Office of ENL, World Languages and Bilingual Education

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Issue 2
Office of ENL, World
Languages and
Bilingual Education
Jacqueline LeRoy, Director
Ly da R a g o n e se , I n st r u c t i o n al S p e c i al i s t
J an e t S t au b, L an g u ag e A s se s s o r
J ay e T u bo l i n o , L an g u a g e S u p po r t T e ac h e r
D e bo r ah F l o t t m a n , S e c r e t ar y
Central Office, Room 215
725 Harrison Street
Syracuse, NY 13210
(315) 435-4927
www.syracusecityschools.com
December 2015
ISSUE 5
Message from the Director
By Jacqueline LeRoy
The ENL, World Language and
Bilingual Education Office had a
very active and productive
semester. Since the start of the
school year, we have been actively
piloting ENL and Bilingual materials
with 4 different vendors,
implemented the Ellevation data
platform, structured an Interpreter
Request process, developed a
monthly newsletter and translated
frequently used school memos, and
held several professional
development sessions including a
district-wide Parent Conference.
For the 2015-16 school year, the
Office of Bilingual Education and
World languages has made
significant changes to CR Part 154
regulations that have impacted our
models for delivering services, the
process for intake, assessing and
registering newly arrived students
and how we communicate with
parents. NYSED OBE-WLs has
recently released translated
resources for parents with the
Parent’s Bill of Rights, Common
Core Learning Standards, Guidance
Documents, and information on
both the NYSITELL and NYSESLAT.
Additional resources have been
translated for teacher/student use
such as Math Modules and SIFE
Screening Materials. These can all
be found on the NYSED OBE-WL
web-site.
http://www.nysaflt.org/commonco
re/
There have been no updates or
changes from the Office of Bilingual
Education and World Languages on
the alignment of World Language
instruction to the Common Core
Learning Standards. NYSAFLT has
been doing some work on Common
Core and World Languages and has
created a resource page for
members, and open to all. They
continue to add more resources
and information to the webpage as
they create modules for CCSS and
WL. You can check out their website here:
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
With Thanksgiving behind us and as
we look forward to the rest of the
holidays–all of them, no matter
what holidays you celebrate–your
thoughts will most likely turn to
family. All the best for a peaceful,
restful holiday break with your
family and friends!
Message from the Director
Page 1
Department of Bilingual Education
Page 4
Department of English as a New
Language (ENL)
Page 7
Department of World Languages
Page 11
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Issue 2
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Fast Facts
Office of English Language Acquisition
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Fast Facts
Office of English Language Acquisition
Fact
In 2012, 57 percent of EL adolescents were U.S.-born. Of these,

second-generation non-native English speakers (U.S.-born with at least one foreign-born parent)

made up 37 percent; and

third-generation non-native English speakers (U.S.-born with U.S.-born parents) made up 32 percent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2012. Estimates generated by NCELA using Census DataFerrett.
Fact
The numbers and performance of long-term English learners (LTELs)—defined as ELs enrolled in U.S. schools for
five or more years without exiting EL status—are reflected in these findings:
• In 2010, 40 California school districts reported that 59 percent of secondary school ELs were LTELs,
• and that 50 percent of kindergarteners may become LTELs.
• In 2013, 13 percent of all ELs in New York City were LTELs, and, in some schools, the percentage of LTELs
in any grade ranged from 25 to 50 percent of all ELs.
• In 2009, Colorado reported that LTELs made up 24 percent of its secondary school ELs.
• In 2009, Hispanic LTELs in Chicago Public Schools demonstrated the lowest performance among any
• LTELs, and LTELs had the worst course performance (i.e., failed the most classes and had lower GPAs on
average) of any EL group (e.g., new ELs, recently exited ELs, or never ELs).
Sources: Olsen, L. (2010). Reparable Harm: Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportunity for California’s Long Term English Learners. Long
Beach, CA: Californians Together. New York City Department of Education’s Division of Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners.
(2013). Office of English Language Learners 2013 Demographic Report. New York, NY Gwynne, J., Pareja, A.S., Ehrlich, S.B., Allensworth, E. (May 2012).
