Free Sample Abstracts (4) for Fall 2015
Six Scaffolding Strategies for the ESL Classroom by Scott B. Freiberger, John Bowne Elementary School
Many times throughout the course of our careers, we may hear an
exasperated teacher say, “Jane just doesn’t understand,” or, “No matter
what I do, Johnny can’t seem to follow the lesson.” Does the student
require an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and need to be pulled
out of the classroom for additional support services? It is certainly
possible that a perennially distracted or unfocused student may need to
be evaluated for additional services; it is also possible, however,
that incorporating some well-chosen scaffolding techniques could foster
a child’s academic development and enable her or him to ascend.
New Beginnings: Leadership Support for the Integrated ENL Initiative
by Carol Wertheimer, Consultant, & Andrea Honigsfeld,
Closing
the achievement gap for ELLs has always been a challenge for
educators—classroom teachers, ESOL specialists, and school leaders
alike. When the Blueprint for English Language Learners Success (NYSED,
2014) was published last year, many administrators across New York
State started to think about how this document could support their
advocacy and leadership work on behalf of ELLs. As the Blueprint notes,
“All teachers are teachers of English Language Learners,” and it
reinforces the need for sustained collaboration among all stakeholders.
The forthcoming changes to the Commissioner Regulations Part 154 (CR
154) provided a further impetus for school leaders and teachers to
examine instructional program design and leadership practices.
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SIGs and Regions Spotlight: Western New York Region
by Kimberly R. Wolf; NYS TESOL member, Buffalo Region Focus Group member and Denise Gonez-Santos, NYS TESOL Buffalo Region Chair
The
Western New York Region has had a very exciting and busy year working
to support the highly diverse English Language Learner population in
the region. The region, which includes Buffalo, Niagara Falls,
Dunkirk, Lackawanna, Fredonia and numerous suburbs, is home to over
7,468 English Language Learners. The largest school district,
Buffalo, has 4772 ELLs with a sizable refugee population from Burma,
Thailand, Somalia, Nepal, Bhutan, and Iraq. We have 83 languages
represented in the region. In addition to educators in the public
and charter schools in the region, the Western New York Region is home
to 7 colleges and universities with TESOL programs. There is much
going on in the far west!
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Transition Team--Updates about NYS TESOL
by Susanne Marcus, NYS TESOL Past President
Roles in every nonprofit organization are becoming more specialized,
a reflection of the fast-paced, technology-based world in which we all
live. In our efforts to keep up with this demanding environment, your
NYS TESOL Executive Board (EB) has been working to update our
organizational structure as well as the job descriptions of all
Executive Board roles and responsibilities.
“Nonprofit leaders have a complex task: Carrying out challenging
missions with limited resources and sometimes conflicting demands in
the midst of constantly evolving networks of organizational and
personal relationships” (Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, 2014).
Recognized leadership competencies include ethics, integrity, trust,
the ability to manage NYS TESOL’s vision and mission, the individual’s
presentation skills, the ability to make decisions, to write well, to
delegate and follow through, to motivate others, and to set priorities.
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