New Hampshire News
May 2, 2008
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, 2008
There 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 updates
There 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 (6032) 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.