What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL: A Focus on English Language
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Issue 2
Department of Bilingual Education
Help or hindrance? Use of native language in the English classroom
Continued from November 2015 Issue, By Erick Herrmann
Benefits of Allowing Students to
Use Their Native Language in the
Classroom
There are several practices and
strategies that can help students
leverage their native language to
increase comprehension and
achievement. As mentioned, it is
beneficial for students to have the
opportunity to clarify key concepts
with a classmate who speaks the same
language. Teachers can provide
opportunities for students to do this by
giving a prompt for discussion.



Here are some strategies:



Summarizing what they just
read, heard or learned:
Teachers prompt students to
share with a partner
important details about what
they just studied or read. For
example: "Tell your partner
three important details from
the text you just read."
Discussing background
knowledge and experiences:
Students can discuss
experiences they have had
that relate to the topic in
some way. For example, in
relation to the American
Revolution, students might
discuss the following prompt:

"Talk about a time when your
parents or caregivers told you
to do something, and you
really didn't want to do it.
How did you feel about that?
What did you do in that
situation?"
Brainstorming: Students
discuss, or write, ideas around
a particular subject.
Quick-writes: Similar to
brainstorming, students write
as much as they can in a short
amount of time about a
particular subject or topic.
K-W-L: The K-W-L chart lists
what students know, want to
know and learned about a
particular topic. When
implementing the K-W-L,
students can discuss or fill in
the K-W-L in a small group
with peers who speak the
same language, and cart their
responses. If an instructional
aid or parent volunteer who
speaks the native language(s)
of the students is available,
he/she can assist in this
process.
Reading materials: If reading
materials are available to
students in the native
language, reading them may
help to build background,
increase reading skills or
clarify concepts.
Homework and home-school
connections: Students can
share what they are learning
or learn about cultural
perspectives in relation to the
content through discussion
with family members. When
students' home language and
culture is validated, it benefits
students' social-emotional
well-being, and can instill
confidence and nurture risk-

taking when speaking in
English.
Cognates: Teaching students
to recognize cognates is a
useful skill that aides in
comprehension. Depending
on the students' native
languages, there may be many
cognates that students may
recognize through practice
and word analysis.
Challenges and Potential Issues
with Allowing Students to Use
Their Native Language in the
Classroom
Several questions, concerns and
issues come up when considering
the use of students' native
language in the classroom. Some
of these have potential solutions
that can be considered and
implemented in your classroom.

State laws, district policy
and/or school culture do not
allow for use of the native
language in the classroom:
Some states such as California
and Arizona have laws that
regulate the use of languages
other than English in the
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classroom. Similarly, some
districts have explicit policies
on this topic. If this is the case
in your state or district,
educators must follow the law
or policy while advocating for
best practice. In the case of
school culture or tradition,
consider beginning a
conversation on the benefits
and challenges of students
using a language other than
English in the classroom.

In any language, if students
are off-topic or speaking
about something
inappropriate, you will often
see them look toward the
teacher to see if s/he knows
they are discussing other
things. You may also have
other students who serve as
"informants" with the look on
their face or body language.
Subtle clues in students' facial
"How will I know the
students are talking about
what I asked them to talk
about if I don't speak the
language they speak?" This is
a legitimate question many
teachers ask when considering
this topic. Consider the
scenario that was given
earlier. In general, when
people are asked to talk about
a specific topic during
instruction, they will talk
about that topic. I suggest
being very explicit and clear in
the prompt: "Discuss three
important points about." You
will find that when a specific
prompt is given, students will
discuss the prompt.
There will certainly be
occasions where the purpose
of the discussion or writing is
to explicitly practice the key
vocabulary and language of
the topic. Teachers should be
explicit as to when students
are able to discus in their
native language, and when
they are asking students to
explicitly practice with the key
vocabulary and academic
language of the content area.
To accomplish this, teachers
can color-code times on a
daily agenda, or utilize a sign
or signal that indicates when
using a language other than
English is appropriate.
expressions or gestures can
often signal to you that they
have moved on to discussing
topics not related to the
classroom content. If
additional accountability is
desired, teachers can assign a
task for when students finish
discussions such as having
students write three
important facts on a
whiteboard or journal, or
completing a sentence frame.

