WEDNESDAY May 13, 2015 7:45 am 3:15 pm 5:00 pm 6:30 pm THURSDAY May 14, 2015 BILINGUAL, IMMIGRANT, AND REFUGEE EDUCATION DIRECTORS MEETING 2015 AGENDA SCHOOL SITE VISITS - FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS ONLY (BREAKFAST ON YOUR OWN) Meet in lobby of the Westin Charlotte at 7:45 am. Lunch provided at school sites. CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS VISIT DEBRIEF (HARRIS ROOM, ALL INVITED) Debrief and light refreshments at the Westin Charlotte Hotel. 7:00 am 4:00 pm REGISTRATION 7:00 am 8:00 am BUFFET BREAKFAST (GRAND BALLROOM A) 8:00 am 8:20 am WELCOME (GRAND PROMENADE D) Ann Clark, Superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Michael Casserly, Executive Director of the Council of the Great City Schools 8:20 am 8:30 am INTRODUCTION AND MEETING GOALS Participants will learn about goals and protocols for the 2015 BIRE meeting. 8:30 am 9:15 am RAISING RIGOR FOR ELLS During this session, participants will learn the importance of raising instructional rigor for ELLs. What does rigor look like for early level ELLs? How do we bring all ELLs up to gradelevel, rigorous content & standards? Lily Wong Fillmore will be joined by Maria Maldonado from Fresno; together they will share concrete examples of their collaborative work to raise instructional rigor in Fresno. Lily Wong-Fillmore, Professor Emerita, University of California, Berkeley Maria Maldonado, Assistant Superintendent of EL Services, Fresno 9:15 am 10:00 am AN UPDATE FROM THE SCAFFOLDING TEAM Scaffolding for ELLs is a complex issue. What is the difference between scaffolding and 9:30 am 11:00 am good instruction? How do you know when to scaffold, how, and for whom? When is struggle productive? The Scaffolding Team has been exploring these issues, and will share their work-in-progress. Then, participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their own ideas around scaffolding, and to offer suggestions for moving the work forward. Angienette Estonina, Elementary Supervisor Multilingual Department, San Francisco Terry Walter, Director of Special Instructional Projects, Leadership and Learning Division, San Diego 10:00 am 10:45 am MAXIMIZING RESULTS: USING DATA EFFECTIVELY In this session, participants will get a brief update on the Council s KPI project, particularly focused on the lessons learned related to high leverage ELL indicators. The presenter will also offer recommendations regarding protocols & procedures for collecting, analyzing, and effectively using ELL data: How do you get the data and what does it tell you? With whom do you share it? Ray Hart, Director of Research, CGCS
10:45 am 11:00 am BREAK 11:00 am 12:30 pm IMPLEMENTING A FRAMEWORK THAT RAISES EXPECTATIONS FOR ELLS: STORIES FROM THE FIELD Olivine Roberts and Vanessa Girard will discuss their experiences implementing a framework designed to raise expectations for ELLs in Sacramento, sharing how they broke down systemic silos and encouraged all staff to embrace responsibility for ELL achievement. Olivine will offer a Chief Academic Officer s perspective on the importance of raising expectations for ELLs system-wide, discussing how ELL directors and CAOs can work together to accelerate achievement. Allison Still and Janicka Newbill will share their experiences implementing the Council s ELD 2.0 Framework in Philadelphia, addressing how the framework helped them evolve their own instructional model and improve processes for the evaluation of instructional materials. Participants will then engage in a work session, identifying key stakeholders and next steps for breaking down silos and implementing higher expectations and increased rigor for ELLs in your own districts. Olivine Roberts, Chief Academic Officer, Sacramento Vanessa Girard, Director of Multilingual Literacy, Sacramento Janicka Newbill, Staff Development Specialist, The School District of Philadelphia Allison W. Still, Director of Multilingual Programs, The School District of Philadelphia 12:30 pm 1:30 pm LUNCH (GRAND BALLROOM A) 1:30pm 2:30 pm REFUGEES AND UNACCOMPANIED MINORS: INNOVATIVE MODELS AND RESOURCES In this session, participants will hear powerful examples of data-driven services and instructional programs designed to maximize achievement for refugees and unaccompanied minors. Nicole Knight will share the innovative work being done in Oakland Unified, and Jennifer Pearsall will share effective initiatives in place in Charlotte- Mecklenburg. Carol Aguirre will share an update on numbers, funding, and resources available to support these students. Nicole Knight, Executive Director of ELL and Multilingual Achievement Office, Oakland Carol Aguirre, ELL Policy Specialist, CGCS 2:30 pm 3:30 pm AN UPDATE FROM THE