From Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov Mon May 5 17:23:24 2008 From: Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov (Mullins, Nancy) Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 17:23:24 -0400 Subject: [ESLeducators] 4 articles of interest Message-ID: <6A73A5DE6596754DB4575B71972AA46003F94811@SOM-TEAQASMAIL2.som.w2k.state.me.us> SCHOOLS BRACE FOR BHUTANESE WAVE WITH RESEARCH Sharon Birnkrant, principal of H.W. Smith School in Syracuse, N.Y., has grown accustomed to receiving refugees from countries she knows little about, reports Mary Ann Zehr for Education Week. When she heard that a group of refugees from Bhutan would be resettled in Syracuse, she got right into "standard practice" research mode. Birnkrant is one of dozen or so educators across the United States under similar preparation, as the U.S. Department of State interviews at least 60,000 Bhutanese seeking resettlement. This group of educators says they typically don't know the specific needs students will have when they arrive, and the Bhutanese are no exception. Most of the refugees are descendants of people who moved to southern Bhutan from Nepal in the late 1800s, and were known as Lhotshampas. However in the 1980s, the ruling Druk majority became increasingly worried about their fast growing population. Then in 1990, protests by the Lhotshampas against what they saw as overly strict citizenship requirements led to violence and mass arrests, which caused tens of thousands of Lhotshampas to flee to Nepal and India. Unfortunately, the Nepalese government didn't grant freedom of movement or permission to work in Nepal and Bhutan refused to take them back. This started the long journey to resettlement in America. Armed with information about the events taking place in this region, Birnkrant and educators like her are quickly priming themselves on the language and culture challenges they will face. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/30/35bhutan_ep.h27html?tmp=180 5429697 WHILE MUSLIM YOUTHS IN NEW YORK CITY FEEL SAFE, RACIAL TENSIONS EXIST According to a new study from Teachers College, Muslim youths have generally felt comfortable, safe and fairly content in New York City public schools. Still, these youngsters have been made hyper-conscious of their religious identity since September 11, 2001. In fact, 17 percent of Muslim public school students report having been the object of bigotry, often in the shape of teasing or taunting about Islam or being a "terrorist." While 43 percent feel that Americans in general are respectful and tolerant towards them, 69 percent think that mainstream society is at the same time suspicious of them. In addition, nearly all youths surveyed felt that discrimination against Muslim Americans increased since September 11. http://www.tc.edu/muslimyouthstudynyc/docs/conference-large.pdf RACE IS NOT A FACTOR IN THE SUCCESS OF CHILDREN, ACCORDING TO PARENTS A new report from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) discusses parental perceptions of the urban school climate in the hope of involving parents, families and communities in education because their participation is imperative for school success. To divine this information, NSBA conducted a school climate survey, and found that the majority of parents view their child's school as a safe place. Yet, only 42 percent of parents thought students did not fight a lot at school. In addition, little more than half of the parents surveyed felt that teachers had the ability to stop bullying. Still, 84 percent of parents felt that they could trust teachers at their child's school, and 87 percent felt respected by teachers. The survey also found that 70 percent of parents did not believe racial differences had an impact on a child's success at school. http://nsba.org/whatwethinkpdf PROPORTION OF MINORITIES PURSUING STEM FIELDS STATIC, AT BEST A new report from the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) finds that participation rates for African American, Native Americans and Latinos in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields have flatlined, and in some cases declined. The report also discovered a vast pool of minority students who simply aren't prepared to take advantage of STEM fields. Furthermore, any progress has neither been steady nor substantial enough for the representation of minorities in STEM to reflect their overall proportion of the population. Specifically, from 1995 to 2005, the proportion of bachelor's degrees in engineering awarded to African Americans declined. Meanwhile, African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos constitute 30 percent of the nation's undergraduate students (a proportion that is expected to be 38 percent by 2025), yet fewer than 12 percent of baccalaureate engineering graduates in this country come from these minority groups. http://www.nacme.