ELE Programming Resource for the SY 202021 August

ELE Programming Resource for the SY 202021 August 19, 2020

01 Initial Identification of ELs in the SY 2020 -21 02 Parent Notification CONTENTS 03 ELE programs in the SY 2020 -21 Guidance on Monitoring and Reclassification 04 Procedures of ELs in the SY 2020 -21

How will we identify ELs in the SY 2020 -21? Step 1: Administer the home language survey (HLS) to all newly enrolling students. Step 2: Screen the English proficiency of a student when the answer to any of the questions on the HLS is a language other than English. Step 3: Make an initial placement decision if the in-person screening process is completed. Or Determine whether the student might be an EL using provisional screener results and make a provisional placement decision. Step 4: Notify parents and/or legal guardians of screening test results and placement decision. Step 5: CODE the student as an EL. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 3

Parent Notification A. Parent Notifications for Provisionally Identified ELs o Send out the Parent Notification of Provisional Identification. o Send out the Parent Notification Regarding English Language Education that must be sent by mail no later than 10 days from enrollment of the student in the school district. B. Parent Notification for ELs Identified Using In-Person Screening o Send out the Parent Notification Regarding English Language Education that must be sent by mail no later than 10 days from enrollment of the student in the school district. o Send out the ELE Program Placement notification within the first 30 days of the school year. C. Parent Notification for ELs Already Enrolled in the ELE program o Send out the Parent Notification Regarding English Language Education that must be sent by mail no later than 10 days from enrollment of the student in the school district. o Send out the ELE Program Placement notification within the first 30 days of the school year. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 4

ELE Programs in the SY 2020 -21 ELE programs must provides ELs with: systematic, explicit, and sustained development of English as a Second Language (ESL), and meaningful participation in the district’s educational program. Program Options: SEI, DLE, TBE or any other research-based ELE program The requirement to provide ELE services to ELs applies to all districts that enroll one or more ELs regardless of the ELE program model used or whether the educational services are provided remotely, in-person or in a hybrid format during the COVID-19 pandemic. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 5

Licensure Requirements • An appropriate license or current waiver issued by the Department for educators who teach ELs • SEI Endorsement for core academic teachers providing sheltered English instruction to one or more ELs • SEI Endorsement for principals/assistant principals or supervisor/directors (for example, the department head) who supervise or evaluate such teachers • SEI Endorsement for “career vocational technical teachers” providing sheltered English instruction to one or more ELs 603 CMR 14. 08(2) • SEI Endorsement for principals/assistant principals or supervisors/directors who supervise or evaluate such teachers • Bilingual Education Endorsement or a valid waiver issued by the Department for core academic teacher responsible for the instructional component provided in a language other than English • Bilingual Endorsement or SEI Endorsement for a principal, assistant principal, or supervisor/director who supervises or evaluates a core academic teacher assigned to provide instruction to an EL in a bilingual education setting Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 6

In-Person ELE Services with New Safety Requirements • Content-licensed educators with the appropriate endorsement depending on the ELE program shelter instruction and help ELs develop discipline-specific academic language. • ESL instruction is always a required component of all ELE programs. Adjustments for inperson learning may include: o ESL teachers may be able to provide ESL instruction in the general education setting remotely from within the school building via video conference, instead of coming into the classroom to provide services. o ESL teachers could schedule services in a manner that maintains physical distancing requirements and avoids overlapping with other staff in the classroom or physical setting. School districts, including charter schools, must adapt their ELE services to meet their legal obligations to ELs regardless of the learning model they will implement in the SY 2020 -21. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 7

Remote Learning ELE Services In accordance with 603 CMR 27. 08(3)(b), as adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on June 30, 2020, remote learning models shall include the following requirements: Procedures for all students to participate in remote learning, including a system for tracking attendance and participation, Remote academic work aligned to state standards; and A policy for issuing grades for students’ remote academic work. Teachers and administrators shall regularly communicate with students’ parents and guardians, including providing interpretation and translation services to limited English proficient parents and guardians. For ELs who learn remotely, schools and districts should carefully develop classroom assignments and schedules so that they receive the services they need to make progress in academics and English language acquisition. Whether learning in-person or remotely, ELs should continue to learn grade-level content along with their proficient English-speaking peers while also having access to academic language support through ESL. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 8

