June 2009
Northern New England TESOLNew Hampshire,
Quarterly Report Spring 2009
NNETESOL New Hampshire Spring Mini-ConferenceOver 50 attendees
turned out for the first New Hampshire mini-conference, held at Plymouth State University on May 3rd. The day started with
themed roundtables, followed by four concurrent workshops, lunch, four additional afternoon sessions and finally a book/lesson
plan exchange.
Upper Valley ESOL Network- We have been meeting the first Wednesday
of each month at 3:00 in the art room at Seminary Hill School in West Lebanon, New Hampshire.
- During the past few
meetings, we have discussed and learned how to use the new wiki for our network to allow us to share concerns, issues, information,
research, websites, and ideas within the group. We have also discussed Special Education evaluations of ELLs, ACCESS testing,
the need for better collaboration with mainstream teachers and ways to disseminate information to them, and recent articles
about the growing numbers of ELLs. Those who attended the NH NNETESOL spring conference shared what they had learned in workshops,
and some teachers have shared useful materials and books. (Submitted by Charlotte Johnson)
News from LebanonLebanon
just hired 2 new ELL teachers for next year. We welcome Anne Morin and Kristin Armstrong to our team. Our program continues
to grow in exciting ways. We also wish Anne Lyczak the best as she retires after many years of teaching. (Submitted by Rebecca
Wurdak)
DOE in ConcordSuzanne Rackham left her position as DOE ELL statewide
coordinator this past winter. The DOE has not yet hired a replacement. There has been considerable turnover in this important
position recently. Concerns have been voiced that this turnover and the ensuing gaps in the position have caused confusion
for teachers.
UNH Manchester- ESOL certification courses offered at UNHM this summer include
Foundations of Literacy and Sociolinguistics. In the fall we will offer ESOL Curriculum and Assessment.
- The English
language learning and teaching professional development cooperative of NH (ELL Co-op) has completed its second year (of a
five year project). To date it has provided approximately $235,000 in course tuition for teachers to take ESOL certification
courses at UNH (Durham or Manchester) campus and has supported a number of professional learning communities around the state.
- One
PLC, facilitated by Dr. Suzanne Irujo, is working with the WIDA standards and the NH grade span expectations at the high school
level to develop ELL standards specific to NH. Several members of this group reported their work at the NH version of the
spring NNETESOL conference on May 2, 2009. The group is going to be asking the NH community for feedback on the document in
the coming months.
- Another PLC targets higher education faculty so that they will begin to infuse ELL issues across
all aspects of the teacher education curriculum. Seventeen faculty members attended a two-day workshop on ELLs in NH and began
working on revising course syllabi for summer and fall '09 courses. (Submitted by Judy Sharkey)
UNH
Manchester Teachers as Researchers Conference Dr. Gerald Campano, author of Immigrant Students and Literacy,
was the keynote speaker at the 7th Annual Teachers as Researchers Conference at UNH Manchester on May 8, 2009. Approximately
175 people attended. There were 28 sessions, 9 of which were directly related to ELL issues. (Submitted by Judy Sharkey)
Respectfully submitted, James Whiting
September 20, 2008
Well, we’re off and running with the start of the 2008-2009 school year. There were two network meetings in
September. The Upper Valley network meeting was held Sept. 9th at the Hopkins Center in Hanover, NH and subsequent meetings
will take place on the first Wednesday of each month at Hanover High School from 3-5 pm. The South Central network meetings
are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Manchester Community College. Both meetings hosted Suzanne Rackham, Title III
consultant at the DOE. She indicated that she plans to come to all future network meetings and the news was very positively
received by all who attended. She will be able to listen to our concerns, discuss upcoming professional development activities
planned by her office, and offer her support to those of us “in the trenches” of teaching Esol, K-12. I have said
this before but it bears repeating-these network meetings are invaluable for those of us teaching as itinerants as it gives
us an opportunity to voice our concerns and receive practical solutions when possible, but always an empathetic audience.