Listen to students as they are
speaking. You will hear a
general lull in the noise level
at some point. This is an
indication that people have
finished discussing the topic
and are beginning to discuss
other topics. In addition, listen
to the English-speaking
students in the class. As they
begin to finish their
discussions, they will begin
talking about other things.
Students speaking other
languages will do the same.
There are times in classroom
lessons, such as in the
examples given above, where
the clarification of concepts,
links to background
knowledge, etc., are of
greater importance at the
moment than practicing using
academic English. This is not
to say that students would
never use English. On the
contrary; when students are
asked to share what they talk
about, they will need to do so
in English, as it is more than
likely that the teacher does
not speak all of the languages
the students speak.

If students are not speaking
English, they are not
practicing the vocabulary,
academic language,
grammatical structures, etc.
that they need to learn.
Teachers should think
strategically about the
purpose of a given activity or
lesson. The development of
academic language and
vocabulary should be a
priority in every classroom.
Coupled with this, students
need to deeply understand
the content they are learning.
There are limited resources
available for students who
speak other languages. At
times, program materials are
provided in other languages
for students. Certain reading
programs, for example, have
stories available that have
been written or translated in
another language. Some
teachers have bilingual books
that students can access in
their classrooms or school
libraries.
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These materials can be a
benefit to students, but can
also pose some potential
challenges. Students may not
have been educated in their
native language, and so
accessing high-level content
materials may be difficult. Just
as English-speaking students
need instruction to access
textbooks written at their
grade level, students who
speak other languages may
need support including
vocabulary development and
reading skills development in
their native language to be
able to maximize the benefit
of materials written in their
native language.
Also, the teacher
or school may
not have
materials for
each of the
languages
spoken in the
classroom. In
these situations
we do the best
with what we
have. It is better
to provide
materials to
students if we
have them than
to deny any
student access
to materials just
because we do
not have similar
materials in every language
spoken in our classroom. In
these cases, it is beneficial for
us as teachers to continue to
work with parents and the
community to continue to
build upon our resource
libraries.
There is only one student that
speaks a given language in
the classroom or school.
There are times when this
situation arises: A family
moves in that speaks a
language that no other
students in the school speak,
and that student is in our
class. While the opportunities
for this student to speak to
others in their native language
may not be existent, we can
still allow them to write, at
times, in their native
language. Brainstorms and
quick-writes are examples of
times when this may be
appropriate. Technology can
also be used to record student
speech or writing for
translation.
practices that help them to learn
content while developing English
proficiency. Sheltered instruction
practices such as:
 Providing comprehensible
input during instruction
 Building in student-to-student
interaction opportunities to
build oral fluency and for
clarification and processing of
key concepts
 Linking to students' prior
experiences
 Building background
knowledge
 An explicit focus on
developing academic English
Concluding Thoughts
There are benefits to allowing students
to use their native language for
All of these practices benefit English
learners in particular and each student
in general. The strategic use of
students' native language
should be considered as
an important and useful
scaffold and instructional
tool.
instructional purposes in an otherwise
English-speaking classroom. Teachers
must follow the law while advocating
at local, state and national levels for
best practices. Where not explicitly
banned, teachers must be strategic in
terms of when it is appropriate for
students to use a language other than
English, and when students must
practice the content vocabulary and
academic language.
In all classrooms, English learners
benefit from sheltered instruction
Erick Herrmann is an
educational consultant
specialized in teaching
English learners, and
he runs Educating
English Learners. Erick
has worked with
thousands of teachers
across the nation to
help them improve
their instructional
practice and increase
academic achievement
for all students.
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Issue 2
Department of English as a New Language
The Role of the ENL Language Support Teacher
By Jaye Tubolino, ENL Language Support Teacher
ENL teachers extend themselves in schools, providing
staff and students with as much as possible to ensure
ELLs/MLLs have the best learning experiences possible.
The ENL Language Support position permits us to work
collectively to cultivate the ENL program in our district.
Together we can address the specific needs and goals
at your building, for the ENL team and with individual
teachers.
