July/August 2006 Newsletter
MinneTESOL Participates in TESOL Advocacy Day 2006 On June 21, 2006, MinneTESOL board members Scott Endo and Andrea Poulos joined 20 other TESOL members representing 19 U.S. based affiliates in Washington, DC for TESOL Advocacy Day 2006. MinneTESOL is a local affiliate under the umbrella of TESOL, the international professional organization for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. This event, the first of its kind for TESOL, featured a day of issue briefings and workshops, capped by visits to Congressional offices on Capitol Hill. The goals of Advocacy Day were not only to lobby on key issues for TESOL, but also to provide an interactive learning experience for affiliate representatives on elements of advocacy. By the end of the day, over 40 Representatives and Senators were visited by TESOL members. Andrea Poulos, currently the Academic/Workforce Coordinator with Lincoln Adult Education Center, and formerly an instructor and coordinator in the Minnesota English Center for almost ten years, represented issues of adult education and the Workforce Investment Act, as well as international student visas and intensive English programs (IEPs.) Scott Endo, Secondary ELL Specialist and high school ELL instructor in Hopkins School District, highlighted issues around No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and some of the unintended implications for English Language Learners. TESOL Advocacy Day was kicked off with a welcome by TESOL President Jun Liu. The participants were also joined by President Elect Sandy Briggs, and by TESOL Board member Brock Brady. The morning workshop was led by John Segota, TESOL's Advocacy and Communications Manager, and was comprised of panel briefings on the issues of No Child Left Behind, adult education and the Workforce Investment Act, and student visas. Representatives from organizations such as the Alliance for Excellent Education, the National Coalition for Literacy, and NAFSA: Association for International Educators all provided updates on these issues and what their organizations were doing to address them. Following these briefings, an interactive workshop on how to have an effective meeting with your member of Congress was held. This workshop was led by Ellin Nolan and Ellen Fern of Washington Partners, LLC, who serve as TESOL's legislative consultants. Participants were provided key information to prepare for their meetings, and were given the opportunity to role play. Interestingly, after being told that they would probably only be allocated 15 minutes per meeting with a staffer, Andrea and Scott were graciously given an hour of time with Senator Dayton's education staffer, Yia Xiong, and 45 minutes with Senator Coleman's education staffer, Chris Graham, and immigration staffer, David Hotz. Regarding NCLB, the MinneTESOL representatives advocated that given a vastly diverse population of English language learners in Minnesota, including students of many linguistic, cultural and educational backgrounds, from newcomers with very limited English proficiency to students born in the U.S., and from limited or no formal schooling to those with highly academic backgrounds, that appropriate accommodations be provided or alternative date sources be used in order to accurately measure academic achievement not just language capability of English language learners. In addition, MinneTESOL advocated for greater flexibility to determine when ELLs should be given an assessment in English, rather than the current 3-year limit required in measuring AYP. For Adult Education, participants asked for renewed funding for the Workforce Investment Act, and on student visa/SEVIS issues they urged passage of the proposed Coleman amendment (see the website below.) At the end of the day, all the participants shared their experiences and what they learned over dinner. Overall, all of the participants agreed this event was a very positive experience for them and for TESOL, and discussed the possibility of doing similar advocacy at the state level. Additional information about TESOL Advocacy Day, including photographs and video of the interactive workshop, is available on the TESOL web site at http://www.tesol.org. If you are interested in learning more about your Congressional representatives, and the legislative issues TESOL is tracking, go the TESOL U.S. Advocacy Action Center at http://capwiz.com/tesol. If you would like more information about the interactions Andrea and Scott had with the Senate staffers, and their perceptions of those interactions, please feel free to email them at apoulos@lincolnadulted.org or scott_endo@hopkins.k12.mn.us. You can read more about TESOL's Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill at: http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=1&DID=6570 Professional