Several of us expressed the recurring concern that we aren’t providing what we consider to be adequate instructional
services when we are often spread among several district schools. The following is a summary of what we heard from Suzanne:
-The new Compliance Manual will probable be posted on the DOE Web page by the end of the week. There is
no need to revise district compliance guides at this time.
-The DOE web pages will be changed over the coming
weeks to make them more user friendly. Suggestions are welcomed.
-Suzanne has found a program called ‘Trans
Acts’ which provides translations of 75+ documents in various languages. It is being used by nine other states
and is very pricey.
The cost of this program (if adopted) would be incurred by the DOE, not by the districts. More
to come.
-Professional development workshops are being planned. Suzanne is working with Judy Sharkey at UNH
to provide a workshop that would be given twice in November. It will be on ELLs and Special Ed.. The presenters will
be from RI College and the Brown Alliance. There will be a maximum of 45 people per workshop and it is hoped that there
will be equal numbers of ESOL and Sp. Ed. Teachers. Again, it will be a one-day workshop given twice. There will also
be two workshops for ACCESS training; one will be for new teachers only (they will be strict about this), the other will be
for ‘seasoned’ teachers.
-The WAPT is now THE screener to be used. There were lots of
questions regarding the kindergarten WAPT. Teachers don’t feel that there is enough information to make decisions
about services. The DOE is aware of this.
-There is no state policy on exchange students. If it poses
no hardship on the district and they wish to provide services, then they may. Exchange students are not to be tested
with ACCESS.
-There were many questions on the recommended hours of services for students. Suzanne said that
at this point the recommended instructional hours were set by WIDA based on the ACCESS tests. They are included in the
Compliance Guide.
-There will be REM (Refugee Education Meetings) every month in different areas of the state for
teachers to get more support/information for refugee students.
In October, students in grades
3-8 and 11 will be taking the NECAP assessment in mathematics and reading. Students in grade 8 and 11 also take a writing
test. Esol students who enrolled in a US school after Oct. 1, 2007 are exempt from the reading and writing portion of the
test. They must take the mathematics test but can use a bilingual dictionary for a word for word translation of directions
and test questions. If the Esol teacher administers the NECAP to his or her students, no explanatations can be given of test
questions.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Fahey
James Whiting
The Department of Education is still without a permanent state consultant for the Esol program.
However, it appears a replacement for Sue Stepick may be found soon as final interviews for the position are currently being
conducted. In the meantime, many people at the DOE have been graciously helping out, including Joanne Magarian (always
willing to answer a plethora of questions posed to her regarding Esol issues), Teresa Vincent, Esol Data and Reports Program
Specialist, and Sue Morgan, State Coordinator for Access.
Sue Morgan has been working with the US Title III Office to
come up with new AMAOs. They are in draft form until final approval from the USDE but school districts in NH have
permission to use these guidelines for this year’s testing, the results of which we are all anxiously awaiting.
The new AMAOs are as follows:
In order for students to reach proficiency, they must have a composite score of 5.0
with each domain (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) of no less than 4.0 on the ACCESS for ELLs®. Students
cannot be exited from LEP services until they have reached proficiency. Once they have scored a composite 5.0 and each
domain being at least 4.0, they may be exited from LEP. Once exited, 1st year monitoring begins. Once students have
been exited, they are not eligible for LEP services. They may receive other supplementary services if they are eligible
(e.g. Title I services).
If students are in monitoring status and appear to need further LEP services, they should be
reentered as LEP students and cannot be re-exited until they retake the ACCESS for ELLs® and reach proficiency.
In other words, LEP services should only be given to active LEP students. This is not meant to penalize students who
may need extra help after exiting – it is meant to make sure that anyone receiving LEP services is counted as being
LEP.
Regional network meetings continue to be a source of networking, dissemination of information on compliance issues,
state initiatives, and any other topics of interest to the membership. In the Connecticut Valley Network meeting to
be held in Hanover on May 7, information will be shared about the national TESOL convention held in NYC. Those teachers
who were able to attend will share highlights of the convention and also share those “precious commodities,”
known as “Presentation Handouts!” Among topics very much in evidence throughout the convention included:
Literacy for Ells, Teaching Academic Vocabulary, Collaborating with Mainstream Teachers, Action Research, Identifying Ells
for Special Education (or not!), RTI (Response to Intervention). RTI seems to be surfacing in many school districts
across the US and Esol teachers discussed how the three tier model should actually include a fourth tier for Ells. I don’t
know how much the model is used through school districts in Maine and Vermont but our middle school in Claremont, NH uses
it.
