ESL Provider Group Discussion Notes
January 22, 2016
Attended by:
Julie Frost, Dist. 211; Marcia Luptak and Halina Kopek, Elgin Community College; Ewa Crowe,
Nicol Engel and Cassie Tamburrino, Dist. 214 Community Education; Karen Parrillo and Arlene
Santos-George, College of Lake County; Julio Capeles-Delgado, McHenry County College;
Dena Giacometti, Centro Romero; Brenda Roland, Joliet Junior College; Kathryn Powell,
Harper College; Tom Pierce, Morton College; Tricia Wagner, Kishwaukee College; Kerry
Urquizo and Khrystyna Sanborn, Heartland Community College; Maggie Wolf, Kankakee
Community College; Joan Hornby, Mundelein HS Dist. 120; Sue Reynolds, World Relief; Jim
Flaherty, Pui Tak Center; Helen Stewart, Schaumburg Library; Robert Anzelde, Oakton
Community College; Michael Matos, Albany Park Community Center; Nelson Aguiar and
Marilyn Schmidt, ICCB; Dawn Brill, YWCA Elgin; Michaela McDaid, Waubonsee Community
College; Reni Mitkova, Dist. 113
Facilitated by Laurie Martin, Catherine Porter, and Laura Sherwood, Adult Learning Resource
Center
Member
Tom –
Morton
Tricia –
Kishwaukee
Marcia –
Elgin CC
Julie – D211
Kathryn –
Harper
Jim – Pui
Tak
Joan –
D120
Reni – D113
Robert –
Oakton
Arlene –
Coll Lake
Cty
Maggie –
Kankakee
Dena –
Centro
Romero
Comment
Program Updates
Cut a few classes, college-wide reduction of spending (no travel, hiring, PD, etc),
reassessing adult ed situation in Feb/March.
Holding one third of their classes now. Keeping an inquiry list (80 students).
College may not support adult ed next year. May announce layoffs in March, with
staff being let go at end of fiscal year.
Have support through 6/30, reduction of spending college-wide. Did a letter
campaign to legislature.
Cut program in half, only night classes now.
All college departments expected to cut $3-5 million. Adult ed may be combined
with continuing ed or CTE. Closing Rolling Meadows site. Cut 12 classes,
consolidated others.
Maintaining programming. ¼ of instructors are volunteering now. OK through
6/30, then unsure.
Kept all classes, no additional spending. Did a PD day with APC partners for 5 PD hours.
No program changes yet, decision to be made in March. No spending.
OK through 6/30. No program changes yet, no spending. Seeking sources of free
PD.
College wide 5% cuts, possible tuition increase. Adult ed is OK through 6/30.
Enrollment is up 12%. Hired new faculty and staff, frozen other positions.
Planning for fall under assumption that there will be no state funding.
Cut half ESL classes. Administrators and other staff are teaching GED classes.
OK through 6/30.
OK through 6/30. Back up to full programming, some teachers hired back.
Getting some other funding.
ESL Provider Group Meeting Notes, 9-18-15, Adult Learning Resource Center, www.thecenterweb.org/alrc
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Brenda –
Joliet
Michaela –
Waubonsee
Ewa – D214
Khrystyna –
Heartland
Julio –
McHenry
Sue – World
Relief
MichaelAlbany Park
Dawn –
YWCA
Leo Prieto –
IL Migrant
Council
Marilyn –
ICCB
OK through 6/30. Enrollment is level. Hired a few adjuncts. Did a letter campaign,
and one teacher received a hand written letter of thanks from Representative.
Did a PD conference with Prairie State, South Suburban and Kankakee for 5 PD
hours.
OK through 6/30. Didn’t receive SOS funding. No ESL classes were cut but
some were recombined.
District supporting adult ed through 6/30, but reduced instruction hours and
semester, closed a site. Cut some classes (Spanish GED), closed a tutoring site,
reduced staff hours.
OK so far. Cut instructional hours. Closed all off-site classes. Combined ESL
levels. College will make a decision in March. Getting students from Decatur and
Urbana as programs there have closed.
Enrollment is good, but consolidated classes. College support for adult ed
through 6/30, no summer semester planned. Hiring freeze. No SOS funds
received, but volunteer program continuing.
Laid off 34 of 48 teachers and support staff. Closed classes, referred students to
other ESL providers. Cut class hours. Serve mostly refugees who need early
childhood care and transportation support, so have tried out how to maximize
those services to still serve students in ESL classes.
All staff had been laid off except Director. He has just returned to work there.
Have hired some teachers back part time, classes start Jan 25 and staff is only
guaranteed through June.
Cut 20 classes down to 2, but now have about 1/3 of classes back up. Students
petitioned local Representatives, mixed reception from legislators.
