School-Wide Implementation of RETELL

Bob MeaselAssistant Director, OELAAA

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District obligations for educating ELLsThe district must:

• Implement a uniform system for identifying ELLs in accordance with Department guidance found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/ell/Guidance.pdf.

• Develop and implement an academic program for ELLs that meets the Castañeda three prong test:

1) Based on research

2) Resourced appropriately for full implementation

3) Subject to improvements based on evaluation if it is not successful (annual)

• Assess the English language proficiency of its ELLs annually using the ACCESS for ELLs®.

• Communicate ELL status and English language proficiency information to all staff working with ELLs.

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District obligations for educating ELLsThe district must:

• Ensure that all core academic teachers of ELLs have the SEI endorsement or earn the endorsement within one year of being assigned an ELL for the first time.

• Ensure that no ELL is placed in a classroom with a non-endorsed core teacher more than once.

• Ensure that it employs an appropriate number of ESL teachers to provide ESL instruction to all of its ELLs based on their needs.

• Establish a uniform system of reclassifying ELLs as former ELLs based on state guidance.

• Communicate all important school information to parents in a language that they understand (translations or interpretation as necessary).

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What the Department is doing to help

The OELAAA Office, under the RETELL initiative, has developed resources to assist districts in meeting their obligations. The following slides outline those supports and the Department’s vision for how districts should plan for meeting those obligations.

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RETELL is an umbrella term to describe the Department’s focus on improving outcomes for ELLs. The goals of RETELL are to:

• Give ELLs meaningful access to academic content

• Promote English language development through focused ESL instruction

• Support educators and district leadership in building and sustaining high-quality programs

The Goals of RETELL

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The RETELL Pie…

SEI Endorseme

nt for in-service

educators

SEI training for pre-service

teachersESL

curriculum developme

nt

Program guidance

Ongoing training

opportunities

WIDA ELDS Framework

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Programming for ELLsThe district must develop an academic program for ELLs that both fosters academic achievement and English language development. The Guidance on Identification, Assessment,Placement, and Reclassification of EnglishLanguage Learners document lays out various program models that may be employed by districts.

By far the most common program employed is Sheltered English Immersion, which consists of both Sheltered Content Instruction (SCI) and ESL. These two components should be part of any program for ELLs, though, including bilingual education and dual language programs.

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Sheltered English Immersion

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ELLs need… A close-knit relationship between language development &

content

Long Term Collaborative Agenda

Language: ESL

Systematic, explicit,

sustained language

instruction

Content:SEI

Access to grade-level content & development of

discipline-specific

academic language

The first half of the equation

ESL Curriculum Resources

ESL MCU Project: Early 2016

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10 ESL Model

Curriculum Units

Dynamic ESL

Design Tool

(Expansion Doc)

Unit Templ

ate

Unit Rubri

c PD & Support

Guidance

Document

The next half of the equation

Sheltered Content Instruction and the SEI Endorsement

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Options to Earn the SEI Endorsement 2015-2016

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SEI ENDORSEMENT COURSES PROVIDED BY DESE

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ENROLLMENT IN SEI ENDORSEMENT COURSES

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For teachers who do not have ELLs during the SEI course

• ESE has enhanced the course to accommodate those educators who need the Endorsement but were unable to take the course when they had ELLs in their classrooms.

• Course will cover the same content but incorporate a range of video examples of ELLs in classrooms.

• Will require participants to practice SEI strategies with non-ELL students or former ELLs.

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Options to Earn the SEI Endorsement Post-2016

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For-Cost Courses• A long-term pathway to obtain the SEI

Endorsement after 2016.• An option for those who have ELLs and

are not eligible to take the current no-cost SEI Endorsement courses, but want the skills. (e.g. Art, Modern Languages, Music, PE, Career Development, etc.)

• An option for those who get assigned an ELL for the first time post July 2016.

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The following collaboratives are authorized to offer SEI Endorsement courses at cost:

• Collaborative for Educational Services (CES)• EDCO• French River Education Center• SEEM Collaborative• South Shore Educational Collaborative (SSEC)

For-Cost Courses

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RETELL 2016 on…Extending the Learning

WIDA ELD Standards Framewor

k

SEI Endorseme

nt

WIDA ACCESS for

ELLs Assessment

Coaching Courses

SEI Extension

Coursework

Smart Card(support for leadership)

ESL Curriculum

ESL Leadership

CoursesGuidance

RETELL

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SEI Extension Coursework

• Whether or not an educator has been required to obtain the SEI Endorsement, after July1,2016, under new recertification regulations, they must earn 15 PDPs addressing the needs of ELLs during each re-licensure cycle.