So far this year, ‘supporting’ has taken place in a
variety of situations such as: school wide professional
development, classroom visits, ENL team meetings,
grade level team meetings, collecting appropriate
data, gathering insight from the data, ENL scheduling,
Special needs and ELL/MLL challenges, meeting with
co-teachers, one on one planning, etc.
ENL Language Support looks different in every setting.
Please contact me at 435-4927 or [email protected]
to support the ENL program, teachers, and students
at your school.
December Goals for Ellevation: Batch your
students by LEP Services
1. Complete How to Add LEP Services for Multiple Students on page 12 of
Ellevation packet.
2. Make certain you assign the students batched to the appropriate ENL delivery
model such as ENL Stand-Alone, ENL/ELA Integrated, ENL/Math Integrated,
etc.
rd
Please complete this task by December 23 .
The Karen New Year is a relatively
recent celebration – it was first
celebrated in 1938. Karen New Year is
celebrated on the first day of the month
of Pyathoe, in the Karen calendar. This
is in December or January in the
western calendar.
Typically, this is also when new houses
are constructed, and the completion of
these must be celebrated. The first day
of Pyathoe is not a distinct festival for
any religious group, so it is a day that is
acceptable to Karen people of all
religions. Karen New Year is celebrated
throughout Burma, in refugee camps
and Karen villages in Thailand, and
Karen refugee communities around the
world.
The month of Pyathoe is special for
Karen cultural solidarity, for the
following reasons: The rice harvest is
completed in the period leading to
Pyathoe, and according to Karen
Karen New Year celebrations typically
traditional religious practice, there must include dancing, singing, speeches, and
be a celebration for consumption of the the consumption of lots of food!
new crop.
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Issue 2
Some Myths Regarding ELLs and Special Education
By Else V. Hamayan, Barbara Marler, Cristina Sanchez-Lopez, Jack S. Damico
Several myths prevail in the area of special education for ELLs. These myths guide us in the way we approach education in general, in
the way we interpret students' behaviors, and in how we teach and assess students. The following are commonly held misconceptions
regarding ELLs and special education.
Myth
Myth 1
If we label an ELL as
learning disabled, at
least he will get some
help.
Response
A special education placement when none is warranted does not serve the student well. First, we are
bestowing on the student a stigmatizing label that the student does not need. Second, interventions that
are specifically geared to help processing, linguistic, or cognitive disabilities often do not help children
acquire second language proficiency. In fact, special education services can limit the kind of learning that
ELLs need (Gersten & Woodward, 1994). Special education interventions tend to target a narrow selection
of skills to enable mastery, and discrete skills are often practiced out of context (Damico & Damico, 1993a;
Westby & Vining, 2002). This complicates the learning process for ELLs, since they need a meaningful
context in order to comprehend the language that surrounds them (Genesee, 2006).
In addition, special education interventions often use reading materials with controlled phonics and
vocabulary, which reduces the meaningfulness of the text. Intervention tasks often revolve around surface
structures of language, targeting grammar, syntax, and spelling. This constricts language usage and makes
it more difficult for ELLs to understand and retain information (Gersten & Woodward, 1994).
Myth 2
We have to wait five to
seven years for ELLs to
develop their English
language skills before
we can rule out
language s a cause for
the student’s difficulty.
Although it is true that ELLs may take five to seven years to develop proficiency in academic language
(Cummins, 2006), there is no need to withhold any kind of support services that an ELL might need in the
meantime. The timeline suggested by Cummins was meant to give teachers a sense of how much to
expect students to learn through a language that was not yet fully developed, especially in abstract
academic concepts. Besides, if a student truly has an intrinsic difficulty, then it exists in all the student's
languages and in most use contexts.
The sooner these exceptionalities are identified and supported, the better opportunity the student has to
be successful in school.
Myth 3
When an ELL is
identified as having a
disability, instruction
should be only in
English, so as not to
confuse the student.
Children with speech, language, or learning impairment can become fully bilingual (Genesee, Paradis, &
Crago, 2004; Perozzi, 1985; Perozzi & Sanchez, 1992). There is even emerging evidence that children with
Down syndrome can be successfully bilingual and that bilingualism does not disadvantage their language
development (Kay-Raining Bird, Cleave, Trudeau, et al., submitted). The majority of people in the world
are bilingual, and some of them have disabilities. Disabilities certainly do not arise from being bilingual.
