It is fitting that our 2011 Spring Conference theme this year is “Creating Global Communities for ELLs.” NJTESOL-NJBE celebrates the participation of our members in the global community. As I write this message from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Convention in San Francisco, I am reflecting on the value of ESL/bilingual teachers belonging to and contributing to other organizations. NJTESOL-NJBE celebrates the participation of our members in the global community.
The NJTESOL-NJBE Executive Board believes that we cannot advocate for English language learners in a vacuum. It is important that we speak to the needs of our students in other forums. Currently, we have Executive Board members who represent the interests of New Jersey English language learners on the Boards of other state education organizations:
- Karin Von Riman is our representative to NJEA (New Jersey Education Association:
http://www.njea.org/teaching-and-learning/pdo-convention) and attends affiliate meetings regularly.
- Cassy Lawrence is a member of the American Federation of Teacher's ELL Educator Cadre.
(http://www.colorincolorado.org/about/by)
- Sandee McHugh-Mc Bride represents NJTESOL-NJBE at the Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey (FLENJ:
http://flenj.org/) board meetings.
- Senovia Robles has been representing us at New Jersey Association of Lifelong Learners (NJALL:
http://njall.org/) and has been active in putting together their April 7th conference.
- B.J. Franks has become a member of the New Jersey Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (NJASCD:
http://www.njascd.org/njascd/site/default.asp) board.
- Karen Nemeth is a consulting editor and Dual Language Learning Advisor for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC:
http://www.naeyc.org).
- Both Sandee Mc Hugh-McBride and Regina Postogna represent NJTESOL-NJBE on the Bilingual Advisory Board.
ESL and bilingual teachers need to become experts on the local, state, and national issues that affect our students. How we advocate for ELLs is as important as what we teach them in the classroom. We need to provide leadership in our districts on issues that involve our students.
How can you become an expert in your field? :
Become an active member of NJTESOL-NJBE; attend the 2011 Spring Conference and volunteer to help; attend the legislative session on the second day of the Spring Conference; join discussions on the hotlist; join or start a local NJTESOL-NJBE chapter; write an article for Voices; and, know the issues that affect our English language learners in New Jersey.
ESL and bilingual teachers need to be aware of how national movements in education affect our students.
Do you know ___? :
- The Working Group on ELL Policy has released a set of recommendations for how the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) can best foster improved educational outcomes for English language learners. Become familiar with the work of this group by going to
http://ellpolicy.org/esea/ and read about changes the group suggests to five areas of ESEA policy.
- The controversy about charter schools and teacher pension and benefits affects our students. You can read Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier’s blog on the Education Week website entitled “Bridging Differences”. These two renowned educators present opposing views and are currently discussing issues of charter schools and national attitudes toward teachers. See http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/
- The Office of Civil Rights is investigating Philadelphia, Arizona, Los Angeles, and Boston for violations in the education of ELLs. Philadelphia was recently investigated on issues of language access that has resulted in their beefing up translations of information to the parents of ELLs. In 2010, there was a hearing in Tucson, Arizona, over the effectiveness of the state’s ELL program. The U.S. Department of Education has launched a civil rights investigation of the ELL program in Los Angeles. Officials say only 3% of ELL students at LA schools are proficient at Math and English by the time they reach high school. In Boston, the Department of Justice and the Office of Civil Rights determined that the Boston Public Schools had failed to properly identify and adequately serve thousands of English language learners since 2003 as required by the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The outcomes of these investigations will affect the education of ELLs all over the United States. It is important for all of us to be aware of important court cases and legislation that affects our students.
Do you read educational blogs? There are many excellent blogs for teachers of ELLs. Here are two that I read regularly:
Mary Ann Zehr’s blog, “Learning the Language”, on the Education Week website.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2011/03/feds_settle_with_arizona_in_le.html?qs=Mary+Ann+Zehr and
Larry Ferlazzo’s Blog Websites, .
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/03/26/id-love-to-meet-you-sunday-at-the-ascd-conference/comment-page-1/#comment-28023
of the day is an outstanding resource. I have been following Larry for a year and was excited to meet him in person at the ASCD convention.
Social networking is another excellent way to keep on top of what is going on in the field. Many organizations have Facebook pages and regularly post information and articles.
When you follow these pages, you automatically get notified when something new is posted.
Teachers of English language learners need to know what is happening in our global community and how these events affect ELLs. Become the expert in your school district on education for ELLs. You can begin by attending the NJTESOL-NJBE Conference in New Brunswick on March 24th and 25th.
Judie Haynes is the President of NJTESOL-NJBE.
She may be reached at jhaynes@njtesol-njbe.org
It is fitting that our 2011 Spring Conference theme this year is “Creating Global Communities for ELLs.” NJTESOL-NJBE celebrates the participation of our members in the global community. As I write this message from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Convention in San Francisco, I am reflecting on the value of ESL/bilingual teachers belonging to and contributing to other organizations. NJTESOL-NJBE celebrates the participation of our members in the global community.