RBERN West Newsletter

Please take 5 minutes to complete our end-of-year feedback survey. This survey is designed to collect feedback from educators who received services or support from RBERN West during the 2021-2022 school year. The survey will be used to review the quality of our service and plan for future needs. The content of your survey will remain confidential.

Please complete our survey here.

WNY Educators have made impactful and long-lasting contributions to the quality of life in our community, state, and country through their work in educating English language learners. The work achieved everyday ensures that our ELL students are academically successful to help to support our newest citizens to be prosperous, full participants of a free and democratic society.

For this reason, three awards will recognize outstanding WNY educators who have made notable contributions to our field through efforts such as connecting with the community, acting as a leader in our field, or engaging in meaningful advocacy work on behalf of English language learners. Submissions will be judged based on the candidates’ character, contributions, and their significance.

RBERN West will solicit nominations for each of the awards. To nominate someone, you must complete the application for the award and submit two letters of recommendation. Submissions are due no later than April 30, 2022. A committee will review submissions and judge using established criteria. Selections will be made and the nominator notified no later than May 13, 2022. It will be the responsibility of the nominator to let the selected recipient know. Awards will be presented at the RBERN West End of Year Celebration Event on June 3, 2022 from 3:00-6:00pm. We ask that the nominators be prepared to present the awards to the selected recipient.

Teacher Leader Award

This award will be given to a teacher who has exhibited exceptional leadership in support of ELL education. This is someone who steps outside of their normal classroom responsibilities to support their colleagues, provide professional learning opportunities, and bring awareness to others about best practices to support ELL students.

Eligibility: any teacher of a WNY public school district

Submit a nomination here.

ELL Advocate Award

This award will be given to a staff member who has engaged in meaningful advocacy work on behalf of English language learners. This can include work in the local community and any impact on changes in a local school district and beyond. The intention is to recognize advocacy efforts that have a significant impact, but might not otherwise be known or receive attention.

Eligibility: any staff member of a WNY public school district

Submit a nomination here.

ELL Administrator of the Year

This award will be given to an administrator who goes above and beyond to support the ELLs in their school/district. This is someone who knows and advocates for best practice for ELLs, provides robust professional learning opportunities for staff that empower them to best serve ELLs, and act as a local leader to champion ELL education.

Eligibility: any building or district administrator in a WNY public school district

Submit a nomination here.

2022 NYSESLAT School Administrator's Manual for general information regarding the administration and scoring of the NYSESLAT.

See page 2 for 2022 NYSESLAT enhancements.

We have some exciting changes coming to the MLS! These updates are scheduled to go live on May 16, 2022.

We have updated our Spanish reading comprehension test, and math tests in 5 languages. These improvements will increase the range of possible grade placements (to K-9 for reading comprehension and 1-9 for math), provide more specific information about student performance as measured by NGLS standard in the PDF reports, and shorten average testing time.

We will publish a pre-recorded webinar in mid-May describing the changes, and will host two virtual training sessions on May 23 from 2:30-4:00pm and June 9 from 10:00-11:30am. Please fill out this google form to register for a virtual training. Registration is required to receive the zoom link (https://forms.gle/TCx6H3sr4PtsumM77).

Thank you for your continued engagement with the MLS, please feel free to contact us at mls.email.server@gmail.com with any questions.

Clarification from NYSED Office of State Assessment:

"The accommodation can be provided both ways, where ELLs receive paper copies for whatever the other language is (English or an alternate language). Due to the current functionality of the online examination request system though, if a school requests computer-based tests in English for their ELLs, they will not automatically receive paper copies of the alternate language tests, whereas a school that requests computer-based tests in an alternate language will automatically receive paper English copies too. Schools can request paper copies of the alternate language tests for ELLs taking a computer-based test in English by contacting our vendor Questar Assessment, Inc. directly via email to ny.3-8.help@questarai.com.

If the accommodation is to be provided in this manner, it is the responsibility of the school to ensure the next two steps are taken before the students start testing to ensure the tests are administered and scored correctly. First, in order for the computer-based test in English to match the alternate language paper copy, the school must select the Read Aloud (by human) accommodation for these ELLs in the Nextera Administration System. This will activate the A-3 form of the computer-based test. All accommodated paper copies of the tests, including alternate language and test read copies, are form A-3. Second, schools must remind their ELLs taking a computer-based test in English that they must type their responses in English. Due to the current functionality of the Nextera Test Delivery System and the computer-based testing scoring platform, Score Point, these tests will not be directed to scorers who can score alternate language responses."

