June 20, 2024

OELA Grantee Spotlight: CU Build ESOL: “Home is Where Literacy Begins”

In May 2024, Clemson University’s (CU’s) OELA grant project, CU Build ESOL, marked an important milestone as its first cohort of 25 caregivers graduated from the literacy course. These caregivers had embarked on a transformative journey to enhance their support for multilingual students, gaining essential knowledge and tools for implementing effective literacy practices at home. Throughout the course, the caregivers were equipped with enriching home literacy strategies so they can help ensure every child has a strong foundation for success.

This graduation marks not just an end but also a beginning. The 100% graduation rate is a testament to the caregivers’ dedication in shaping brighter futures for their multilingual children. Together, they’re building stronger communities, one word at a time.  

NEW BLOG: The Use of Artificial Intelligence in English Learner Education

In this new OELA blog, we explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing education by offering new ways for teachers to enhance instruction and engage multilingual families. Resources from the Office of Educational Technology highlight the increased use of AI and the ways that educators can engage with it.

As AI continues to evolve, understanding its potential benefits and challenges is crucial for seamless integration in K–12 schools.

Request for Applications: Policies, Practices, and Programs to Support English Learners

Improving outcomes and meeting the needs of millions of ELs continues to be a pressing issue as the EL population in the U.S. expands rapidly across a range of geographic regions, grade levels, ages, and education settings. The experiences of ELs within rural school settings and among adult learners are especially understudied. The prevalence of ELs means that many if not all research projects have the opportunity to consider the unique circumstances associated with educating and conducting research with ELs.

The National Center for Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences is competing the Education Research Grants program (ALN 84.305A) and welcomes projects across all topic areas and project types that will yield useful insights and effectively address education outcomes for EL populations. Applications are due September 12, 2024.

Join SIOP® Authors and fellow educators from across the country who are seeking to make a positive impact on student learning for the 2024 SIOP® Virtual Conference hosted by Savvas Learning, your authorized source for SIOP® events and professional learning. The conference offers new and seasoned educators a space to experience reinvigoration and growth in facilitating teaching practices that are beneficial for multilingual learners (MLs) and ELs.

Join your English language teaching colleagues in person on July 22 and 23 to raise your voice with the U.S. Congress on issues that matter to the profession, MLs of English, and their families. Preparation for the visits will take place online on July 10, 17, and 18. An in-person panel June 22 will showcase Maryland’s Credit for All Language Learning Act. In-person U.S. Capitol Hill visits will begin at 8:00 a.m. on July 23 with a keynote address in the Rayburn House Office Building. Register for the in-person event by July 12.

The Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools Conference brings together everyone who is interested in learning about and collaborating with community-based heritage language schools. This hybrid event will take place both on-site at American University in Washington, DC, and online on October 4–5, 2024. Follow these links to visit the conference website, learn about the plenary speakers, and register.

The WIDA Annual Conference is the premier event for educators of Pre-K through Grade 12 MLs, giving educators from around the globe the opportunity to share best practices and discover innovative classroom strategies. The in-person conference will take place October 16–18, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A curated virtual option will be available on October 15 that includes a sampling of sessions from the in-person WIDA Annual Conference and an exclusive virtual keynote speaker.

Oct. 17-20

TABE Hybrid Conference

Conference

The in-person portion of this year’s TABE conference will be held at the Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Round Rock, Texas, from October 17–20. Virtual participation is also available. Conference registration just opened on June 1.

Nov. 12-16

La Cosecha Dual Language Conference

Conference

Are you, or someone you know, looking for the perfect conference focused on providing instructional and programmatic support to best serve your ELs and emerging bilingual students? La Cosecha 2024 will feature over 280 professional presentations and workshops for supporting two-way and one-way immersion, developmental bilingual, and heritage/tribal language immersion programs and will bring together educators, parents, researchers, and practitioners from across the United States.

Anchorage Daily News

New Tribal Apprenticeship Program Provides a Pathway to Certify More Local Teachers

This article details how a Tribal Educator Apprenticeship program is allowing local paraprofessionals in Alaska to receive a teaching license for preschool through third grade. Certifying local educators is believed to have a positive effect on the type and quality of education that children receive.

CT Insider

Meriden Junior Named the First Visually Impaired Student to Earn the Seal of Biliteracy

This article reports on Nieves Roman, the first visually impaired student in the country to earn the Seal of Biliteracy. Roman passed the necessary proficiency tests in English and Spanish. Roman’s family and teachers expressed pride in his achievement and praised him for his effort in passing the language exams using Braille.

