September 1st. In addition, all bilingual campuses will conduct monthly meetings with bilingual and ESL teachers who are servicing English language learners in the classroom. The Hays CISD professional development model is inclusive of a variety of learning opportunities. Other opportunities include, but are not limited to: workshops, inquiry, and planning or critical study. Topics for staff development are listed below: Mandatory Development Trainings HCISD BOY LPAC Training PK-12 PD 2022-23 HCISD Sheltered Instruction/ ESL Certification Professional Supports, 2022-23 Training in administering and interpreting oral language proficiency tests (Pre-LAS and LAS) Annual review of TELPAS HCISD Bilingual Program PD Plan, 2022-23 District Bilingual and Dual Language teachers will meet quarterly by grade level Campus-based bilingual vertical team meetings once a month when there is no bilingual meeting scheduled
Language of Assessment When adequate teaching and learning have occurred, an English language learner should be able to begin testing in the English language. Below are the indicators that the teacher should use to guide him/her in deciding the language of assessment. This should serve as a guideline, giving the teacher a point of reference to start from. The final decision to test an English language learner in their secondary language must be approved through an LPAC meeting. ● Individualized Decision Process for Language of Assessment of Emergent Bilingual Students: A Continuum ● 2022-23 Decision Making Worksheet for Language of Assessment for Emergent Bilingual Students Teacher Data The decision to test a student in their secondary language should also be based on teacher observations, formal and informal assessment data. After reviewing the data from previous years (see above chart) and new data given from assessments given at the beginning of the first 4-6 weeks of school, teachers should have a plan of what language students would most likely be instructed in. The language of testing can be changed within the year, if teacher data determines that the student would do better in another language. In order to make this change, another LPAC must be held. The approval of the LPAC and the bilingual director is required. New Arrivals An LPAC meeting is required to make testing decisions for new arrivals. The LPAC will set linguistic accommodations for the student. The LPAC must be documented. Note: All students who are parent denials must participate in TELPAS until they are no longer coded as Emergent Bilingual
Grading and Promotion English language learners are to be assessed for achievement in a manner that is appropriate for their academic level and language of instruction. Student progress will be reviewed at the end of every grading period by the classroom teacher. The following points are guidelines for grading and promotion: Grading ●English language learners are to be assessed for progress and mastery of the curriculum through the language that has been designated for instruction in the bilingual education program. ●The standards for grading English language learners are consistent with campus policy for all students. Promotion English language learners are to be promoted to the next grade level when mastery of the curriculum has been demonstrated in either their primary language and/or in English. For any standards in addition to mastery of the curriculum, English language learners should be provided the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of these additional concepts in the language of instruction.
Teacher Checklist of Responsibility It is also the teacher’s responsibility to review the blue folders of all your students in the beginning of the school year to ensure that paperwork is in order and that all students in your classroom have been tested and gone through the LPAC process. Paperwork includes: Home Language Survey, Language Proficiency Test, and Parent Permission, Copy of LPAC report. Other responsibilities include the following: ◻ Attend annual LPAC training.(Face to Face for new teachers and online for returning teachers) ◻ Attend annual TELPAS/ELPS training ◻ Attend annual TELPAS manual training ◻ TELPAS online calibration training ◻ Attend Sheltered Instruction training ◻ Pre-LAS/ LAS Link training (new teachers) ◻ Administer Pre-LAS or LAS (in the fall, new students only) ◻ Ensure that all students in your classroom have a Home Language Survey and Parent Permission for Bilingual/ESL services. ◻ Fill out LPAC Forms prior to LPAC meeting. ◻ Participate in Language Proficiency Assessment Committee; schedule this with your LPAC Administrator at the ◻ Beginning of the year- initial LPACs for newly enrolled students ◻ Middle of the year- For state assessment accommodation ◻ End of the year- yearly progress and recommendations ◻ As needed during the school year- for students that are failing ◻ Prepare a Language Acceleration Plan for recent immigrants and for those students that didn’t make a categorical gain on TELPAS reading. (grades 3-12) ◻ At the secondary level, prepare Instructional Modifications for content area classes and submit to content area teachers. Also for Elementary campuses that departmentalize in 4th and 5th grade. ◻ Notify parents of reclassification and program status for the next school year. ◻ Send copy of Documentation of Language Proficiency Assessment Committee Meeting to parents. ◻ Put Documentation of Language Proficiency Assessment Committee Meeting in student’s blue folder in cumulative record.