They manifest in all or most contexts. The decision to shift to instruction in English exclusively is usually
based on lack of knowledge of the research, ignorance of the students' native language, or convenience.
Developing the native language can help students with a specific language impairment (SLI) make better
progress in the second language.
In addition, for ELLs with severe disabilities, it is especially important to maintain the home language,
since the students' main caregivers will be their parents well after they have left the school system and
have entered adult life. It is important that parents and family be able to communicate with and have
close ties to their children.
Citations and references can be found here.
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Issue 2
A Year of Change
By Lyda Ragonese, ENL/Bilingual Instructional Specialist
Teachers in the ENL Department have experienced multiple changes ranging
from the NYSESLAT’s new proficiency levels, the ENL units of study, and mode
of instructional delivery services in ENL Stand-Alone and Integrated Co-teaching
models. More information about the two models can be found on the SCSD
ENL webpage or here.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Rigby On Our Way to English
Changes in ENL Services
The purpose for ENL Stand-Alone class is specifically for ENL teachers to provide
English language development services to the students who scored at the
Entering, Emerging, and Transitioning proficiency levels of the NYSESLAT or
NYSITELL. Research indicating the importance of ELD time to provide optimal
learning experiences for English language learners can be found here.
Change in Stand-Alone ENL Instructional Materials
During Stand-Alone instructional services, ENL teachers are using the SCSD
board-approved ELD series known as Rigby On Our Way to English for grades K5 and Keystone Longman for grades 6-12, or piloting new ELD materials.
National Geographic/Cengage
Reach, Inside, Edge
ENL teachers at two schools, Dr. Weeks Elementary and Edwin Smith
Elementary, are piloting the new Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS)aligned Rigby on Our Way to English. At the same time, ENL teachers at
LeMoyne Elementary School, Grant Middle School, and Public Service
Leadership Academy at Fowler High School are piloting the Reach, Edge, and
Inside ELD series by National Geographic/Cengage.
Teachers in the piloting schools have been receiving professional development
opportunities this year to implement the pilot materials with their students
during the Stand-Alone classes. These teachers are members of the ENL
Textbook Adoption Committee that has convened during the months of
November and December. The committee members are using an instrument
known as the Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool (IMET), developed by
Student Achievement Partners and guided by the Publisher’s Criteria, to
measure the piloting series’ considerations for ELLs. The tool will provide the
committee with ELL-specific non-negotiable criteria to identify materials that:
 Provide ELLs with the necessary rigor in language development;
 Pride ELLs with full access to grade-level instructional content;
 Integrate scaffolding for ELLs without compromising rigor or content;
 Provide ELLs access to text that increases in complexity, with
intentional connections between ENL and ELA instruction, all anchored
in the CCLS.
On January 6, 2015, all ENL teachers are encouraged to attend the ENL
department Textbook Adoption Final Review. I hope everyone will be able to
take part in this important decision for our department. See you all then!
SAVE THE DATE!
January 6, 2016
3:30-5:30 pm, PDC
Pearson Keystone Longman
| Issue 5
SUNY Oswego & Syracuse City School District
Issue 2
Intensive Teacher Institute
Clinically Rich TESOL Graduate Certificate Program
Total Program Cost
approximately $7000,
including tuition and fees.
Funding Breakdown:
ITI funding: $4,500
(Plus $119 for ESOL CST &
$65 Program Application Fee)
SCSD funding: $1670
Candidate cost: $900
($300 per session, Spring,
Summer & Fall)
For more information
please contact:
Jackie LeRoy
[email protected]
(315)435-4927
Nick Stamoulacatos
(315)435-6358
Pat Russo:
[email protected]
(315) 312-2632
Intensive Teacher Institute Certificate of Advanced Study in TESOL
In partnership with New York State Education Department and Syracuse City School
District, SUNY Oswego is working to address a critical shortage of content teachers
prepared to work with English language learners or students with limited English
proficiency. Qualified SCSD teacher candidates who complete this five-course and threepracticum program will be recommended to NYSED for an Additional Certificate in ESOL
K-12. They will need to pass the ESOL Content Specialty Test certification exam and
apply for certification through TeachNY.
