Note: These notes are meant to capture key topics and discussion points. An effort has been made to connect a person or program name with each point so that provider group participants may contact each other for more details. Please email Laurie Martin, Lmartin@cntrmail.org
, for participants’ contact information if needed.
Meeting attended by Rose Diaz (YWCA Elgin), Jennifer Eick-Magan (Prairie State College), Emily Arvizu
(De La Salle-Tolton Center), Michaela McDaid (Waubonsee Community College), Julie Frost (Dist. 211),
Venise Haynes (South Suburban College), Kate Szetela (College of DuPage), Mary Beth Selbo and Anna
Kan (College of Lake County), Emily FitzMaurice (Daley College), Cathy Swanson (Albany Park
Community Center), Kathryn Powell (Harper College)
Part-time hour caps to avoid paying healthcare benefits

Kathryn Powell (Harper): Caps are preventing Harper from having teachers continue from one semester to the next, causing scheduling issues, lack of continuity in classes, anxiety.
What to do?

Kate Szetela (COD): COD has assigned some parttime faculty to be “adjunct lecturers” as a way around this issue
Course Length and Hours of Instruction

Mary Beth Selbo (CLC): CLC has fixed entry at 8 week intervals, 6 hours of instruction per week (16 week semester). Going to 12 weeks, 8 hours of instruction per week (4 hrs x 2 days) to try to increase retention. Students often leave in Novemb er and April, so they’re going to try three 12-week terms.

Jennifer Eick-Magan (Prairie State): offers 33 ½ hour classes. Used to have 8 weeks + 8 weeks, but the 8-week ending was disruptive. Now they have a 12 week fall and spring semester and a 6 week limited summer semester.

Emily FitzMaurice (Daley): Offers 16 week fall and spring semester, no summer. They open new shorter classes as needed. They run simultaneously with the longer classes.

Kate (COD): do the same thing.
Attendance Issues

Mary Beth (CLC): Also have attendance problems.

Emily Arvizu (Tolton): Students who miss one day may not come the second day, then come the next week and are lost.

Kathryn (Harper): Try to motivate students during orientation.

Emily (Tolton): Tolton does a lot of goal setting in class as part of curriculum. They set goals with each content unit, so students are used to it. Do in Spanish and English for the lowest level students.
 Rose Diaz (YWCA Elgin): Attended Elgin Community College’s orientation to check it out.

Kathryn (Harper): pays teachers to do tutoring in a lab. So does CLC (Mary Beth Selbo and
Anna Kan) to support students.

Venise Haynes (So. Suburban): do pull-out for students who need extra help.

Cathy Swanson (Albany Park) and Emily (Tolton): do the same.

Jennifer (Prairie State): during semester breaks, they have mini intensive classes for students who had good attendance during the previous semester.

 Kate (COD): had students from West Chicago come to the main campus to do a “expo” and the college had information about classes for transitioning. Also, ESL students who had gotten GEDs provided testimonial videos using Facebook Group page. Going to create a video montage to show at their expo in April. Kate first met with faculty, then faculty took over planning and producing the expo —high degree of enthusiasm from faculty and students.
 Kate (COD): Another project was based on Good Morning America’s “My 3 Words”. They asked students how learning English makes a difference to them, in 3 words.
Professional Development Issues

Emily (Tolton): Went to Hands on Tech training ( http://www.handsontechchi.org/ ) on how to use a blog site, www.letsdabble.com
for video storytelling. There are online tutorials on how to use it, too. Hands on Tech is part of Americorps. They do tech trainings and consultations about technology use in your organization (free). You have to apply for their services.
 Emily (Daley): some teachers aren’t email users. Also, they won’t go to training unless they’re paid.

Kathryn (Harper): They paid teachers come to brown bag sessions to get topics for professional development. They had one on low-tech technology taught by a faculty member.

Kate (COD): She held a holiday open house at her house, potluck, to create community among faculty. COD puts email use in their faculty contracts.

Cathy (Albany Park): Does the same. Requires teachers to check their email once per work day. Also she asks staff to reply to messages she sends them.
Future meeting dates and topics were determined by the participants. They have been tentatively scheduled as follows and will be announced to program administrators prior to each meeting.
Friday, November 8, 2013
– Student orientation and support services, recruitment, placement
Friday, February 7, 2014 – Data (including teacher professional development, teacher evaluation, testing strategies, NRS outcomes)
Friday, April 11, 2014 – Transitioning (including exit criteria and tracking students after leaving ESL classes)