The Performance Assessment Networks (PAN) Pilot is exploring the potential for New York’s educational assessment strategy to be reimagined in a way that purposefully fosters high-quality instructional opportunities, provides authentic measures of deeper learning, and better prepares students for college and the workplace. Learn more...

In February 2019, then-Chancellor Rosa committed to rethinking New York’s graduation measures. In July 2019, the Board of Regents announced it will create a Blue Ribbon Commission to review the State’s high school graduation measures. The reason for this review is two-fold. The system is not working for everyone; inequities exist for too many students - particularly our most vulnerable students - our students of color, students with disabilities, English language learners, and low-income students. The second reason is to ensure our students are engaged in school and prepared for the 21st century workforce.

It’s about ensuring that what students are learning is relevant to them, useful to society, and prepares them for college, careers and civic engagement. Our ultimate goal is to explore what it means to obtain a diploma in New York State and what that diploma should signify to ensure educational excellence and equity for all students in New York State.

To participate in this discussion please complete the following TWO ThoughtExchanges:

1. What knowledge, skills, and/or experiences do you think are important for ALL students to have by the end of high school?
2. How would you like students to show that they have the knowledge, skills, and/or experiences necessary for graduation?

The application to offer the Seal of Civic Readiness +1 Civics Pathway is now available for all districts and schools in the SED Monitoring and Vendor Performance System located within the Application Business Portal. Schools that wish to offer this pathway for the 2022-2023 school year must complete this initial application by August 1, 2022. Schools will be notified of their status on a rolling basis.

For more information on the Seal of Civic Readiness +1 Civics Pathway, please visit the Office of Curriculum and Instruction’s Civic Readiness Initiative webpage.

Please contact the Office of Curriculum and Instruction at 518-474-5922 or via email at emscurric@nysed.gov if you have any questions.

Please find attached the March 2022 edition of the OBEWL Newsletter! The following articles can be found in this month’s issue:

• Letter from the Associate Commissioner

• Bridges to Academic Success
• Long Island Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network Family Academy
• 2020-21 NYSED ELL Data
• World Language Professional Learning Series Continues
• Collaborative Unit Design Workshops for Checkpoint A
• Administrator’s Reference Guide for World Languages—Part 2: The Standards in Action
• Highlighting Bilingual Education through Dual Language Programs
• Affordable Connectivity Program
• Culminating Projects for the NYS Seal of Biliteracy
• News from Other NYSED Offices

You can access the entire archive of newsletters at: http://www.nysed.gov/bilingual-ed/obewl-newsletter-newsletter-archives.

The Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages is proud to announce the first five workshops in the 2022 World Language Professional Learning Series. These online workshops are offered free of charge for world language educators and administrators working or studying in New York State schools, colleges, universities, BOCES/RBERNs, or other educational institutions. All workshops will take place from 4:00-5:00 p.m., so that educators can attend. Participants who attend these workshops via Zoom may earn a certificate of attendance or a certificate documenting CTLE credit. Recordings are made of all large-group workshops. Those who are unable to attend the virtual workshops may earn a certificate, including for CTLE credit, by watching the recording and earning a score of at least 7/10 on a post assessment.

Registration for these workshops is now open. Please note that registration for all workshops closes 48 hours prior to the event. There is no same-day registration. Only pre-registered attendees will be admitted into the workshops. Once the registrant's email address has been verified as being from a New York State educational institution, an email confirming registration will be sent. No registration is necessary to view the recordings of these workshops.

Preparing for Standards-Based Curriculum Planning

May 19, 2022 from 4pm-5pm

Vertical and horizontal curriculum alignment is critical to helping learners make continuous growth in proficiency. Intentional sequencing of rich thematic units creates learning experiences that are relevant to learners’ interests and appropriate to checkpoint proficiency targets. Vertical articulation spirals proficiency development and recycles and reinforces high-frequency vocabulary and grammatical structures. In this session, participants will examine templates to help analyze and sequence thematic units across the checkpoints. Presenters will also demonstrate tools that can be used to assess how well the curriculum addresses the revised NYS Learning Standards for World Languages, their embedded language functions, and NYS World Language themes and topics.