• These are not credits that will satisfy SEI Endorsement requirements. Only the for-cost vendors and the Department can offer SEI Endorsement courses.

• http://www.doe.mass.edu/retell/courses.html

SEI Extension Coursework : Mini Courses that teachers and administrators can take to earn the future 15 SEI/ELL PDP requirements.

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EEC101: Introduction to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Variability in the Learning Context: Using UDL to Improve Achievement for English Language Learners (ELLs)

EEC102: UDL Lesson Planning for ELLs: Considerations for Implementation

EEC103: Applying UDL to Instruction for ELLs

EEC104: Data-Driven Instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs)

EEC105: Teaching Academic Language to Improve Content Area Instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) in the Elementary Grades

EEC106: Teaching Academic Language to Improve Content Area Instruction for ELLs (For Middle/High School Math and Science Teachers)

EEC107: Teaching Academic Language to Improve Content Area Instruction for ELLs (for Middle/High School Humanities and Literacy/ELA Teachers)

EEC108: Understanding academic language to improve content area instruction for ELLs (differentiated by content area)

EEC109: Teaching Academic Conversations in Classrooms with English Language Learners.

EEC110: Academic English for ELLs in the Talk, Texts and Tasks of Middle and High School Mathematics and Science Classrooms

EEC111: Engaging Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students & Families in Secondary Schools

SEI Extension Coursework

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SEI Smart Card

• It is easy and quick to use

• It is not part of teacher evaluation

• Data from tool can be used to:

focus professional development; allocate resources, such as materials and coaches Identify strengths and weaknesses of current SEI practice;

and plan for ELE improvement.

A tool to facilitate SEI walkthroughs

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SEI Smart Card

• Selected urban districts piloted the SEI Smart Card.

• DESE used the feedback from the piloting districts to revise it once more.

• DESE published the final version of the SEI Smart Card in August of 2015.

• DESE will provide ongoing training on how to use the tool.

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ESL Teacher Leader Course

• The purpose is to provide ESL teachers with advocacy, peer support/coaching, and peer leadership skills that can empower them to support general education teachers to integrate the use of SEI strategies and WIDA standards.

• Implementing and refining SEI skills, curricular units, lesson plans, and learning resources

• Advocate for the programmatic structures and resources necessary to ensure ELL success

• Help the adults around them sustain and increase their commitment to the success of ELLs

• Help their colleagues develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of their ELL students, families, and communities

It is critical that ESL teachers are supported even if they are NOT required to take the SEI endorsement course.

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SEI Coaching Courses

• SEI literacy coaching (developed in FY14 – to be offered by MATSOL for open registration August 2015 )

• SEI math coaching course ( FY15 - Underway)

• SEI content area leadership coaching course – ( Coming in FY16 )

Strengthen instructional coaching capacity through

SEI focused coaching coursework

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Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

• Outlines criteria for identifying SLIFE

• Describes steps in decision-making process

• Describes programming options

• Describes reclassification criteria

Guidance for identification, programming, and

reclassification of SLIFE

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Transitional Bilingual Education/Dual Language Program Guidance

• Describes various program models and design characteristics

• Describes best practices

• Describes success criteria

Guidance to assist districts with developing TBE/DL

programs

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ELLs with Disabilities Guidance

• Outlines criteria for identifying ELLs who have a disability

• Describes steps in decision-making process

• Describes programming options

• Describes reclassification criteria

Guidance for identification, programming, and

reclassification of ELLs with disabilities

RETELL

Implementation Plans

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Implementing RETELL

Districts and schools should develop strategic plans to ensure full implementation of RETELL.

These plans should go beyond compliance. They should contain a comprehensive program design that includes both ESL and SEI as well as uniform processes and procedures to ensure that the district is meeting and/or exceeding all of its obligations for educating ELLs.

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Implementing RETELL

They should also include how the district will:

• ensure teachers are properly trained and endorsed post-2016o All teachers?o Core teachers?o Trained before/after receiving ELLs?

• ensure ELLs are not assigned to unendorsed teachers

• provide staff with sustained opportunities for learning

• ensure instructional needs of ELLs are integrated into all classrooms

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Implementing RETELL

They should also include how the district will:

• provide resources to educators to help them promote English language development

• engage families and the community in educational programs and decision-making

• integrate all of the above into overall district plans

• engage all stakeholders in this process

Q & A

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