ESL Resources to Start the New Year

Congratulations on the start of another successful school year! Schools in Heartland AEA schools are seeing a significant increase in enrollment for English Learners. Many of these English Learners are new to the United States, and may have interrupted or limited academic experiences before arriving in this country.

This newsletter is dedicated to resources and information that will support your work throughout the academic school year. You will find resources provided at the national and state level, as well as from the Heartland AEA ESL/Diversify team.

You won't want to miss the section of the newsletter that highlights West Des Moines Community Schools that shares their approach to providing interpreting and translation supports for families who have a home language other than English.

We wish you a successful new school year and look forward to collaborating to support students and families who may be learning English.

The English Learner Tool Kit (now updated to align with ESSA) helps state and local education agencies help English Learners (ELs) by fulfilling these obligations. The Toolkit has 10 chapters (one for each section of the DCL), and contains an overview, sample tools, and resources.

On January 7, 2015, the Departments of Education and Justice issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) which outlined legal obligations to English Learners under civil rights laws.

The English Learner Toolkit (now updated to align with ESSA) helps state and local education agencies help English Learners (ELs) by fulfilling these obligations.

The Newcomer Toolkit is designed to help U.S. educators; elementary and secondary teachers, principals, and other school staff who work directly with immigrant students—including asylees and refugees—and their families.

The Newcomer Toolkit has 5 chapters, and contains an overview, sample tools, and resources.

The English Learner Family Toolkit was created to help families choose education services that meet their child’s needs. U.S. educators, elementary and secondary school teachers, principals, and other school staff can also share the toolkit as a resource for English learners and their families.

The TransACT webiste shows where to find required annual paperwork for students identified as English Learners. Notice that all forms you will need during the school year are located at the right of the Parent Notices page under Iowa English Learners.

If you do not have a TransACT account, contact your district office to receive a password assigned to your district for all new accounts.

This TransACT Support Document from Heartland AEA shows which documents need to be sent to families, under what circumstances, and at what time of the school year. If you are unsure of how to use or store these documents, please contact your Heartland AEA ESL/Diversity consultant.

The Standardized Entrance and Exit Procedures Document establishes standardized statewide entrance and exit procedures that correspond to both federal legislation and state policy regarding the identification, support, and reclassification of English learners.

The English Learner Resources webpage includes a variety related to:

• Instruction
• Assessment
• Professional Learning
• AEA English Learner Websites
• National EL Websites

Visit the Iowa Department of Education English Learner Webpage for additional information.

• Heartland AEA has high-quality digital resources to support your students. Alicia Patten, Teacher Librarian Consultant for Heartland AEA, shares a brief video overview of Grades K-5 Resources and one for 6-12 Resources.

• In addition, see the Heartland AEA Digital Resources '23-24 document for a quick glimpse of a compiled list of digital resources available through Heartland AEA.

Here are a couple of resources to support schools and districts in communicating written and oral information to students and families in languages most easily understood:

• Interpreter/Translation Resources for Schools

• Translation and Interpretation Solutions

The West Des Moines Community Schools' English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program provides four layers of support for district students who come from a home where the primary language is something other than English. In the video Communicating in Languages Other than English, Josie Lewis, Human Resources Director, and Natalie French, ESOL Director, explain this approach.

West Des Moines Community Schools. (2018, October 2). Communicating in languages other than English (Video). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLobm9R8QEU&t=2s.

Video is also available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLobm9R8QEU&t=2s.

2019-2020 School Year

• Multicultural Texts Dec/Jan 19-20

• Assessment and English Learners Feb/March 19-20

• The Finish Line April/May 19-20

2020-2021 School Year

• Equity and Language Sept/Oct 2020

• SEL with Students Learning English Nov/Dec 2020
• Future Ready EL & DACA Students Jan/Feb 2021
• Designing Your LIEP (ESL Program) April/May 2021

2021-2022 School Year

• Newcomer Needs October/November 2021
• Winter Celebrations December 2021/January 2022
• Why Languages Matter February/March 2022
• Choose Your Summer Adventure April/May 2022

2022-2023 School Year

• Our Newest Iowa Immigrants October/November 2022
• Winter Traditions December 2022/January 2023
• Measuring Language Growth February/March 2023
• ESL Specialists Invest in Learning April/May 2023