ESL & Bilingual Stipends ESL Stipends ESL Stipends are given to teachers who are ESL certified, have ESL students in their classroom and are responsible for providing content area instruction. This can include teachers who provide dyslexia reading, reading intervention, math intervention, or special education. The purpose of the stipend is to compensate the teachers for additional work that is required of them such as language testing, TELPAS ratings, implementing ESL strategies, LPAC meetings, LPAC training and additional trainings as required and for having the ESL certification. ESL students should be assigned to one ESL teacher until that teacher reaches her/his limit of 5 students. When the limit has been reached, ESL students who register may be assigned to another ESL teacher in that grade level. ESL students should not be placed among two or three teachers if the number of 5 students has not been reached by one teacher. The second teacher will receive a full ESL stipend even if they only have one student and the first teacher has reached her maximum number of students. Teachers who receive the stipend will assume the responsibilities of testing for oral language proficiency, TELPAS ratings, LPAC meetings, LPAC training and other additional training as needed. Dyslexia, special education, math and reading intervention teachers will help with the above noted responsibilities for the ESL students they instruct. If the grade level is departmentalized, the principal and grade level teachers must decide who will be responsible for the additional duties and is therefore entitled to receive the ESL stipend. That decision must be reported to the Bilingual/ESL Director. Any additions that occur throughout the year must also reported. Bilingual Stipends Bilingual Stipends are given to teachers/staff who have Bilingual Certification and are responsible for providing content area instruction or support in Spanish. This can include teachers who provide dyslexia reading, reading intervention, math intervention, or special education. The purpose of the stipend is to compensate the teachers for additional work that is required of them such as language testing, TELPAS ratings, providing instruction in two languages, LPAC meetings, LPAC training and additional trainings as required and for having the Bilingual certification. Dyslexia, special education, math and reading intervention teachers will help with the above noted responsibilities for the Bilingual students they instruct.
Summer School Program for English Language Learners Hays CISD offers a voluntary summer program for English language learners who will be eligible for admission to kindergarten or the first grade at the beginning of the next school year. Enrollment in the program is optional with parent approval. Summer School Program Goals ●English language learners shall have an opportunity to receive special instruction designed to prepare them to be successful in kindergarten and first grade. ●Instruction shall focus on language development and essential knowledge and skills appropriate to the level of the student. ●The program shall address the affective, linguistic, and cognitive needs of the English language learners. Program requirements include: ●The program shall be operated on a half day basis (equivalent to 120 hours of instruction). ●The student/teacher ratio for the program district-wide shall not exceed 18 to one. In addition, students eligible for admission to grades 2-10 may participate in the summer school program as provided by the district. Bilingual staff will offer services and students will participate in instruction commensurate with that of their age level peers.
Annual District Program Evaluation The Hays CISD Dual language program shall be evaluated annually. This evaluation is multidimensional and reports data about student performance, demographic data, results of annual surveys, and a compiled needs assessments. The annual report of educational performance shall include: ●The number of students being served ●The number of students identified but not in the program through parent/student denial ●The number of students being served in the program and also being served in other programs ●The number of students who have been exited from the program ●Professional development opportunities ●Results of annual parent and teacher survey ●TELPAS results ●STAAR results ●Alternative test results ●Status of program goals and program goals for the upcoming year
Parental Communication and Involvement Student success is a collaborative effort between the school and the home. Teachers and parents share the responsibility of ensuring that all students meet or exceed the learning expectations. Communication In order to keep this partnership strong, teachers will make direct contact with the parents/guardians of English language learners by telephone, written communication, conferences, and home visits. It is the responsibility of the bilingual/dual language/ESL teacher to ensure that the following information is communicated to each parent: 1.Provide information concerning the purpose of the bilingual and ESL programs. 2.Report progress of the student including the curriculum and STAAR. 3.Make recommendations concerning the student instructional program and services available (tutoring, summer school, etc.). 4.Offer suggestions on how parents can help their children. 5.Provide information about community adult educational opportunities through Community Action (Kyle Family Learning Center, GED, vocational programs). McCormick Adult Ed Flyer Lehman Adult Ed Flyer 6.Obtain input from parents through an annual survey about how to improve the program for students. Involvement The bilingual/dual language/ESL teachers will make every effort to involve parents in the education of their children. Each parent will be provided with a list of planned cultural activities for their campus at the beginning of each school year. District Commitment The multilingual department is committed to form a parent advisory council comprised of parents whose students are being served in the bilingual or ESL programs in HCISD to ensure 2-way communication between district and families. There will be one Fall and one Spring parent advisory council meeting scheduled.
Online Resources: Websites Name of websites What it is and what is it used for Schoology The learning management system that is used in Hays Content Resource Site CISD. It is used to hold all of our curriculum resources. It is also used for communication through Schoology groups. ELLevation The software that holds a all of Hays English Learners (EL) documentation. LPACs, State Assessments, provides TEA: LPAC strategies. Reading Academies ● How to create a account in ELLevation English Language Portal- Home Page The State website with the updates of the language Elementary Online Resources Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) The new State and Hays cisd adopted district reading initiative. It helps provides teachers with ways on how to teach reading. T.E.A. website that helps teacher and parents with ways to support EL and their community.
Multilingual Department Directory Title Name Extension Image Director of Multilingual Patricia Melgar-Cook 45013 Department LPAC, TELPAS Coordinator Ben Estrada 45017 and Migrant Contact Elementary Katherine Molina 45029 Bil/ ESL Specialist Elementary Linda Sedillo 45048 Bil/ ESL Specialist Sara Sparks 45066 Secondary 6-12 ESL Specialist C&I Translator Sylvia Holt Hays CISD C&I Translation/Interpretation Services Multilingual Department Debbie Lognion Secretary
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