Julio (McHenry) reported that he spoke to Leo recently. Illinois Migrant Council is
starting up again. They have to locate/recruit students anew, after not holding
classes in fall.
State Budget Issues
There are many rumors about when Illinois will have a state budget, including a
recent rumor that it won’t be until November. ICCB provides weekly updates to
the Governor’s Office. Programs should keep ICCB regional support staff
updated as to their current operations, cuts, problems, etc. Region II programs
should contact Jamil Steele directly, as Suzanne Reese is out of the office for an
extended period.
Several people asked questions. Here are Marilyn Schmidt’s responses:
Q: Will credit hour grants be curtailed in the future?
A: Institutions decide on how to use funds. Haven’t heard anything about
reductions.
Q: How is lack of state budget affecting ICCB?
A: Proceeding business as usual. Writing WIOA unified plan, serving on MOU
committees with WIOA partners, etc. Trying to stay up to date with WIOA.
Marilyn added after the meeting: MOU negotiation – There is a memorandum being
negotiated. However, these negotiations do not have to include state funds. The MOU falls
under federal rules. So regardless if we have state funds at this time or not, we will still have
to use our resources to pay for One-Stop shared and infrastructure costs. Guidance will be
forthcoming from ICCB.
Q: Will there be “watch list” and corrective action requirements if programs’
performance is problematic? Did OCTAE take into account Illinois’ budget issue
ESL Provider Group Meeting Notes, 9-18-15, Adult Learning Resource Center, www.thecenterweb.org/alrc
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when establishing performance targets?
A: OCTAE knows about Illinois but we are still expected to meet performance
targets. Programs should look at how targets are accomplished at each NRS
level. Reducing classes and focusing on specific groups/levels of students can
sometimes result in better level gains. ICCB looked at corrective action, but isn’t
acting on it right now (but programs are still accountable to meet federal targets).
Q: Can the formula be changed so that we only look at students who are served
by federal funds?
A: Marilyn will look into that.
Q: When will the performance targets be known?
A: Not sure. Programs should expect the targets to go up from last year’s targets.
ICCB is still “negotiating” with OCTAE. The WIOA regulations may not come out
until late spring or summer.
Q: Is the PD requirement still 8 hours for all instructors, even those just hired?
A: Marilyn Schmidt’s response after the meeting: Professional Development Hours –
The policy remains at 8 hours per instructor. At this time there is no discussion of changing
that. Note that WIOA emphasizes PD.
Suggestion: Organize shared PD activities between institutions. ALRC can help
announce activities to the field or to selected programs. Elgin CC, Joliet,
McHenry and College of Lake County have done this at times.
Note: Illinois TESOL-BE (www.itbe.org) will hold its annual convention Feb. 2627. The deadline for professional development scholarship applications has just
been extended. These are open for Saturday attendance. Also, some of the
conference sessions may be streamed live, so teachers unable to attend the
conference may be able to view sessions.
Q: Can federal funding be used for vocational training, e.g. truck driving?
A: Marilyn Schmidt’s respondse after the meeting: Use of Federal Funds for
Vocational instruction - We are waiting on clarification from the federal government on the use
of fed. Funds to pay for vocational. What we have stated is that if this is the case, it can only
be in conjunction with an IET program (ICAPS, or others) or a IEL/Civics. We will provide
further guidance.
Kathryn –
Harper
Dena –
Centro
Romero
Raising Legislator’s Awareness of Adult Education
Teachers and staff are looking at leaving adult ed and entering other fields.
Losing them will be detrimental to the state. Need to raise legislators’ awareness
of the dire circumstances in adult education.
A bus to Springfield costs $1,500. You have to reserve the rotunda for a day
when legislators are there. The Responsible Budget Coalition has a rally on
Tuesday of social service agencies, followed by a higher education rally. There
will be press conferences around the state, a state of the state address, and
other activities. It took 3 months to plan.
Centro Romero has worked with the media (Hoy) and other groups to create
videos that highlight how the budget impasse has affected the organization.
http://www.vivelohoy.com/chicago/8532623/centro-romero-en-el-filo-por-
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Tricia,
others
Laurie –
ALRC
Michaela –
Waubonsee
Marcia –
Elgin CC
Arlene – Col
Lake Cty
Kerry –
Heartland
Arlene – Col
Lake Cty
Reni – D113
Joan –
D120
Julio –
McHenry
Michael –
presupuesto. Other videos are available on Centro Romero’s Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/centroromero//
The IACEA Legislative Awareness Day is usually held in April. The IACEA Board
is meeting next week and may discuss whether this will take place or not. Val
Harris and Lyn Buerkett on the IACEA board are responsible for planning it.
There has been decreasing participation in recent years from adult ed programs.