This concludes the state report for NH. Barbara is returning to NH from a European trip and is regretfully
unable to join us at the board meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Fahey
Barbara
Christina
NH State Representatives to NNETESOL
***
New Hampshire State Report
NNETESOL Executive Board Meeting
February 1, 2008There are three ESOL teacher networks that meet on a monthly
basis in NH-North Conway, Hanover, and Concord. All three meet for the purpose of discussing concerns of the members
and all things “ESOL” happening in the state. Recent agenda items included the following:
* Discussion
of aligning WIDA standards with GLEs (Grade Level Expectations). There is a UNH grant funding this important work.
* There is big news at the DOE as a vacancy exists for the position of Education Consultant-Title III. Sue Stepick
recently stepped down from the position she held for the past two years after taking over the position from Christine Noon,
who served for several years. Information about the position can be found on the NH listserve (NHESLNet@alliance.brown.edu).
In the January 9 meeting in Concord, Sue was wished well by all the attendees and she discussed work being done on AMAOS and
the effect on Title III schools. She will post the report on the listserve.
Christine Noon is running a program
at UNH Manchester called CPT, or College Transition Program. This is a first-year college program that is like a fifth year
of high school or a pre-college year. Many of these students would not ordinarily be able to attend UNH except for this program.
The students take courses toward an associate’s degree. For most ESOL students, it will take two years to complete the
program.
Access testing is being done in all New Hampshire school districts. The testing window is Jan. 14th to
Feb. 29th. As we all know, the testing is very time-consuming but in speaking to many of our colleagues, the majority
feel it is time well-spent to get solid, comprehensive information about the proficiency of our students. Many colleagues
find that once the testing reports come in, they offer an opportunity to have valuable discussion with classroom teachers.
Scheduling is often difficult and that process is complicated by a shortage of appropriate testing spaces, especially for
itinerant teachers who travel to 2-4 schools daily. Discussions with colleagues about Access testing led to discussions
around numbers of students served and whether teachers felt they were providing adequate instructional services. The
majority of ESOL teachers in low-incidence school districts felt understaffed and in most cases were doing it all, sometimes
with no help from ESOL paras or part-time ESOL teachers to provide additional support. This is certainly a discussion
worth continuing in network meetings, if for no other reason, to offer “moral” support to each other who sometimes
do the impossible because it is what is needed to help our students achieve in school. One teacher mentioned doing a
lot of translating for her students in meetings and in written notices without compensation and wondered if she was alone
in that. Everyone agreed that they benefit from attending network meetings to learn from each other and to keep current on
compliance issues.
Respectfully submitted, Jean Fahey
From Barbara:
Issues I would like to see addressed as
the state rep:
1. Pull out programs and mainstream teachers resistance. This has been reported
to me by several individuals. Is there any recognition by mainstream teachers as to what is ESOL and the appropriate education
of ELLs. Are they aware of their educational responsibilities and those of the ESOL teacher? Is there collaboration?
2.
Multi-level classes: another reply from ESOL teachers working in rural areas with few ELLs and having to serve them in a mixed
ability class.
3. Testing: My observations—do we use the results for data driven instruction;
best placement of students in ESOL classes and/or exiting the program?
4. Teachers working as
tutors and who are fully certified. We are a licensed subject area per the state. Why are educators treated differently but
to specialization as ESOL?
NNETESOL Board Meeting
September 8, 2007
New Hampshire Minutes There isn’t a lot news from the state as school
has just begun for all of us. The South Central ESOL Network Meeting will be starting again soon. These meetings will
be held at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, New Hampshire. The first meeting will be Tuesday, September
12, from 4pm to 5:45 pm. This is an opportunity to share information regarding “all things Esol” in the
state. Other regional network meetings are also gearing up. The Upper Valley group met on Sept. 5 in Lebanon,
NH and will continue to meet monthly on the first Wednesday of each month.