Program Description
SUNY Oswego ITI-TESOL will run across one calendar year and offer candidates key
understandings for teaching English language learners. Working with a school-based
mentor ESL teacher while undertaking program coursework, ITI-TESOL candidates will
gain greater cultural and linguistic perspective to inform teaching strategies and
classroom practice to support English language learners.
Coursework
Spring
2016
Summer
2016
Fall
2016
- Introduction to Linguistics
- Teaching ELLs across the Curriculum
- Perspectives on Schools, Homes & Communities
60-hr practicum
60-hr practicum
- Linguistics & English Language Teaching
60-hr practicum
- TESOL Methods
Informational Meetings/Professional Development: 2 hours monthly
Admission Requirements






Submit application to and be recommended by SCSD
Current NYS Teaching Certificate
Currently employed as a teacher in SCSD
12 post-secondary (college) credit hours in Language Other than English
3 credit hours in Literacy
Completed Graduate Application submitted to the Office of Graduate
Studies with official academic transcripts, copy of NYS Teacher
Certificate(s), and professional resume.
Application Deadline is December 20, 2015
10
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Issue 2
Department of World Languages
New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers, Inc. (NYSAFLT) will offer a series of webinars throughout the
2015-2016 school year that will address multiple facets of foreign language education. You are encouraged to register at
your earliest convenience for any of the webinars at http://www.nysaflt.org/webinars/.
2015-2016
NYSAFLT Webinar Series
March 2 -- 4:00 p.m. EST (1 hour)
Art & Creativity: Strong Tools to Teach a
Language
March 17 -- 4:00 p.m. EST (1 hour)
April 14 -- 7:00 p.m. EST (1 hour)
Top Ten Games And Activities to Liven Up Your
Language Class
Creating the Can-Do Classroom
Skillful use of the NCSSFL/ACTFL Can-Do
Do you find yourself in a rut doing the same
Statements can help teachers build student
Creativity is always recommended in any field activities over and over again? Do you wish your
proficiency in an engaging, effective and
but when we talk about learning a language it
students were excited to learn a foreign
efficient manner by being able to focus
turns into a super strong tool that every teacher
language? Spice up your language class with
instruction on the essential elements of
should consider using. As an illustrator, teacher, activities and games that will get your students communicative modes of each level of the ACTFL
and creator of the program 'Learn Spanish Love
moving, talking and having fun. We will share
Proficiency Guidelines. In this presentation,
Español' used in the Instituto Cervantes New
our top ten activities that will be mostly
participants will identify essential characteristics
York & Chicago, I will show you the way I use it
kinesthetic and will include games and
of the "Can-Do Classroom;" examine
when teaching Spanish, and I can also suggest
technology, such as sites, speaking assessments
instructional decision making for each
tips to make your classes more interesting both
and more. Join us and bring the enthusiasm,
proficiency level concerning text-type and
for your students and for yourself. You don´t
energy and eagerness to learn back into your
language functions; and analyze research-based
have to be an artist to be a creative teacher. It´s
class!
best practices for facilitating proficiency
surprising how fast students learn when they are
development.
inspired!
#nectfl16
Click here for more information about NECTFL.
| Issue 5
12
Issue 2
FOREIGN
LANGUAGE
TEACHING IN
U.S. SCHOOLS:
RESULTS OF A
NATIONAL
SURVEY
The Center for Applied Linguistics
(CAL) has completed a
comprehensive survey of K-12
foreign language programs
nationwide, describing how our
schools are meeting the need for
language instruction to prepare
global citizens. For comparative
purposes, the survey has collected
statistical data in 1987, 1997, and
2008. Elementary and secondary
schools from a nationally
representative sample of more the
5,000 public and private schools
completed a questionnaire during
the 2007-2008 school year. The
2008 survey results
complement and enhance
the field's existing knowledge
base regarding foreign
language instruction and
enrollment in the United
States.
The report of the survey,
Foreign Language Teaching
in U.S. Schools: Results of a
National Survey, provides
detailed information on
current patterns and shifts
over the past 20 years in
languages and programs
offered, enrollment in language
programs, curricula, assessment,
and
teaching
materials,
qualifications, and trainings, as well
as reactions to national reform
issues such as the national foreign
language standards and the No
Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.
