Join the Campaign for Grade Level Reading from 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET on June 30 for a panel highlighting three approaches that are bridging the early years and early grades to increase student success and reduce learning loss. Dr. Marina Merrill of Children’s Institute will moderate the conversation as district leaders and their partners describe their collaborative efforts before and during the pandemic.

Come together with English language teaching professionals from around the world for the first-ever TESOL 2020 Virtual Convention & English Language Expo! From the comfort of your home, office, or on the go, you’ll be able to hear from engaging keynote presentations with live Q&A; gather new research, strategies, and tools from 100 sessions on English language learning and teaching; chat and network with attendees and exhibitors; and find new ELT products and services in the interactive Expo. Registration is open through July 8, 2020.



The SIOP® (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) National Conference offers both new and seasoned SIOP educators a great opportunity to reinvigorate and strengthen their SIOP implementation. This year’s theme is “Setting the Stage for the Future,” and the conference will feature keynotes by SIOP authors Dr. Jana Echevarría, Dr. MaryEllen Vogt, and Dr. Deborah Short.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools will host NCSCVirtual over the course of three days, focusing on three areas of interest to schools: remote learning, reopening in the fall, and reimagining school. This conference will have many of the great elements of the in-person event: keynote speakers, breakout sessions, homerooms, and networking opportunities. Registration for the conference is $100 and open to all charter school teachers, leaders, board members, administrators, and education reformers.

Join the National Center on Early Childhood Development to learn about the four Classroom Language Models: English with Home Language Support; Dual Language; Home Language as a Foundation for English Development; and English. Find out how implementing the English with Home Language Support model in infant/toddler and preschool settings can help support children and families who speak multiple languages. The webinar will have English and Spanish captioning.



Join thousands of educators, experts, authors, administrators, publishers, and others at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver for the 2020 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention. Now celebrating its 110th consecutive year, NCTE’s Convention connects educators to the most passionate and energetic minds in literacy. Attendees can expect to hear from leading education voices as well as nearly 300 national authors, all engaging together around the pressing topics of the field.

This article discusses the plans of an Idaho school district to improve the way they serve ELs. The Jerome School District’s population of ELs is continuing to grow with almost one-fourth of its students currently identified as ELs. However, the district’s limited resources and EL support staff shortage create challenges in meeting the needs of this student population. The district’s plan is to implement the SIOP Model and concentrate on enhancing and improving such aspects of EL instruction as language objectives and the use of productive language in the classroom. The district is hopeful that setting explicit language goals and providing more opportunities for ELs to use language in the classroom will have positive outcomes.

Insights is a SmartBrief Education Originals column that features perspectives from noted experts and leaders in education on the hot-button issues affecting schools and districts. In this column, we hear about the benefits emergent bilingual students bring to the classroom from José A. Viana, former assistant deputy secretary of OELA.

In this article, the Southeast Missouri State University’s Intensive English Program (IEP) shares its strategies for facilitating a smooth and successful transition to online learning for its ELs. The IEP is an accredited program that provides students with instruction in language and academic skills that are necessary to succeed at a university in the United States. With an existing robust online component, the program had a smooth transition to remote learning. Some of the program’s strategies included employing a combination of synchronous and asynchronous instruction, where students had the opportunities to interact with one another and faculty members through the Zoom platform, as well as study at their own pace using the Moodle platform. The program utilized tools that allowed students to post video recorded comments and responses. The faculty credit the success of the program’s transition to online learning to understanding the needs of their students, curating online materials and resources for students, and providing individualized feedback to students’ work. In May, the IEP held a Zoom ceremony for the 14 ELs who completed the program.

This article recounts some of the concerns that California educators have about EL progress in growing and sustaining English language proficiency during school closures. The biggest worry of California educators is the lack of face-to-face communication in the current remote environment. This deprives many ELs of opportunities for interaction and language use, which may result, for many of them, in falling behind in their progress in acquiring English. Teachers and students report that online platforms such as Zoom do not provide the same opportunities for interaction as in-person communication. In addition, other challenges are at play. Some EL families do not have access to the Internet and devices such as desktops, laptops, and tablets, and many EL family members are essential workers, who do not have enough time to assist their children with online learning.

In this commentary the author, Dr. Beatriz Arias, discusses how the lack of access to the Internet affects the education of ELs in the current remote learning environment. The brief presents nationwide statistics on the percentages of school-age children whose families do not have access to high speed Internet, underscoring the high percentage of ELs who are in this situation. The brief describes how this disproportional lack of access to the Internet affects EL’s access to equitable education, and their progress in becoming proficient in English. The availability of professional development of educational technology for educators is also explored. The brief concludes with recommendations and next steps to bridge this disparity and the efforts educators and policy makers can make to meet the needs of ELs.

The Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) has expanded its Communications Series on Supporting ELs during COVID-19 with resources to represent best practices for teachers of ELs through their Equitable Distance Learning for ELs Design Principles.

The WWC has released Updated WWC Training Modules. Those who wish to become certified reviewers in version 4.1 of the WWC Group Design Standards can complete the nine training modules, pass the certification exam, and submit additional information to the WWC Help Desk. These trainings align with the WWC Standards Handbook, Version 4.1 and the WWC Procedures Handbook, Version 4.1. The updated training materials will allow new and experienced users to learn and apply the most recent WWC standards and procedures. Resources include new training videos, an updated certification exam, modifications to the WWC glossary, and other minor enhancements.

The Call for Submissions for the 2021 AERA Annual Meeting is open. The deadline for submissions is July 22, 2020 at 11:59 pm PDT. The 2021 AERA Annual Meeting will be held April 9–April 12 in Orlando, FL. The theme is “ Accepting Educational Responsibility .” 

In response to the COVID-19 situation, CARLA moved its Summer Institute Program online. CARLA offers a wide range of institutes targeted at foreign/world language, ESL/EFL, heritage language, and immersion educators from a variety of teaching levels and contexts. Check out the full line-up of CARLA summer institutes online.

20-Hour Online Book Studies

SupportEd’s on-demand book studies can be taken at any time, are fully self-paced, and are framed around best-selling EL books. Each book study provides a certificate for 20 hours of professional development upon completion.   

12-Hour Facilitated Online Courses— Summer Session: June 29–August 7, 2020

Take part in an engaging facilitated online professional learning community (PLC) and earn a certificate for 12 hours of PD upon successful course completion. All SupportEd online courses are go-at-your-own pace with intermediary deadlines, and optional graduate credit is available. 

This four-day summer institute was created with topics that build on each other so that educators end the week prepared with the tools and resources needed to support their multilingual language learners. Participants will begin the week learning the foundations necessary to differentiate their instruction for the diverse group of students within their classroom and learn more focused ways of approaching learning as the week progresses. The Institute is offered in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

Second Language Research and Practice (SLRP) is a fully refereed, open-access journal that is published annually beginning in 2020. Grounded in the discipline of Applied Linguistics, the journal aims to disseminate scholarship on topics relevant to postsecondary language education and language program direction. SLRP is accepting submissions for research articles of up to 8,500 words and descriptive reports and position papers of up to 5,000 words. To be considered for the 2021 volume, manuscripts must be submitted by January 15, 2021.

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