A Conversation with Cherokee Authors | |
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The “Native American Heritage Month Celebration: A Conversation with Cherokee Authors” podcast is now available. In this podcast, OELA’s Stephanie Nichols, Education Program Specialist, spoke with two exceptional Cherokee children’s book authors: Regina McLemore, a retired teacher and award-winning author; and Traci Sorell, an award-winning author. During the podcast, the authors share their work and inspiration, the significance of Cherokee language and culture, and excerpts from their books.
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New Blog: Civics/Civismo! Making Civic Education Accessible for English and Multilingual Learners | |
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In this blog, learn how iCivics provides free, nonpartisan digital games that help students explore civics by stepping into the roles of public officials like presidential candidates and town council members. Through hands-on learning, students gain an understanding of concepts like compromise, collaboration, and strengthening democracy.
Navigate the iCivics library of translated and English learner (EL)/multilingual learner (ML)-supported resources. Create an educator account to access these free materials.
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Long-Term English Learners Infographic | |
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A goal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is for all ELs to become proficient in English and exit EL status. Students may require at least five years to develop the English skills necessary to independently learn in academic settings. While “long-term EL” is not defined in the ESEA, students who do not exit from EL status within five to six years are often labeled as “long-term ELs.” This infographic explores the trends in the long-term EL student population.
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60-Day Public Comment Period for the EDFacts Information Collection Package | |
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The proposed EDFacts Information Collection package for school years 2025–26, 2026–27, and 2027–28 is now available for public review and comment. The announcement has been posted on the Federal Register and can be accessed here: FederalRegister.gov. To view the package, visit Regulations.gov. The public comment period closes on January 27, 2025.
EDFacts collects data on behalf of U.S. Department of Education grant and program offices. The proposed package includes Pre-K–12 performance data about students, schools, staff, services, and educational outcomes at the State, district, and school levels. Approximately 170 data groups are included in the proposed package and respondents include all 50 States, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, outlying areas and freely associated States, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education.
The proposed package includes current and new data requirements, changes to existing collections, and deletions. The full package includes six attachments and two supporting statements:
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Attachment A: Data Groups and Categories – Contains the list of all data to be collected. This attachment is an Excel spreadsheet that can be sorted and filtered.
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Attachment B: Overview – Contains information about the collection including how the data are associated with schools and districts.
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Attachment C-1: Metadata Collections – Contains all the metadata to be collected.
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Attachment C-2: IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) Metadata Collections – Contains previously collected IDEA Part B data collections in EMAPS.
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Attachment D: Directed Questions – Contains questions to topics that the U.S. Department of Education would like to learn more about during the public comment period.
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Attachment E: Inclusion of IDEA Part C 618 – Contains the inclusion of currently cleared IDEA Part C 618 data collections into the EDFacts information collection request.
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Supporting Statement Part A – Provides the justification for the collection of the data.
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Supporting Statement Part B – Provides additional information about the collection including information on the statistical methodology.
We encourage sharing this information packet within the State, including with State superintendents, program offices, and local education agencies. For questions related to collection activities or burden, please call Carrie Clarady at (202) 245-6347. Please do not send comments to PSC.
