ACCESS for ELLs testing, the federally mandated annual English Language Proficiency Assessment for English Learner students, will begin February 3rd, 2020 and will continue through March 31st, 2020.

ELL staff at each school will coordinate with principals the specific dates and times for pulling students out for ACCESS testing at the school level. Grade 1-12 students will be scheduled to take the online ACCESS for ELLs, and Kindergarten ELL students will be scheduled to take the paper-based ACCESS for ELLs test individually.

ACCESS for ELLs will assess the students’ English Language Proficiency in four domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. The results of this assessment will be available in June 2020. If you have questions regarding ACCESS for ELLs testing, please do not hesitate to contact the ELL Program Director, Virva Elliott, at 452-2000 ext. 11467 or virva.elliott@k12northstar.org. You can also visit https://wida.wisc.edu/assess/access for more information.

• Using the WIDA Writing Rubric
• Leading for Equity: Classroom Walkthrough
• Classroom Educators: Engaging Newcomer Multilingual Learners              
• Language for Learning in Mathematics
• Doing and Talking STEM
• Foundational Concepts for K-12 Educators

Are you a certified teacher interested in earning your ESL endorsement? University of Alaska is now offering a graduate certification opportunity (18 credits) that is offered fully online. Please see flyer (link below) for more information, deadline to apply is November 15th, 2019. While the program is targeting grade levels K-6, interested teachers from all grade levels are invited to apply.

Graduate Certificate in ESL Flyer

Alaska Department Education & Early Development has purchased six online trainings that are available for teachers and other education professionals in our district:

• Using the WIDA Writing Rubric
• Leading for Equity: Classroom Walkthrough
• Classroom Educators: Engaging Newcomer Multilingual Learners            
• Language for Learning in Mathematics
• Doing and Talking STEM
• Foundational Concepts for K-12 Educators

If you are interested in the eWorkshops and do not yet have a WIDA Secure Portal account, contact ELL Program Director, Virva Elliott, at virva.elliott@k12northstar.org to obtain access to these great resources.

The Imagine Summer Reading Club is a Language & Literacy program for elementary age English Learner (EL) students. This program is primarily intended for Newcomer students who can benefit from extra English language development support during summer break. We utilize the Imagine Learning Language & Literacy program as well as the Picturing Writing program.

The Summer Reading Club is intended for elementary age ELL students who are enrolled or pre-enrolled in our school district and beginning to learn English. Students whose parent(s) enroll(s) in the parent ESL class have priority enrollment in the Reading Club. There is no fee for the Summer Reading Club.

During Summer Reading Club students use the Imagine Learning Language and Literacy program which is also accessible from home. Additionally, students will write stories utilizing the art based intervention Picturing Writing.

Schedule and Location:

Admin Center, large classroom 1st floor (SMART)

Tuesday & Thursday, May 28-June 27

5:30 pm-7:30 pm

Parent ESL Class:

Parents of our EL students can enroll to take an adult ESL class with the Literacy Council of Alaska; the ESL class takes place at the same time as the Reading Club.Adult ESL class meets in the small classroom at the same time. ELL Program covers the fee for the adult ESL class for ELL parents.

Contact

Virva Elliott

Director of ELL Program

virva.elliott@k12northstar.org

(907) 452-2000 x11467

Classroom phone during Reading Club: (907) 452-2000 ext. 11256

All students eligible for ELL Program services will be tested using the ACCESS for ELLs assessment during the two month testing window (February-March). ELL staff at schools will be able to answer any school specific scheduling questions.

Students in grades 1-12 will take the computer based ACCESS for ELLs assessment. Students can access the ACCESS for ELLs Test Practice at home (open the link in Chrome browser). Students will be offered an opportunity to practice at school prior to the test, to ensure that all students are familiar with the online tools and comfortable testing online.

Students in Kindergarten will be tested individually using the paper-based Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs assessment.

More information about ACCESS for ELLs and Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs can be found on WIDA Consortium webpages. You can also visit the FNSBSD ELL Program ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 webpage for additional information and links to test demos.

All schools and classroom teachers are encouraged to recognize and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Resources:

• Colorín Colorado has games, books, activities
• Collection of Hispanic Heritage Month resources
• NEA: lesson plans and more
• Scholastic: Community Connections
• Library of Congress resources for National Hispanic Heritage Month

Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has approved the new English Learner (EL) Plan of Service (POS) for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. The new EL POS is effective from 6/5/2018 until 7/1/2023. The EL POS may be revised annually, as necessary.

You can view the EL Plan of Service 2018-2023 here.

If you have questions regarding the EL Plan of Service, please contact the Director of ELL Program, Virva Elliott, at virva.elliott@k12northstar.org or (907) 452-2000 ext. 11467.