There has been a discussion at the state level to clarify what our responsibility is regarding the assessment and instruction
for exchange students. Our state Esol consultant will be researching the issue and report back to us.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jean K. Fahey, Claremont School District
NH State
Representative
Updates and more updatesThere are three
active Esol regional networks for the 2006-2007 academic year.
The South Central NH Esol Teacher Network
meets in Manchester on the second Wednesday of the month at Belknap Hall, Southern New Hampshire University. The group
is creating a template for an updated Home Language Survey and received input from Esol teachers throughout the state by means
of the NH Listserve. The new format will include brief instructions for survey administrators (often school secretaries),
the questions for which we need answers for federal and state reports, and of course, the basic questions to determine language
background.
The Mt. Washington Valley (North Country) Esol Teacher Network Meeting is held on the 3rd Monday
of each month at Met Coffee House from 3:30-5:30 in North Conway. The contact person is Karen Gibson at (603) 383- 9056.
The Upper Valley Esol Teacher Network Meeting meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 3:00 at Hanover
High School. The contact person is Charlotte Johnson: charlotte.johnson@valley.net. The Upper Valley Network has
grown in numbers and scope. Starting as a handful of Esol educators that met in the cafeteria at the Hopkins Center
at Dartmouth College, the group “outgrew” its setting and needed a space to accommodate the twenty or so educators
who regularly attend meetings. The format for the meetings has also evolved and now devotes the first half hour to informal
discussions and socializing. The next hour is more formalized and usually addresses pedagogy and other issues relating to
all aspects of Esol instruction. Recent topics included the special ed/second language connection and how to determine
if an Ell has a learning problem, teaching vocabulary with emphasis on Tier 2 words, and problems relating to cultural differences
and possible solutions to promote better understanding between mainstream teachers and their Ells.
Training gains
SNHU in Manchester offered ENG 477 for terms 3 and 4 through the Continuing Ed Department. It is a bridge between
ENG 101, which is an introductory writing course for Esol college students. ENG 477 is an intensive reading and writing
course for individuals who are skillful at speaking and listening, but struggle with reading and writing. There is a
good chance that it will continue to be offered. Overall, students found it very beneficial. On Friday, May 4,
at UNH in Durham, there was a conference held called “Teachers as Researchers.” Esol educators were encouraged
to attend and the NH U.S. House of Representative, Carol Shea-Porter was the keynote speaker.
Manchester,
NH is expecting a new refugee group this fall. They hail from war torn Burundi, which is located next to Rawanda.
The F.U.N. Fridays for refugee families, spearheaded by Brandon McHaffetry, continue to take place at least monthy at Beech
Street Elementary School in Manchester, NH. The number of attendees continue to increase and the events have been well-received
by families. The purpose of these events is to educate refugees about services available to them in Manchester.
Kim Calhoun put together several workshops on different aspects of culture for educators and really for anyone. These
have been taking place throughout the past few months. ACCESS tests were submitted in early March and we now await the
results.
Placement progress
At the State Department of Education, Sue Stepick, Esol consultant, has
written a draft for a form to track student eligibility and placement in an Esol program. Plans are to present it at
the May Esol network meeting in Manchester, and then to circulate it though the NH listserve and the Esol coordinator contact
list. Sue has developed a new Title III application and annual report form. This will be presented briefly at
the Common Application meeting in mid-May, and then explained in more detail at a meeting at the DOE in Concord on the morning
of May 30. Esol coordinators are welcome to attend with their Title III program managers. Following the application
meeting, Susan Morgan will give a presentation on ACCESS score interpretation.
And the winners are...
Four NH Esol teachers were chosen through a raffle to attend the TESOL conference in Seattle: Linda Banks, Soo-jin Stickney,
Natalia, Rogova, and LeeAnn Mosher. Several other NH Esol teachers, along with Susan Morgan, Esol Assessment Specialist,
and Sue Stepick also attended the conference.