Register here!

April ELL Focus Group

April 26, 2022 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

CTLE Credits: 1

Mulu-tsehay Bogale Belete will be our featured presenter for the April 26, 2022 ELL/Bilingual Focus Group PD/Meeting. Meeting facilitated by Denise Gonez-Santos.

DESCRIPTION: 1 hour workshop entitled "Ups and Downs" for teachers of ELL students based on the poetry created by our presenter in her book written to convey the struggle of immigrants and refugees navigating the conflicts between expectations and realities in their new home land to achieve their dream of a peaceful life, be productive citizens and contribute to society.

UPS AND DOWNS

Mulu-tsehay Bogale Belete is a well-known educator of English Language Learners in Western New York. She taught for many years at the Buffalo Public School’s Newcomer Academy and at Lafayette International High School. Mulu devoted her unwavering attention on instructing students identified as newcomers. She also served as a Coordinator in the Bilingual Education Technical Assistance Center (BETAC) at Erie 1 BOCES. However, this brief review of her most recent positions doesn’t even scratch the surface on all of her professional accomplishments achieved during her lifetime. Her most recent undertaking is the creation of a bilingual book of poems in Amharic (Ethiopia) and English entitled: Ups and Downs.

NOTE: All participants will be mailed a copy of the book Ups and Downs after attending the April 26 Professional Development.

**NEW EVENTS ADDED**

Please check back regularly for updates to our year-long PD calendar.

Fordham University's Graduate School of Education is offering anAdvanced Certificate in Tesol or an Extension Certificate in Bilingual Ed.. in an accelerated format. Participants will receive a 50% reduction in tuition plus $300 per credit scholararship (equivalent to about 70% reduction in total).

To learn more,contact the GSE Admissions Office at: gse_admiss@fordham.edu

212-636-6400

Project Director, Alison King: aking73@fordham.edu

Also visit: Fordham.edu/TESOL or Fordham.edu/bilingual

St. Bonaventure has 10 ESOL teacher candidates in need of 15 hours of field experience during their summer session (May-July). Any teachers interested in hosting a graduate student should reach out directly to Jon Morris at jmorris@sbu.edu

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is quickly approaching. This year Ramadan falls between April 2 - May 2. Here are some resources to help you prepare:

9 Ways to Support Students During Ramadan

Celebrating Ramadan and Eid

Column: How Teachers can Support Students during Ramadan

Effective literacy instruction for EL/EBs is different in significant ways from instruction for monolingual students. The degree to which the dual language brain is leveraged or ignored spells a major difference between effective and ineffective literacy instruction for these students…. Methodologies designed for monolingual English-speaking children are inadequate for EL/ EB students who require, in addition, a second language development pedagogy. Instruction for EL/ EB students must be modified to scaffold participation and comprehension and to build language skills in the new language. Ideally, it leverages skills and knowledge of the home language through opportunities for crosslanguage connections...

Read more from authors Kathy Escamilla, Ph.D., Laurie Olsen, Ph.D., and Jody Slavick, Ph.D.

Ellevation is awarding five $2,000 scholarships to deserving EL students so they may pursue their higher education. Think you know a student who may be eligible? Applicants must:

• Be a high school senior who has been enrolled as an English Language Learner (ELL) at some point during their K-12 education.

• Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four- year college, university or vocational-technical school for the entire 2022-2023 academic year

If you know an EL student meets this description, encourage them to apply today through our application portal. Applications are open now and will be accepted until May 12th, 2022 at 3 PM Central Time.

Hewitt Public Library noticed people in the community struggling with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Library staff stepped in to help with community resources and self-care kits. Read more…

Struggling with STEAM programming? Here are five tips from St. Louis County Public Library's Desiree Schumann. Read more…

"The world is watching Russia’s invasion of Ukraine play out in live news coverage. Sadly, we are bearing witness to the creation of a new refugee population. As of today, over 2 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries in search of safety, and the United Nations estimates that up to 4.2 million people could be displaced due to this war. Many people around the world have stepped up to help Ukrainian refugees by sending donations and food, and the European Union is offering temporary work status to Ukrainians who want to relocate within the EU’s borders.