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February 19–22, 2025
NABE 2025
Conference
| The National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) will be hosting its 54th Annual International Bilingual Education Conference February 19–22, 2025. The conference will begin with School Visits and a Pre-Conference Day on February 19th, with the main conference running from February 20–22 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Georgia. The theme for this year’s conference is “Multilingualism for a United Global Society”. | |
The convention offers a wide range of engaging professional development opportunities to English language teaching (ELT) professionals at all levels from around the world. In lively interactive sessions, you'll develop a global perspective through the exchange of ideas, research, and practices. Gain knowledge about current trends in the field while developing your professional network. If you have questions about convention registration, please contact conventions@tesol.org. | |
Registration for the 2025 conference hosted by the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT), Tennessee World Language Teaching Association (TWLTA), and Southeast Association for Language Learning Technology (SEALLT) is now open! Don’t miss the chance to celebrate SCOLT’s 60th anniversary and learn with colleagues from across the region. The registration and payment deadline is March 1, 2025. After this date, all registrations must be completed on site at the conference. The 2025 conference will be held at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, TN. | |
The In-Person Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency, New Brunswick. You can register for 1, 2, or all 3 days with three exciting keynote speakers. There will also be a Video Library Conference featuring select library presentations, available for viewing from May 27 to August 21. Topics will cover General Interest, Content Area Instruction, Bilingual/ESL (Pre-K–12), Higher Ed, Teacher Ed, Adult Ed, K–12 Administrators, and Dual Language/Biliteracy. | |
The MATSOL Conference, the largest gathering of EL and ML educators in Massachusetts, will take place May 28–30, 2025, at the Framingham Hotel and Conference Center. Join in person for 1 to 3 days or participate virtually via livestream. Registration opened January 8, 2025. | |
Mark your calendar for the upcoming Cambio de Colores Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The theme for 2025—Vivimos Aquí—reinforces the call to action and commitment to learn about our neighbors and spark positive change, for we all live here together. Attend to share and learn about research and promising practices on integration, the Latin American experience, and our ever-changing communities. | |
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October 27–30, 2025
2025 WIDA Annual Conference
Conference
| This conference, designed by teachers for teachers, is the leading event for Pre-K–12 educators of MLs. It provides an opportunity to share best practices and explore innovative classroom strategies, all under the theme "Igniting Innovation for Multilingual Learners." A curated virtual track will also be offered. The deadline to submit proposals for concurrent sessions, workshops, and sponsor sessions is January 21, 2025. | |
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AZMirror
Biden Launched a National Plan for Indigenous Language Protection and Revitalization
Recently, the Biden-Harris administration released a 10-year National Plan on Native Revitalization. This plan provides strategies that address government’s role in the loss of Indigenous languages in the United States. The plan will address policies that were set in place by U.S. government to forcibly assimilate Indigenous people and eradicate Indigenous languages. Through this plan, investment and support of Indigenous languages and cultures will be provided.
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Language Magazine
NEW RESOURCES: Kickstarting Newcomer Progress with Literacy Platform
Lexia English is an online platform that has proven helpful for newcomer ELs in growing their literacy skills and academic language proficiency. This article outlines some of the benefits of this platform observed by a district that utilizes it. The benefits include dedicated time and space for EL language acquisition and development, advancing proficiency levels, and tailoring to individual student needs.
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Language Magazine
TIPS FOR EDUCATORS: Leading with a Culture of Caring
This article explores the foundations of the practice of building a culture of trust and compassion that can have a positive impact on the experiences of ELs entering U.S. schools for the first time. This resource also provides suggestions to educational leaders that can help them foster welcoming environments for ELs and their families in their institutions.
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2025 Virtual Heritage Language Teacher Workshop
Join UCLA National Heritage Language Resource Center this summer for a free workshop designed to help language teachers effectively support heritage language (HL) students, whether in mixed classes or heritage-specific settings. Led by Dr. Melissa Bowles (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Dr. Alegría Ribadeneira (Colorado State University Pueblo), this online workshop will provide strategies and resources for teaching HL students. The workshop will culminate in a 2-day virtual summit in July, where participants will present the materials they’ve developed.
Application Deadline: January 31, 2025
Acceptance Notifications: March 2025
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Yorùbá Dictionary – For Foreign and Second Language Learners
Adeola Agoke, director of the African Languages Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recently published a new open educational resource, the Proficiency-Based Dictionary of Yorùbá Language, with support from NRC grant funding provided by the University of Wisconsin-Madison African Studies Program. This free digital resource fills an important gap in language acquisition and learning as it is designed exclusively for foreign language learners.
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Empowering Change: Strengthening Instruction for ML Newcomer Students
Join SupportEd on Tuesday, January 28, at 4:00 p.m. ET for the live webinar, "Empowering Change: Strengthening Instruction for ML Newcomer Students," to explore the urgency of improving instruction and programming for ML newcomer students. Discover strategies and tools to assess and strengthen their education and set goals to enhance ML newcomer student instruction and programming. Participants will receive a certificate for 1 hour of professional development credit upon completing the webinar.
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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. | | | | |
