March 2022 Newsletter
Legislative Update from MinneTESOL Advocacy
MinneTESOL members have been busy with legislative advocacy this month! Thank you to all those who contacted your elected officials in support of this amazing bill. This bill is authored by Rep. Carlos Mariani, in partnership with MnEEP’s Emerging Multilingual Network / Leiataua Dr. Robert Jon Peterson. MinneTESOL Advocacy has been working very closely with MnEEP this legislative session.
On March 16, MinneTESOL members Dr. Ashley Karlsson and Leah Soderlund testified on behalf of HF3580 to the MN House Education Policy Committee. Watch the video here (starting at 21:25).
On March 24, Leah Soderlund testified again on behalf of HF3580 to the MN House Education Finance Committee. Watch the video here (starting at 37:10).
The photo above is the unwavering ally of MN’s multilingual learners, Representative Carlos Mariani, as he speaks about his bill to the Ed Finance committee.
The bill (HF3580 / SF3369) proposes the following:
- increasing EL funding permanently
- funding for SLIFE
- increasing accountability in the use of compensatory funds for EL students
- establishing an EL micro-credential for administrators
- establishing an EL micro-credential for general education teachers
- establishing a state-wide multilingual parent and family advisory council through MDE
Amazing! Now, what can you do?
- Find contact info for your elected officials here.
- Reach out by email to your state elected officials asking them to support this bill with this letter.
- Tweet your support of the bills using the bills numbers and #mnleg.
Contact [email protected] with any questions.
Afghan Arrival Update from Minnesota Department of Education
Minnesota has welcomed 1,248 Afghan evacuees (380 families) since September 2021.
- 52% are children 18 or younger
- 45% are 19-50 years of age
Current Needs
- Housing with 3 – 4 bedrooms or efficiency units. Rent ranges needed are 3BR: $1300-1700, 4 BR: $1600-2000 and Efficiencies: $650-900. Contact [email protected] with any housing leads.
- Help Alight set up new homes for arriving families: Give financially, check the Amazon Wishlist or donate new and gently used household items and furniture.
Volunteer Help Needed
- Serve as an AmeriCorps member with the Refugee Response Initiative (RRI) to support Afghan refugees. RRI AmeriCorps members get paid the equivalent of $15/hour, earn money to pay off student loans, and have the option of serving full-time or part-time.
Other Ways to Help
- For other needs and ways to help, see the website for the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans.
If you have questions please contact: [email protected]
We are sharing a promotional flyer (see attached) if you’re interested in getting a copy and/or sharing to your professional networks.
Please feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions. We hope that you will find this textbook helpful and look forward to your reviews!
Sincerely,
Darren LaScotte & Bethany Peters
MinneTESOL Journal Featured Article
In “Academic Benefit of Translanguaging,” Dayna Hillcrest builds an argument for translanguaging by looking at two key academic benefits for supporting translanguaging use in the classroom. Firstly, translanguaging helped multilingual learners comprehend and communicate about subject area content and, secondly, it improved their English proficiency by enabling them to make connections between their home language(s) and English. This writing makes a compelling case for allowing and encouraging multiple language use in the classroom and changing monoglossic ideology in schools where it is prevalent.
MinneTESOL journal call for papers
Now is your chance to publish an article in the upcoming MinneTESOL Journal, a practitioner academic online journal. See Writing for the MinneTESOL Journal for more information.
Journal submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Email the senior editors to learn more about submitting work: [email protected]
MELEd 2022: Save the Date
The annual MELEd conference will take place November 17-19, 2022, at the Saint Paul Rivercentre. We plan to do an in-person conference this year. For more information about our conference, check the Fall Conference page of the MinneTESOL website.
Recent Newsletters
MinneSLIFE Event on April 2 Cancelled
The SLIFE Spring Fling, originally scheduled for April 2, has been cancelled. SLIFE will plan an event for Summer or Fall. To get on the MinneSLIFE email contact list so you get notification of events, send an email to: [email protected]
Visit our jobs board
If you would like to post a job in English Language Teaching, or look for a job (for yourself or for a friend), check out the MinneTESOL Job Board. Here you will find ELT opportunities throughout Minnesota.
Did you know?
Past MinneTESOL newsletters can be found on our website, at https://minnetesol.org/minnetesol-newsletters
We want to hear from you
We are always looking for information to share from our members. Please send newsletter submissions to [email protected].
Did we miss something?
Do you have a professional event you’d like to see included in the MinneTESOL newsletter? Please send an email with details to: [email protected]