Because establishing an overseas resettlement process can take more than a year after a conflict begins, the International Institute does not anticipate receiving Ukrainian refugees for resettlement in Buffalo anytime soon. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people, and our hope remains that this conflict will end soon so that they can return home.

Since November 1st we've welcomed 180 individuals!

While the Ukrainian refugee situation remains uncertain, we do know that our resettlement and integration programs have become increasingly agile in response to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Should we see an influx of Ukrainian refugees in the future, we are confident we can rise to the occasion as we have with the unprecedented caseloads of Afghan evacuees.

Since the beginning of our fiscal year, the Institute has welcomed 133 Afghan evacuees in addition to 47 clients from other countries of origin.

We have seen an outpouring of support from individuals and organizations as Buffalo welcomes so many New American arrivals. From monetary donations to in-kind good drives and housing leads, our amazing City of Good Neighbors has proven once again that it has earned the title!"

This summer, UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions is offering the Pathways Academy, an immersive, 1-credit experience to introduce public health and the health professions to rising 12th grade students of color ( will be in 12th grade in Fall of 2022). This program is free for all attendees, and there are scholarships available for students to receive college credit for attending. Applications can be found here.

The goal of this program is to increase the diversity of the public health and health profession undergraduate programs and workforce. This 2-week program introduces students to public health concepts as well as the fields of exercise and nutrition science, dietetics, and occupational and physical therapies. College preparedness is also included in the program. Additional information about the program is available here: https://publichealth.buffalo.edu/home/education/pathways-academy.html

Program Dates: 7/11-7/23

Schedule: M to F: 9:00am-1:00PM

Saturday 7/23 11:00am-1:00PM

LOCATION: UB South Campus

The Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute is a collaborative effort among the NYS Senate/Assembly Puerto Rican/ Hispanic Task Force, New York State Education Department, Office of Bilingual Education, ASPIRA of New York, the New York City Department of Education, and the Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN). The Institute's purpose is to foster the leadership skills of Hispanic students and to introduce them to New York State's legislative process.

This years conference theme was Civic Engagement and was held virtually on March 12-13, 2022. The WNY delegation, made up of students from Dunkirk and Jamestown schools gathered at the Clarion Hotel in Dunkirk, New York for two days full of engaging activities and a culminating Mock Assembly session.

Manalís Espinosa is a senior in Jamestown High School. This was her second year participating in the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute. She possesses strong leadership skills that she has been able to expand throughout her academic career. She is the president of the Symphonic Orchestra, student representative of the Symphonic Band, and director of the Broadcast Communications Club. In addition, she is also a member of National Honor Society. After high school, she will attend college to pursue her dream of becoming an Educator. Manalís did an outstanding job representing Hon. Carl Heastie in her role as Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Manalis also received the 2022 PRHYLI Outstanding Student Delegate Award.

Ezequiel is a senior in Jamestown High School. This was his first year participating in the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute where he strengthened his leadership skills and passion for the Latino community. Ezequiel is the Angelo Del Toro SOMOS Scholarship recipient.

The Arabic Language and Culture class at Lackawanna Middle School, under the guidance of Hissen Habir, is celebrating Arab American Heritage Month. Students worked on creating wonderful bulletin boards throughout the building to highlight prominent figures in the Arab American Community.

Students also created PowerPoints and Canva videos to display their research. We will continue to celebrate Arab American Heritage this month by exploring cultural customs, cuisine, art, music, and many other contributions from Arab American Community. Please join us this April to celebrate.

Here are some great resources to use in the classroom:

https://arabamericanmuseum.org/

https://arabamericafoundation.org/national-arab-american-heritage-month/

Email us your story and submit a picture so we can honor the contributions of our dedicated WNY educators, administrators, and community members in our monthly newsletter. Send all submissions to Mike Duffy at mjduffy@e1b.org

The Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network West is part of a statewide system of support, funded by the NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages (OBE-WL).

Mission: Collaborate with educators, parents, and community members to promote academic excellence and ensure high school graduation for all multilingual learners.

Vision: A community that provides access to an excellent and equitable education for multilingual learners that prepares them to be prosperous participants of a free and democratic society.

Email: rbernwest@e1b.org
Website: www.rbernwest.e1b.org
Location: 355 Harlem Road, Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: (716)821-7531
Twitter: @RBERNwest