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What's happening in the world of Cobb ESOL?

 

1.ACCESS Score Reports

ACCESS score reports have been delivered to all schools. Many thanks to all of the staff that assisted at the warehouse at this critical time to expedite delivery to schools! 

2. PARCC Assessment Accommodations Draft Posted for Public Comment

PARCC has released a draft of the proposed accommodations and supports that can be used to support English Learners demonstrate content knowledge and skills on the new Common Core assessments that are under development. This draft was available for public comment until May 13^th. To access the draft go to the PARCC site or for a summary, go to the article from Ed Week’s Learning the Language.

3. 2013 Exit Criteria and End-of-Year Notification

There have been many changes to the criteria for exit from ESOL Programs in Georgia this year. The State Board of Education approved the new criteria on May 9th. Exit criteria for 2013 has been posted on the Cobb ESOL Blog under the "Exit" category.

All ESOL students must have the following end-of-year parent notification information sent home in the home language, if available. It is recommended that the information be sent home in both Englsih and the home language.

2013 ACCESS Parent Report

2013 ACCESS Brochure

Parent Notification Letter

The Parent Notification letter indicates whether a studnet has meet the criteria to exit from the ESOL Program or will continue to receive ESOL services next year.

These documents are also posted on the Cobb ESOL Blog under the "Exit" category.

4. ESOL Quarterly Training - May 2013

In lieu of face-to-face ESOL Quarterly Training, there will be a recorded Blackboard Collaborate webinar for all local school lead ESOL teachers to view. More information will be sent via email once the information is finalized.

5. Title III AMAOs for 2012

The Georgia Department of Education recently released the AMAO 2012 information. We are pleased to announce that Cobb County met ALL three AMAO targets for 2011-2012! We are one of only 37 districts in Georgia to have this distinction. Just like it takes an entire village to raise a child, it takes an entire district to meet these AMAOs. This accomplishment is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all teachers and staff in Cobb schools to meet the needs of our English Learners. Many thanks to all of you!

Click here to access more detailed information on the Title III AMAOs under “AMAO” on the Cobb ESOL Blog.

5. Professional Learning Opportunities offfered Summer 2013 by Cobb ESOL/FL

Click on the "Professional Learning" category to see a preview of all of the exciting course offered to Cobb staff. Registration has opened. You may access course registration from the Professional Learning System link in the Academic Portal.

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 Are our school's enrollment practices OCR compliant?

Under Federal Law, every school is required to provide ALL students with equal access to a public education regardless of the student's or their parents' perceived or actual citizenship or immigration status. A Dear Colleague letter was issued by the Office of Civil Rights on Friday, May 6, 2011. For more information regarding the requirements under federal law for student enrollment and a copy of the documents sent by OCR, check out the posting under "Student Intake."

What do I do when I have a student or former student who needs assistance regarding school records for Deferred Action?

Many ESOL teachers have been approached by current and former students requesting information and assistance on securing paperwork for President Obama's Consideration for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Process. Please direct former Cobb students to Cobb's webpage for Student Records and Transcripts for information on the process and form for requesting records. Current students may obtain the needed records directly from their current school.

Who can I contact at a local school for ESOL information? 

Every school has identified a local school lead ESOL teacher and an ESOL Administrator. The lists of program contacts at local schools are posted on the "Local School Leads" and "Cobb ESOL Program" categories. If you are from a school district outside of Cobb, you may contact Carol Fussell, ESOL Data Specialist at carol.fussell@cobbk12.org.

Do you have something amazing going on in the world of ESOL at your local school that you would like to share with all of us? Email me that information.  Check out "Spotlight" and see the great things going on in ESOL around Cobb County.

For information on how to integrate technology into the FL/ESOL classroom, visit the FL ESOL Tech Blog. Check it out! There are several exciting resources that would assist every ESOL teacher with classroom instruction!

Keeping current on the world of ESOL is quite difficult. I have been utilizing Scoop.It in attempt to curate the web for ESOL-related stories and postings. Check out my Scoops below:

 

Have you tried Wordle? Imagine using a word cloud based on word frequency to activate prior knowledge of your Unit topic. Check out the Wordle of the Cobb ESOL Blog:

 

Or, check out the Wordle of Title III law:

Compare the Wordle above to another type of word cloud from WordSift. WordSift, developed by Stanford University also has a visual thesarus and additional tools. Great for any text!