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Advocacy Representatives from around the country at Capitol Hill. John Segota, TESOL Advocacy and Communications Manager and event organizer, front right.  At Senator Coleman's Office Chris Graham, Norm Coleman's Education Legislative Aide, Andrea, Scott, David Hotz, Coleman's Immigration Legislative Correspondent  MinneTESOL board members Andrea Poulos and Scott Endo at Senator Coleman's office in Washington, D.C.  At Senator Dayton's Office Andrea and Scott with Yia Xiong, Mark Dayton's Education Legislative Assistant Fall Conference Update The MinneTESOL fall conference is coming up on November 3-4, 2006 in Minneapolis. The Call for Proposals is now available on the webite: www.minnetesol.org. Click on Fall Conference, and then 2006 Fall Conference. Also available online are sample proposals and information for exhibitors. Please consider submitting a proposal for this upcoming conference. Submissions are due September 1! Grant for Keynote Speakers MinneTESOL recently received a $500 speaker's grant from our parent organization, international TESOL. This grant was awarded to us to help cover the costs of bringing our keynote speakers, David and Yvonne Freeman, to speak at our 2005 Fall Conference. MinneTESOL thanks former president Leigh Schleicher and current 2nd vice-president Jennifer Leazer for their work on this grant. Thank you, TESOL! * * * Resources Bilingual Families Connect http://www.bilingualfamiliesconnect.com/ Bilingual Families Connect is an online resource for families raising bilingual children. The Web site includes links to language instruction resources, magazines, publishers, radio stations, blogs, and an online forum. Readers can find out what other parents raising bilingual children have to say about successes, challenges, speaking, reading and writing strategies, and sibling issues. NCELA's "In the Classroom Toolkit" http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/practice/itc/elementary.html The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA) has updated the K6/Elementary section of its "In the Classroom Toolkit." The update includes information and strategies on oral language development. Oral language development involves not only teaching children to speak but to improve their ability to effectively communicate through practice. It is important to teach children how to actively listen and to give students opportunities to engage in active listening. A Foot in Both Places: Culture and Community at the Crossroads of War http://www.afsc.org/both-places/ A Foot in Both Places is an interactive educational toolkit, featuring stories, photographs, music, games and more. Built around 25 interviews with Arab, South Asian, and Muslim community activists, it focuses on how communities have responded to the post9/11 climate and what types of alliances they have built to defend their civil rights and civil liberties. This toolkit is designed for classroom or community use by faith communities, interfaith groups, educators, and activists concerned with issues of civil rights and civil liberties, immigrant rights, peace education, and anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia. * * * National Geographic: My Wonderful World Geography is more than places on a map. It's global connections and incredible creatures. It's people and cultures, economics and politics. And it's essential to understanding our interconnected world. But sadly, our kids aren't getting enough of it. A new National Geographic-Roper survey shows half of young Americans can't locate world powers like Japan and India. Twenty percent can't even find the Pacific Ocean. Without geography, our children aren't ready for the world. National Geographic is sponsoring an awareness campaign to help young people gain a better sense and appreciation for world geography. This may be of particular interest to ESOL instructors! For more info, follow this link: http://www.mywonderfulworld.org |
This message comes from our parent organization, international TESOL:
Dear TESOL colleagues:
I am writing to invite you to nominate your colleague for The TESOL Thomson Heinle Award for Excellence in Teaching.
This award honors ESL/EFL teachers who are considered by their colleagues to be excellent teachers. The recipient will be awarded US$1000, which is donated by Thomson Heinle Publishers.
Any TESOL member with at least 5 years of ESL/EFL classroom experience can be nominated.
Please go to the TESOL Awards & Grants Web page at http://www.tesol.org/awards/nomination
for specific nomination and supporting documentation requirements.
Due Date: Nominations must be received on or before November 1, 2006.
Please support your TESOL community and nominate a candidate! Thank you for your participation and support for this award.
Allison Rainville
Past Chair/Publicity
TESOL Awards Committee
July/August 2006
www.minnetesol.org