OFFICE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 2:30 pm 4:00 pm 3:30 pm 3:45 pm BREAK During this session, participants will get an update from Libia Gil, Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director of OELA, regarding the latest developments in the Department of Education related to ELLs. Topics will include the Toolkit to accompany the OCR guidance for ELLs, and other key areas of interest. Libia Gil, Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director, Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Department of Education 3:45 pm 4:30 pm AN UPDATE FROM THE CGCS CURRICULUM TEAM Participants will learn about a number of important projects that the Curriculum Team has underway, including the latest on the GIMET, as well as Student Achievement Partners new Instructional Materials Toolkit. The team will also share findings on the Wallacefunded work around principals and principal supervisors, and will seek feedback from participants on issues that have emerged from this work. Ricki Price-Baugh, Director of Academic Achievement, CGCS Denise Walston, Director of Mathematics, CGCS Robin Hall, Director of Language Arts and Literacy, CGCS
4:45 pm 5:30 pm BREAK-OUT SESSIONS THREE CONCURRENT SESSIONS Break-out 1 Break-out 2 ELA/ELD FRAMEWORK FOR CALIFORNIA DISTRICTS (TYRON ROOM) In this session, Dr. Spycher will set the stage by sharing her thoughts on the CA ELD/ELA framework and implications for professional development. Then, California member districts will have an opportunity to collaborate and discuss how they may work together and support each other moving forward. Dr. Pamela Spycher, Senior Research Associate, WestEd Maria Maldonado, Assistant Superintendent of EL Services, Fresno INTEGRATING WIDA STANDARDS WITH ELA STANDARDS (HARRIS ROOM) Using the CCSS speaking and listening standards as an example, the presenter will demonstrate how to tie them to WIDA s speaking MPIs (the smallest grain size of the WIDA ELD standards). She will also touch on the new computerized speaking test, and will address the role of academic conversations in ELL classrooms. Laura Wright, Researcher, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, Wisconsin-Madison University TBA Break-out 3 DISTRICT & COLLEGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH TEACHER/LEADERSHIP PREPARATION PROGRAMS (GRAND BALLROOM B) Panelists will discuss how Colleges of Ed and Teacher Preparation programs are ensuring that teachers of ELLs feel confident and know how to work with ELL towards mastering the new higher standards. Participants will be encouraged to exchange ideas and provide feedback on this very important topic. Dr. Rebecca Blum-Martínez, Director, Multicultural Education Center; Latin American Programs in Education, University of New Mexico Dr. Laura Baecher, Associate Professor, Hunter College CUNY Dr. Vanessa Y. Perez, Associate Professor, Brooklyn College CUNY Dr. Deborah Shanley, Dean of School of Education, Brooklyn College, CUNY 6:00 pm 8:00 pm DINNER RECEPTION AT LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH 200 East Seventh Street Charlotte, NC 28202 (Meet in the Lobby at 5:45pm to walk to the Museum) FRIDAY May 15, 2015 7:00 am 8:00 am REGISTRATION 7:00 am 8:00 am BUFFET BREAKFAST (GRAND BALLROOM A) 7:30 am 8:00 am Dean of CUNY School of Education, Deborah Shanley, will report on feedback received and insights gained during the District & College Partnerships with Teacher/Leadership Preparation Programs breakout. 8:00 am 9:00 am ACCELERATING ACHIEVEMENT FOR LONG-TERM ELLS (LTELS) (GRAND PROMENADE D) Supporting LTELs in mastering grade-level academic language and content continues to be a challenge for districts nationwide. In this session, participants will hear from two districts with strong programs to support LTELs: Miriam Atlas will share the innovative work being done in San Diego, including their Academic Language Development (ALD) course designed specifically for LTELs, and Nicole Knight will share successful processes, tools, and learnings from their work in Oakland Unified. Miriam Atlas, EL Resource Teacher, San Diego Nicole Knight, Executive Director of ELL and Multilingual Achievement Office, Oakland Margarita Pinkos, Executive Director, Department of Multicultural Education, The School District of Palm Beach County