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080505/4fdd5a00/attachment.html From Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov Wed May 7 07:00:31 2008 From: Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov (Mullins, Nancy) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 07:00:31 -0400 Subject: [ESLeducators] Parent Involvement Resource Spanish Message-ID: <6A73A5DE6596754DB4575B71972AA46003F9481F@SOM-TEAQASMAIL2.som.w2k.state.me.us> From: Jim Kay [mailto:beatifybooks at ma.rr.com] Attached is a PDF text of Show Me You Love Me. New Parent Involvement Resource What is this? Show Me You Love Me is a compilation of ideas to encourage parents to play with their young children, ways to make learning fun, and creative ways to show children they are loved. Our goal is to make the book available to schools, at a discounted price, in an effort to get the book into the hands of parents who could not otherwise afford it. We are offering the English version to you for $3.00 a copy plus shipping. That is about 70% off the cover price of $9.95 and about half of what bookstores pay for the book. Our dual language version of the book is especially popular because of its unique design. The left hand pages are written in English and the right hand pages provide the Spanish translation. We are offering this book for $5.00 a copy plus shipping. Again, this is at a deeply discounted price as the book retails for $14.95 in bookstores. Ways schools are using Show Me You Love Me: * Family Fun Nights * Kindergarten Registration * Parent Teacher Conferences * Meetings * Christmas Gift for Parents * Valentine's or Mother's Day Gift for Parents * PTO Fundraiser * Print Workshops * Picnic Day * Please call (304) 367-1369 or e-mail beatifybooks at ma.rr.com if you have any questions. * Purchase orders may be faxed to (304) 367-1369 or mailed to: Beatify Books PO Box 140 Kingmont, WV 26578 You can also pay by credit card by phone. Jim -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080507/c2f782d1/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: Dual Language.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 488203 bytes Desc: Dual Language.pdf Url : http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080507/c2f782d1/DualLanguage-0001.pdf From Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov Wed May 7 20:22:14 2008 From: Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov (Mullins, Nancy) Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 20:22:14 -0400 Subject: [ESLeducators] NAEP Websites Offer New Features Message-ID: <6A73A5DE6596754DB4575B71972AA46003F94828@SOM-TEAQASMAIL2.som.w2k.state.me.us> From: John Cheek [mailto:internetpet at msn.com] The NAEP websites * http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard and * http://nationsreportcard.gov have recently added helpful new features that include videos for teachers and students, data tools, and reference guides. Here are some of the new features: VIDEOS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS Information for selected schools has been updated to include videos for teachers and students, and fact sheets for teachers: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/schools.asp NAEP NUMBERS How many students and schools were in the sample for NAEP assessments, and how many students and schools did those small samples represent? See http://nationsreportcardgov/faq.asp#q2 How are students with disabilities and English-language learners included in NAEP? See http://nationsreportcardgov/faq.asp#q3 RECENT NAEP REPORTS See a list of all NCES NAEP reports released in 2007 and 2008: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/current.asp#earlier To read what NAEP assessments are planned for 2009, and what was assessed in 2008: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/current.asp TOOLS, TABLES, AND QUICK REFERENCE GUIDES For a one-stop portal to NAEP tools, quick data tables from the most recently reported assessments, and for Quick Reference Guides for the Questions Tool, Item Maps, State Comparisons, and Data Explorer: http://nationsreportcard.gov/data_tools.asp PRESS RELEASES AND OTHER RESOURCES FOR THE MEDIA See information about releases from 2005 through 2007, and subscribe to the NCES NewsFlash to keep informed about recent releases. http://nationsreportcard.gov/media.asp Check the NAEP websites regularly for more information on the Nation's Report Card. NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080507/6778f9bf/attachment.html From Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov Wed May 14 08:40:20 2008 From: Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov (Mullins, Nancy) Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 08:40:20 -0400 Subject: [ESLeducators] overseas teaching opportunities Message-ID: <6A73A5DE6596754DB4575B71972AA46003F94862@SOM-TEAQASMAIL2.som.w2k.state.me.us> From: Ann McLaughlin [mailto:info at ngoabroad.com] Subject: overseas teaching opportunities Interested? Please read the entire NGOabroad website. Email info as requested on home page: embedded resume & answered Questionnaire to info at NGOabroad.com QUESTIONNAIRE IS ESSENTIAL. TEACHING NGOabroad has a wide range of volunteer teaching opportunities. When you start a teaching position and how long you stay is quite flexible. Teaching TESOL in Humanitarian Settings NEPAL ---teach English in Nepal Nepal is both spectacularly beautiful and poor. this group believes English & education are the ticket out of poverty. Few people in Nepal speak English so it is difficult to teach other subjects. But if you teach English, English becomes your common language. Nepal hosts will provide room & food, especially if you teach through entire school year. CENTRAL AMERICA ---teach English in Central America this group also believes that English is the ticket out of poverty. Teach children of single mothers who are at a disadvantage in their community. Teach both English and other subjects in English. (Math, Science, Reading, History) This school provides an apartment & 3/4's of your food if you can teach Sept-June or lengthy stay. They are currently considering summer school program, June- Sept. Spanish helpful but not required; you can learn on the job. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ HIGH ANDES ---your teaching skills would be treasured here Spanish fluency helpful. teach literacy to both children & adults teach elementary education (few people are beyond that level of skill) teach IT skills teach income-generation skills & business skills This organization often can offer a room, but asks that you help pay food. INDIA ---in rural India teach primary education & literacy or teach environmental education & vocation education to village children (and possibly adults!) in southern India this is a volunteer position INDIA ---at our school that is a model for development (100% literacy) This is a Gandhian community & school, K- community college. They have a strong teaching staff but appreciate the exchange of skills. teach writing skills to high school & community college youth teach sports teach computers or business skills exchange in any of the academic subjects teaching health, HIV prevention & empowerment of women would get strong attendance this is also a volunteer position AFRICA ---teach in French-speaking refugee camp school teacher who is refugee launched a great school. both kids & adults learn here. French fluency is helpful. if not fluent in French then teach sports, drama, art this position requires more international experience & savvy that you have lived or traveled in Asia, Africa or Americas. this is a volunteer position. GHANA ---teach any subject to any age group or teach AIDS education or work with AIDS orphans this is a volunteer position. MONGOLIA Like Nepal, few people in Mongolia speak English so it is difficult to teach other subjects. But if you teach English, English becomes your common language. This is a volunteer position. From Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov Fri May 23 11:03:04 2008 From: Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov (Mullins, Nancy) Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 11:03:04 -0400 Subject: [ESLeducators] FW: ELL summer course Message-ID: <6A73A5DE6596754DB4575B71972AA46003F948FB@SOM-TEAQASMAIL2.som.w2k.state.me.us> From: Dianne Paton [mailto:PatonDi at spsd.org] Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 8:37 AM Subject: ELL summer course Hello all, South Portland, in conjunction with USM, is offering a course this summer here in South Portland. USM 562, 3 credits, M-F, 8-4 Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in the Classroom. This course examines second language acquisition and cross-cultural communication and their role in the classroom. Second language acquisition principles and challenges, aspects of culture, and multi-cultural education are among the topics to be studied. Specific emphasis is on how language and cultural diversity impact teaching and learning. August 11-15 At this point, I have 4 openings. If you know of anyone who is seriously interested in taking the course, please have them contact me. If I have enough registrants, I'll send them the USM registration form. I appreciate you disseminating this information. Thank you, Dianne Dianne Paton Asst Director, Instructional Support South Portland School Department 130 Wescott Road South Portland, Maine 04106 (207) 871-0555 (207) 871-0559 fax www.spsd.org Dianne Paton Asst Director, Instructional Support South Portland School Department 130 Wescott Road South Portland, Maine 04106 (207) 871-0555 (207) 871-0559 fax www.spsd.org The information contained in this message may be CONFIDENTIAL and is for the intended addressee only. Any unauthorized use, dissemination of the information, or copying of this message is prohibited. If you are not the intended addressee, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080523/031bc821/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: Dianne Paton.vcf Url: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080523/031bc821/DiannePaton.ksh From Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov Fri May 30 13:54:38 2008 From: Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov (Mullins, Nancy) Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 13:54:38 -0400 Subject: [ESLeducators] Jul 10-11 in Wash DC Message-ID: <6A73A5DE6596754DB4575B71972AA46003F94949@SOM-TEAQASMAIL2.som.w2k.state.me.us> I need a K-5 ESL educator to represent Maine (see below) ... if you are willing, please contact me right away... The ACCESS for ELLs(r) Post Field Test Review meeting will take place in Washington, DC on July 10-11, 2008. The meeting will begin early in the morning on the 10th and end on the 11th in time for attendees to return home that evening. I need one educator with experience in grades K-5 for this initiative. For this meeting, you should be K-5 grade level educator familiar with the WIDA standards and with the ACCESS for ELLs(r) assessment. WIDA will reimburse attendees for travel expenses to the limits allowed by the State of Wisconsin. There will not be an honorarium or reimbursement to a district or school for substitute pay. Nancy Mullins Director ESL/Bilingual Programs Maine Department of Education 23 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0023 Phone: (207) 624-6788 FAX: (207) 624-6789 nancy.mullins at maine.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080530/626fd716/attachment.html From Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov Fri May 30 14:14:20 2008 From: Nancy.Mullins at maine.gov (Mullins, Nancy) Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 14:14:20 -0400 Subject: [ESLeducators] Recall: Jul 10-11 in Wash DC Message-ID: <6A73A5DE6596754DB4575B71972AA46003F9494B@SOM-TEAQASMAIL2.som.w2k.state.me.us> Mullins, Nancy would like to recall the message, "Jul 10-11 in Wash DC". -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/esleducators/attachments/20080530/68dc04ac/attachment.html