The survey results revealed that
foreign
language
instruction
remained relatively stable at the
high school level over the past
decade but decreased substantially
in elementary and middle schools.
Moreover, only a small percentage
of the elementary and middle
schools not teaching languages
planned to implement a language
program within the next two years.
The findings indicate a serious
disconnect between the national
call to educate world citizens with
high-level language skills and the
current state of foreign language
instruction in schools across the
country. This report contains
complete survey results, along with
recommendations on developing
rigorous long sequence (K-12
programs whose goals are for
students to achieve high levels of
language proficiency, and are of
interest to anyone interested in
increasing language capacity in the
United States. 2010
| Issue 5
13
A Place at the “Literacy Table”:
World Languages and the Common Core
By Francesco L. Fratto, President of NYSAFLT, July 2015 OBEWL Newsletter
What does it mean to be truly college
and career ready? It is a question that
is often asked, but few can answer.
Some believe that we need to focus
our learners’ attention on ELA, science,
social studies and mathematics in
order to get them ready for the “real
world.” To help get them “ready”,
educators are being asked to do their
part to support the Common Core
Learning Standards (CCLS) in order to
improve literacy across the disciplines.
But, what is the role of world language
teachers and programs in all of this
improvement?
World language teachers have been
embedding CCLS skills and design in
their practice for years, but we have
been calling it the interpretive,
interpersonal, and presentational
modes of communication. We have
used informational texts to help our
students derive meaning from
authentic sources. We ask them to
read and write poems or analyze
literary excerpts to reinforce a topic or
to highlight an aspect of the target
culture. We call the “Staircase of
Complexity” the spiraling effect of
language learning that recycles and
builds upon previously learned
material in order to build proficiency.
Though we are a topic based discipline,
we help students recognize and build
vocabulary word families that
ultimately assist them in other
disciplines so they will recognize and
acquire the critical academic (content
specific) vocabulary. We were
interdisciplinary before the term came
into vogue! World language teachers
teach language, culture, art, literature,
history, numeracy (metric system,
currency exchange, and military time)
and culinary appreciation. We often
partner with other disciplines on
projects to make the experience for
students an authentic one. We can feel
proud of the work that we have been
doing and will continue to do to
support the CCLS’s instructional shifts.
Text based answers and writing from
sources are two areas that we
integrate to some extent, but there is
always room for improvement. We ask
students to write based on information
garnered from sources as a way to
show understanding and then to share
it with an audience. We are a
profession that embraces change, but
we must hold true to what second
language research tells us is best for
our learners. Other disciplines are now
being asked to do what we have been
doing for years. So, why aren’t we seen
as teachers of literacy?
In Active Literacy Across the
Curriculum: Strategies for Reading,
Writing, Speaking, and Listening, Heidi
Hayes Jacobs praises the work of
language teachers and makes the
argument that other teachers need to
become “active language teachers.”
We employ great instructional
strategies for listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. Few understand
our profession and what we do every
day to make language comprehensible
and authentic. Some may not perceive
our work as rigorous, but I defy anyone
to define rigor and what it looks like in
each of our classrooms. I often
substitute rigor with authenticity in
authenticity, there is rigor! Some see
the songs we sing as fun exercises, but
they don’t realize that they help build
fluency. We ask students to act out
words and dialogues, with tons of
props, but few see it as a way to help
students learn, retain, and
comprehend what is being asked of
them. At the elementary level, they call
it Reader’s Theater, but at the
secondary level and in our classrooms,
it is the “fun things they do in language
classes.” We have an image problem
within the teaching profession. Cuts
come easily to those programs that are
poorly understood and not valued.
I ask that we rebrand ourselves and
demand a place at the “literacy table.”
So, how do we share what we do? I
suggest that we continue to use best
practices, based on sound second
language research, but increase
opportunities for students to integrate
the modes of communication in order
to make language more authentic. We
need to adopt the language of the CCLS
to explain our work, and at the same
time, teach our colleagues a new set of
vocabulary words, such as: spiraling,
interpretive, interpersonal,
presentational, circumlocution,
recycling, probing, and fossilization.
