Thank you for following DSF Consulting! We apologize for the delay in this month’s newsletter, but we had to deal with some website security issues. Thankfully the issues have been resolved. We’ll share with you the progress we’re making supporting English learners and their educators across the country.

Some Current Clients and Projects

• US Department of Education: We are thrilled to announce that we will be subcontracting with the American Institutes for Research on the Quality of English Language Proficiency (ELP) Assessments Evaluation of State and Local Implementation of Title III Assessment and Accountability Systems project. The purpose of this federally funded study is to evaluate State and Local implementation of Title III assessment and accountability systems and to produce a technical guide to assist State Educational Agencies (SEAs) and other stakeholders to prepare ELP assessment materials for peer review.
• National Education Association: DSF Consulting continues assisting NEA in revising professional development materials. We are supporting NEA in framing a review process to determine the strengths and needs of its EL professional development materials. We have also been working with NEA to produce a handbook for advocates of English learners. The handbook will be for educators, families of ELs, and community members interested in knowing more about strategies and resources for supporting equal educational opportunities for ELs.
• Illinois State Board of Education: DSF Consulting continued to assist the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in developing pre-service education standards for ESL teachers, bilingual teachers, and general education teachers serving English learners. Diane helped facilitate the second stakeholder meeting held outside of Chicago. ISBE requested and is receiving technical assistance from its federally-funded regional comprehensive center – the Midwest Comprehensive Center (MWCC) at the American Institutes for Research (AIR).
• New York State Department of Education: We scaffolded and prototyped several elementary and high school English Language Arts lessons and mathematics lessons for ELs that are aligned to the CCSS as part of our project with the NY State Department of Education and AIR. We are preparing to meet with the curriculum vendors who created the materials we are scaffolding in Albany, NY later in November.
•  Kentucky & Georgia: Ayanna’s work continues in KY and GA with a focus on curriculum planning for teachers of ELs. In a recent session Ayanna highlighted the need for academic language development and developing all domains of language. Future sessions will focus on ELs who are being evaluated for learning disabilities, applying for various teacher scholarships, and mentoring ESL teacher leaders.

Our Blog Posts on the Colorín Colorado Website

• Common Core and ELLs: Planning Professional Development for Colleagues
• Resources for Teaching the CCSS in Mathematics to ELLs

Sponsorship

• National Council of State Title III Directors: DSF Consulting was a sponsor of the National Council of State Title III Directors Meeting held near Washington, DC in October. The meeting included State Title III Directors and stakeholders who are interested in the needs of ELs. The meeting included presentations from the Department of Justice, The Office of Civil Rights, WIDA, the Council of Chief State School Officers and The United States Department of Education. Topics of great interest included Home Language Surveys and creating a common definition of ELs.

Presentations

• Georgia: Diane was a featured speaker at the Georgia TESOL conference in Atlanta. Her topic was Advocating for English Learners and the Common Core.
• Pennsylvania: Diane provided a ½ day workshop with colleague Dr. Deborah Taub on Universal Design for Learning for English learners on October 16, 2013 at the PA Migrant Education conference. On October 17, 2013 Diane presented two breakout sessions on strategies for teaching the Common Core to ELs.
• Ontario, Canada: Ayanna and the 2015 TESOL Conference team presented “Merging Pathways: Ontario Hosts 2015 TESOL International Convention” at the TESL Ontario 2013 Conference.

Upcoming Presentations

• Georgia: Ayanna will be presenting, as part of the Walden University’s Scholar’s of Change Colloquium, on Friday Nov. 15, 2013 in Atlanta, GA. Ayanna will share her involvement in the field of English language advocacy, teaching and learning.
• New York: Diane will be the keynote presenter on the CCSS for ELs at the NYS TESOL conference on November 15.