Bowling Green City Schools Vicki Writsel, Associate Superintendent Teresa Sneed, Even Start & Parent Involvement Coordinator Gina Holmes, Bilingual Instructional Assistant Krista Williams, Preschool Teacher Dianna Wolf, Primary ELL Teacher Our District Even Start Preschool Primary ELL 26 Tongues http://vimeo.com/21742992 The Most Diverse School District in the State Services for English Language Learners include but are not limited to: • Interpretation and Translation Even Start Program Differentiated Instruction Intervention Programs Home Visits • • • • Albanian 18 Korean 2 Amahric 1 Laotian 1 Arabic 6 Mandingo 8 Bengali 1 Nepali 2 Bosnian 57 Russian 1 Burmese/Karen 12 Somali 5 Cambodian 3 Spanish 328 Chinese 9 Swahili 5 French 1 Turkish 4 Hindi 4 Vietnamese 18 Japanese 1 Yoruba 2 Kirundi 11 Other 6 Total Number of Languages Spoken: 23+ Total Number of Students Speaking Foreign Language: 507 English as a Second Language (ESL) is a special program in the Bowling Green Independent School District that is present at all 5 elementary schools, BGJHS, and BGHS. There are 15 ESL teachers that support over 500 English Language Learners (ELLs). ELLs are students whose native language is not English. Currently BGISD supports over 26 different native languages. The goal of ESL teachers is to help each student become English proficient in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, while also supporting them in content areas to be successful students. Stages of Language Acquisition ELL or Disability? Valid Assessment for Diverse Learners Respecting Cultural Differences Newsletters Family Nights ARC Meetings Home Visits Parent Conferences Enrollment Assistance Notes to Families Phone Calls Assessments Even Start is a federally funded Family Literacy Program that strives to improve educational opportunities of families by providing early childhood education, GED classes, or language classes and parent education. The program is designed to build on existing community resources to create a range of opportunities to meet the needs of each family enrolled. Four Components Early Childhood Education Adult Literacy Training (GED Preparation Classes and English as a Second Language Classes), Parent Education Parent and Child Activity Time. Home visits are made to assist families with program components and needs. Who is Eligible Families who live in the Bowling Green City School District. Parents and guardians of children under eight who need to learn English as a Second Language or obtain their GED. Teen parents who are not enrolled in a compulsory education program may also qualify. Opening 2011 Classrooms of Excellence Recipient the World of Learning – Core Curriculum Breakthrough to Literacy – Computer Component and Home Connections Imagine Learning English – Intervention ELLCO & ECERS Rating Scales Repetition, Repetition, Repetition!! Retelling & Dramatic Play Phonemic Awareness Multiple Modalities & Active Engagement Home Connections Learning Centers • Manipulate Vocabulary • Dictation of Play/Work Vocabulary • Pre-Teaching • Review/Revisit Engaging Classroom Environment • Make it theirs!! • Make it Safe for learning!! Early Literacy Research regarding Bilingual Children Effective Instruction for Bilingual Children Instructional Strategies Misconceptions Ten Languages You’ll Need Most in the Classroom by Sunden, Krieger, Pikiewicz Literacy and the Youngest Learner by Bennett-Armistead, Duke & Moses Preschool Readers & Writers by Linda W. Ranweiler Literacy Play by West & Cox Fee, Fie, Phonemic Awareness-130 Prereading Activities for Preschoolers by Hohmann Letter Links – Alphabet Learning with Children’s Names by DeBruin-Parecki & Hohmann Improving the Reading Skills of English Language Learners Resource Handbook by Cheryl Sweeney Bureau of Education & Research www.ncfl.org – National Center for Family Literacy http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/ - National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquistion http://wonderopolis.org/ http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages http://www.naeyc.org/search/apachesolr_mul tisitesearch/english+language+learners – NAEYC results for English Language Learners http://www.education.ky.gov/nr/rdonlyres/4d 67b825-878f-43cb-adb3a86a12653ea5/0/prekkellreferencehandboo kfinalversion.pdf-PreK-K - PreK to K ELL Reference Handbook