Institute of Education Sciences

NEW RESOURCE: Appropriate Identification of Children With Disabilities for IDEA Services

“This report examines how state and district practices during the 2019–2020 school year aligned with [The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s] goals of appropriately identifying children with disabilities, using information collected from states and a nationally representative sample of nearly 700 districts.”

Education Week

NEW RESOURCE: How Teachers Can Prepare English Learners for the WIDA Test (VIDEO)

This short video describes the four components of the ACCESS for ELL (English language learner) assessment. The video explains the features and the functionality of the test, including its instructions, format, and rating considerations.

Language Magazine

TIPS FOR EDUCATORS: Teaching Cooperatively Across Borders

This article reports on the J-1 teacher exchange program. Through this program, experienced teachers from around the world get an opportunity to teach and share their culture and language in U.S. schools, as well as learn from their American colleagues.

Immigration Initiative at Harvard Educator and Policy Briefs

The Immigration Initiative at Harvard brings together scholars, students, policymakers, and others to support and understand immigrant populations. Explore their website, which offers a variety of educator and policy briefs focused on newcomers, immigrant youth, and students.

Data on the High School Coursetaking of American Indian and Alaska Native Students

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study collects and analyzes transcripts from a representative sample of U.S. high school graduates. In 2019, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collected transcript data from graduates who took the Grade 12 NAEP assessments, including American Indian and Alaska Native students. This blog post highlights the available data on these students.

NCES Report on the Condition of Education 2024

NCES recently released the Report on the Condition of Education 2024, which details the state of education in the United States from prekindergarten through postsecondary education, as well as labor force outcomes and international comparisons. Key findings from these analyses include data on English Learners in Public Schools.

Multistate Association for Bilingual Education 2024 Summer Institute

The Multistate Association for Bilingual Education, Northeast is hosting a professional development summer series. They offer a variety of professional learning topics for experienced and novice teachers and leaders in Dual Language Education (DLE). Click on a series you are interested in learning more about to see the sessions being offered and to register:

•  DLE Foundations Series 
• Cross-Linguistic Pedagogy Series 
• Holistic Bilingualism and Assessment Series 
• Critical Issues for Leaders of DLE Programs Series 

Resources for Current and Future Language Educators

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) charity and its public education affiliate, the Language Connects Foundation (LCF), share a mission to elevate the language education profession and promote the transformative power of language learning. Together they are offering these Spring 2024 opportunities:

• LCF Student Ambassadors Program: This program convenes a dynamic, international network of student language-learner leaders at the postsecondary level who empower each other to become global advocates and trailblazers for language education. The program has no deadline (rolling enrollment).

Learning Session Series: Accelerating English Learner Success with Formative Assessment

The Region 15 Comprehensive Center, in collaboration with OELA, invites you to a series of learning sessions focused on what formative assessment is and how it can be implemented to support the academic and socioemotional growth of EL students, with a particular focus on early learners in Grades K–2. Register for the upcoming sessions:

Learning Session 2 – June 26, 2024

Learning Session 3 – August 21, 2024

Director of Secondary Multilingual Programs

KIPP Texas Public Schools

San Antonio, Texas

Supporting ELs After COVID Pandemic and Beyond: Parts I and II

This two-part podcast, hosted by ED’s OELA, discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the experiences and academic achievement of ELs, as well as post-pandemic support for ELs and their educators.

The podcast features an exceptional panel of experts: Amaya Garcia, Dr. Karen Thompson, Dr. Kelsey Krausen, Dr. Megan Hopkins, and Samuel Klein. Take a moment to listen to their insightful discussion.

Subscribe to NCELA Nexus

Did you receive the Nexus from a colleague? You can subscribe via the form on our website.

Submit Your News

Do you have news to share with the Nexus community?

Send your alerts, upcoming events, resources, and job postings to AskNCELA

by Monday, June 24, 2024, for inclusion in the next edition of Nexus.

Disclaimer: NCELA Nexus is intended to share information that can be of use to educators, parents, learners, leaders, and other stakeholders in their efforts to ensure that all students, including English learners, are provided with the highest quality education and expanded opportunities to succeed. The information and materials presented in NCELA Nexus do not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or partiality by NCELA, the Office of English Language Acquisition, or the U.S. Department of Education.