We are teachers of literacy! The
problem is that we speak a “foreign”
language that few communicate to
administrators, parents, and
community members what it is that
you do each and every day. I implore
you to continue to sing, dance, cook,
and share your passion of languages
and culture(s), but that your lessons
should have very explicit and
achievable goals that build proficiency!
It is ALL disciplines, including world
languages, that will ensure that our
students are ready to live, thrive, and
understand the world in which they
live.
| Issue 5
14
Issue 2
SCSD ENL Teachers Recipient of Terra Science & Education Foundation Grants
At LeMoyne Elementary ENL
teacher, Kristina Crehan, 1st grade
teacher, Sarah Scott, and Math
Coach, Marianne Oliver, were
awarded a capacity building grant
from the Terra Science & Education
Foundation. They were awarded
$3,306 to purchase 6 iPads and a
document camera for the
classroom. The focus for the grant
was on co-teaching for Multiple
Language Learners using integrated
technology. The application for the
grant was submitted at the
beginning of this year as the ENL
teacher and 1st grade teacher
began co-teaching for a portion of
the day. They began co-teaching
during math to meet the new State
Education Department’s
regulations for MLLs. They had
limited access to technology within
the classroom so this grant will
allow them the opportunity to use
technology for our classroom,
which can be used to enhance
student learning and our
instruction. As a part of our grant
application we plan to systemically
collect data over the course of the
upcoming school year to monitor
the impact that co-teaching using
integrated technology has on
student learning.
Lauren Cirulli, an ENL teacher at
Nottingham High School, and Dr.
Zaline Roy-Campbell of Syracuse
University were awarded a $6,000
grant to collaborate on
translanguaging in the science
classroom. This grant will go
towards funding
glossaries/bilingual dictionaries and
iPads in the living environment
classroom that Lauren co-teaches
with science teacher Rebekah
Farrell. The group will look at the
positive impact translanguaging has
in content area classrooms
throughout the year through
various forms of data collection.
Picture from left to right: Dr. Zaline
Roy-Campbell, Syracuse University,
Lauren Cirulli, ENL teacher at
Nottingham, and Kristina Crehan, ENL
teacher at LeMoyne Elementary.
ENL Students from Nottingham High School Visit Syracuse University
“We Are Syracuse” is an event that took place on December 10, 2015 at
the School of Education at Syracuse University. The purpose of this event
was to promote tolerance and share the stories of our refugee students.
Twelve ENL students from Nottingham High School created narratives,
PowerPoints, and artwork to showcase their culture and their stories. The
gallery style event allowed for attendees to meet with the students in
small groups to listen to their presentations and to communicate one on
one with the student presenters. The event was completely student run
and organized by ENL teacher Lauren Cirulli and Dr. Roy-Campbell of the
Syracuse University Teaching English Language Learners program.
Students took great pride in their work and have already been asking
about next year’s event.
| Issue 5
15
Issue 2
PRESIDENT:
VICE PRESIDENT:
Michelle Mignano
Derrick Dorsey
COMMISSIONERS OF
EDUCATION:
Patricia Body
David Cecile
Mark D. Muhammad
Maxwell Ruckdeschel
Stephen Swift
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Sharon L. Contreras, Ph.D., Superintendent
Jaime Alicea, Chief Operations Officer
Brandan Keaveny, Ed.D., Chief Accountability Officer
Christopher Miller, Ed.D., Chief Talent Officer
Linda Mulvey, Chief Academic Officer
Suzanne Slack, Chief Financial Officer
Monique Wright-Williams, Acting Chief of Staff
NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Syracuse City School District hereby advises students, parents, employees and the general public that it is
committed to providing equal access to all categories of employment, programs and educational opportunities,
including career and technical education opportunities, regardless of actual or perceived race, color, national
origin, Native American ancestry/ethnicity, creed or religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender
identity or expression, disability or any other legally protected category under federal, state or local law.
Inquiries regarding the District’s non-discrimination policies should be directed to:
Executive Director of Student Support Services, Civil Rights Compliance Officer
Syracuse City School District
725 Harrison Street • Syracuse, NY 13210
(315) 435-4131
Email: [email protected]