Key Strategies for Successful Remote Learning • Opportunities for enhanced teacher collaboration, especially for collaboration among ESL and content teachers • Strong partnerships between educators and families to improve educational opportunities for ELs • Direct and regular interaction of English learners with their teachers and classmates to improve ELs’ communication skills and to make them feel as a part of the school community (e. g. , groups and group folders shared virtually for student collaboration within their classes for peer feedback, calls, or written support) Remote delivery of ELE services must also be available for all ELs in the event of future classroom or school closures due to COVID-19. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 9

Hybrid Learning • High-needs students should be prioritized for full-time in-person learning when feasible. • Priority for ELs with disabilities and with low English language proficiency levels (ELP 1 &2) • Learning and services provided remotely via a hybrid learning model should follow the guidance provided in Guidance for Educators on Remote Learning for English Learners and the information regarding remote learning. Schools should consider scheduling small groups of students at low proficiency levels of English for daily in-person ESL instruction. If in-person instruction cannot be provided and ELs must receive instruction remotely in full, or in part, through a hybrid model, ESL instruction should be delivered in structured lessons based on their English language proficiency levels instead of relying on packets and assignments only. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 10

Monitoring Progress of ELs • Districts must have an adequate system in place to screen, track, and evaluate ELs’ growth in both English language proficiency and academic achievement. • The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) recently published Restart and Recovery: Considerations for Teaching and Learning with the following considerations: o Formative assessments should be teacher-led, focusing on gaining information on student progress and needs in relation to identified priority learnings and related goals. These assessments should measure the development of language and content simultaneously. o Assessments should provide opportunities for ELs to demonstrate their learning in various modalities, in modes of expression, and in home language in accordance with students’ ELD performance levels. o Make a plan for when and how to use home language in formative assessments, based on students’ needs. Make a plan for integrating assessments done in home language into the curriculum at key points when gathering information about a student’s full linguistic repertoire is needed, such as at the beginning or at the end of a unit. o When deciding on assessments, set clear guidelines for how to provide ELs with testing accommodations, multiple means of representation in the assessment, and multiple means of expression where possible, including using home language to demonstrate learning. o Focus on the use of performance-based assessments rather than traditional testing or forms of assessment in order to gather evidence of student learning for language, conceptual understanding, and metacognition. English language proficiency benchmarks for ELs also support district staff to strengthen student outcomes for ELs. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 11

Reclassification Procedures of ELs in the SY 2020 -21 • Minimum exit criteria: 1. An overall score of 4. 2 and a composite literacy score of 3. 9 on ACCESS for ELLs 2. The ability to perform ordinary class work in English as indicated by one or more of the measures listed on Other Relevant Data available in Guidance on the Placement, Progress Monitoring, and Reclassification Procedures of English Learners. • Exit decisions can be finalized after school has resumed in the fall when school-based teams have a better impression of how well students are doing based on Other Relevant Data. • ELs who are exited must be monitored for four years and provided support as needed. Students who are coded as ELs in October SIMS will be scheduled for the 2021 ACCESS for ELLs test, even if they are exited from ELE services after October. Districts can remove the exited students from a test session in WIDA AMS and not begin a test for them (and code them non-EL in March) to ensure that they are not counted against participation. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 12

Recent Resources • Aligning Structural And Instructional Practices To Promote English Learner Success During the 2020– 21 School Year U. S. Department of Education | July 23, 2020 • Back to School Webinar U. S. Department of Education | July 23, 2020 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 13

THANK YOU Sibel Hughes Assistant Director, OLA (781) 338 -3569 www. doe. mass. edu Sibel. Hughes@mass. gov 75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148