9:00am 10:30am 9:30 am 11:00 am 10:30 am 10:45 am BREAK ELLS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION: A ROADMAP TO COLLABORATION In this session, participants will gain insight into various findings related to Sped/ELL issues in urban districts. Estella Almanza de Schonewise, a contributing author of Why Do ELLs Struggle with Reading? will share research findings important to distinguishing between language acquisition and reading difficulties. Soledad Barreto & Lisa Vargas-Sinapi will share how the purposeful joint work of the offices of Special Education and English Language Learners of Providence Schools has resulted in improved diagnosis and services for ELLs with special needs. Soledad Barreto, Director of ELL, Providence Public School District Lisa Vargas-Sinapi, Special Education Director, Providence Public Schools Estella Almanza De Schonewise, Adjunct Professor, Regis University Sue Gamm, Council of the Great City Schools Consultant 10:45 am -11:45 pm PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG DUAL/ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS In this session, participants will learn about the latest research regarding young ELLs and will discuss the implications for Pre-K programs serving greater number of ELLs. The presenter will also briefly discuss the work of National Academy of Sciences Committee on ELL/DLLs. Dr. Linda M Espinosa, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri-Columbia 11:45 pm 12:45 MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO ELL ACHIEVEMENT pm LUNCHEON (GRAND BALLROOM A) 12:45 pm 2:00 pm SPURRING THE IMPROVEMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR ELLS: EVOLUTION-IN- PROGRESS During this session, a representative from the Televisa Foundation will highlight the impact of the grant-funded project to improve instructional materials for ELLs. Participants will also hear an update from participating publishers, each of whom will briefly share how the development of their ELD/ELA materials for ELLs has been powerfully influenced by the input of CGCS member district panelists and experts. Alejandra Perez Reguera Garcia, Televisa Foundation Angela Terry-Boggs, National Geographic Learning Jesus Cervantes, Benchmark Education Michele Burns, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2:00 pm 3:00 pm EFFECTIVE SEA/LEA RELATIONS ON BEHALF OF ELLS In this session, Jennifer Pearsall and Nadja Trez will share how SEAs and LEAs can build a culture of collaboration, helping to share best practices and build strong networks of 2:00 pm 3:30 pm support across a state. They will also address how collaborative data discussions can lead to program improvement, and how SEAs can further offer technical assistance to districts. The session will incorporate processing time so that participants can discuss, with your teams or at your tables, how your own SEA/LEA relationship works and how it could be improved. Charlotte Nadja Trez, Title III Director and ESL Consultant, NC Department of Public Instruction 3:00 pm 3:15 pm BREAK 3:15 pm 3:45 pm LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: WHAT S HAPPENING ON THE HILL? Participants will learn about all the latest legislative action in Washington D.C., including the very latest developments regarding ESEA Reauthorization.
Jeff Simering, Director of Legislative Services, CGCS Carol Aguirre, ELL Policy Specialist, CGCS 4:00 pm 5:30 pm BREAK-OUT SESSIONS TWO CONCURRENT SESSIONS Break Out 1 Break Out 2 DISTRICTS WITH NEWER ELL POPULATIONS AND/OR GROWING DIVERSITY (HARRIS ROOM) This session is designed for those districts that are experiencing dramatic growth and/or change in your ELL population. Jacqueline Iribarren will highlight some of the work being done in Milwaukee Public Schools where ELL achievement has shown promise. Jacqueline Iribarren, Title III Program Coordinator, Milwaukee Public Schools TBA ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT DUAL LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION (GRAND BALLROOM B) Dual Language programs are on the upswing, and it s important to ensure that you have the necessary systems, staffing, and PD plan in place before launching a dual-language initiative. Olivia Hernandez will share successes achieved and lessons learned while implementing system-wide dual-language initiatives in Austin, Texas. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, to discuss, and to consider next steps as you move your own dual language initiatives forward. Olivia Hernandez, Director of ELL, Austin Independent School District Debra Hopkins, ELL Projects Coordinator, CGCS 5:30 pm 5:45 pm ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS OF THE PUBLISHER PASSPORT ACTIVITY 5:45 pm 6:45 pm SOUTHERN DISTRICTS: NETWORKING AND COLLABORATION (SHARON ROOM) SATURDAY May 16, 2015 EVENING ON YOUR OWN 8:00 am BUFFET BREAKFAST (GRAND PROMENADE D) 8:30 am 9:30 am ELL PROGRAM REVIEW, UPDATES & PLANNING (GRAND PROMENADE D) Facilitator: 9:30 am 10:00 am 2015 BIRE DEBRIEF Goals and objectives, issues, and venue for future meetings will be discussed. 10:00 am BIRE MEETING ADJOURNS