IACEA notifies adult ed programs via ICCB and service center lists. Watch for
more information.
Technology (and Math) Skills Instruction for ESL
ESL Pro Digital Literacy Project
This is a project of OCTAE. Illinois is participating and will work with 9 programs
(Elgin CC, Waubonsee CC, Asian Human Services, Pui Tak Center, World Relief
DuPage/Aurora, Southwestern Community College, Dist. 214, Heartland CC,
Instituto del Progreso Latino). The focus of the project is to bring professional
development to selected teachers, to strengthen their use of technology in ESL
instruction and their ability to teach students digital literacy. The project will have
resources available. The participating teachers will provide professional
development and support for other instructors within their programs. We’re
working with ESL researcher Kathy Harris and project participants will meet with
her in early February for training.
Have a lab. Teachers book it usually four times over 8 weeks. Have seen a
strong shift in attitude from students at all levels, becoming more positive about
using computers and learning skills. Use Ventures, PowerPoint, Word. Some
students do presentations in class using technology.
Integrating the Technology Skills List into some ESL classes. A problem has
been that students are placed in classes by English language skill level, not by
tech skill. Some ELLs are highly digitally literate, while others are beginners,
regardless of English language ability. Math is the same. ECC wonders if they
will be able to develop computer classes for students based on tech skill.
You have to fund courses like that out of your own money. CLC doesn’t use adult
ed funding for tech courses.
Used to offer separate computer classes, but have decided to infuse computer
skills instruction into all ESL classes. Students get practice with Blackboard
before transitioning to higher ed classes. Tutor support is provided to help
teachers and students with technology during class time. Using Project Success
texts to contextualize math at all levels.
Also using Project Success texts.
Teachers are changing their attitude toward using technology. Have 2 labs, and
1 technology instructor. All ESL classes rotate through the labs. ESL teachers
have the support of the technology instructor during their class time. Students
are excited about using computers and learning digital literacy skills. Also using
Project Success texts.
Got Smartboards for classrooms. Teachers are required to use them and teach
students to use them.
Have a lab, and on Fridays have open lab time. He and others teach (some
volunteer). All students who register at the college get a login name and
password to use the computers. The IT staff have helped as well. Teachers trade
times so they can bring classes to the computer lab.
Computer literacy has been part of curriculum for several years. Have a lab, with
ESL Provider Group Meeting Notes, 9-18-15, Adult Learning Resource Center, www.thecenterweb.org/alrc
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Albany Park
Tricia –
Kishwaukee
Dena –
Centro
Romero
Kathryn –
Harper
Marilyn –
ICCB
Laurie –
ALRC
grants from DCEO and Rivers Casino. Teachers include digital literacy in
instruction and are required to use the lab once a week. Have open lab times as
well. All GED classes are held in the lab only.
Michael consults with the Chicago Citywide Coalition in a project to get 7
organizations to set up labs, develop curriculum etc. Students learn basic
navigation skills so they can use computers for learning.
One Stop Center always had computer literacy classes. Now they tailor them for
cohorts of adult ed students (e.g., Spanish GED). Hoping for more classes in the
future for ELLs.
Comcast funded their computer lab.
Harper is developing new curriculum to include more levels of ESL, employability
skills, digital literacy and math. Exit tests will include all of these areas. ESL and
ABE teachers will cross-train each other. One teacher currently being trained in
using science and math manipulatives.
Spring Administrator Meeting
The spring Administrators Meeting will be held April 26 and 27 at the Marriott in
Bloomington. There will be financial support to send one person. A save-the-date
announcement will be sent out shortly. Watch for registration details to come.
The main topic will be WIOA.
BEST Plus and other ESL tests
BEST Plus 2.0 will be released July 1, 2016. Announcements and details have
just come from the Center for Applied Linguistics. People who have been trained
to administer BEST Plus tests will not need to be trained again on the BEST Plus
2.0. There will be new BEST Plus 2.0 score ranges for the NRS ESL levels, so
DAISI will need to be updated, and programs will need to take these new score
ranges into account when determining curricula and student placement.
The ALRC will give a BEST Plus training March 15, 2016, at the ALRC office.
Announcements will be sent soon.
A show of hands indicated that programs do not need staff trained to give BEST
Literacy tests, but may need staff trained to give the CASAS. The ALRC will look
at scheduling a CASAS training later this semester.
The next meeting date will be Friday, May 6 from 10-12 at the ALRC. Topics to be discussed:
continued discussion of ESL and digital literacy instruction, as well as ELA numeracy, EL/Civics,
and other ELA-related issues based on information shared at the Administrators Meeting or via
WIOA regulations (if finalized by then).
ESL Provider Group Meeting Notes, 9-18-15, Adult Learning Resource Center, www.thecenterweb.org/alrc
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