NEA Professional Development We are working with the National Education Association to develop professional development modules for teacher training on ELLs that will be used nationwide. We are currently creating three modules on the topics of advocacy, assessment, and standards-based instruction. These modules will be put online this spring in preparation for pilot feedback this summer.

EL Projects with the U.S. Department of Education In partnership with the American Institutes for Research, we are working on a project for the U.S. Department of Education to compile and review state data on the policy and practices of dual language education programs.

In partnership with the American Institutes for Research, we began Year 2 work for the Quality of ELP Assessment project. The goal of the project is to evaluate state and local implementation of Title III assessment and accountability systems and to produce a technical guide to assist State Educational Agencies and other stakeholders to prepare ELP assessment materials for peer review.

Massachusetts EL Project We are working with American Institutes for Research on its Study of English Language Learners for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This project includes a district-level analysis of EL student demographic, geographic and academic program profiles in Massachusetts to explore the connections between district assessment practices and student outcomes.

Syracuse (NY) City Public Schools We are providing technical assistance to Syracuse City School District to refine and enhance their existing dual language programs at Delaware Elementary School and Seymour Dual Language Academy. We are supporting the development of an expansion plan to scale up dual language programs in SCSD schools.

NYC ELA Unit We are working with American Institutes for Research to develop an exemplar English language arts unit for New York City Schools. We are currently working on a 6th lesson using a text excerpt from The Great Fire by Jim Murphy. The lesson includes such scaffolds as mini-lessons on essential background knowledge, a bilingual glossary, and text-dependent questions with sentence frames and word banks.

Presentations in Spring 2015

• On January 22, Diane Staehr Fenner will keynote the Virginia Title III Statewide Consortium Conference. The topic will be advocating for English learners.
• On March 25, Diane Staehr Fenner will present at TESOL K-12 Dream Day in Toronto. The topic will be Reconceptualizing Roles of ESL Teachers in the Common Core Era.
• On March 27, Diane Staehr Fenner will present with Luciana de Oliveira, Margo Gottlieb, and Laura Baecher at the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo in Toronto. The topic will be Bridging Different Conceptualizations of Academic Language in Standards and Assessments.
• On April 22 – 24, Diane Staehr Fenner and Teddi Predaris will lead three days of training for the Heartland Area Education Agency near Des Moines, Iowa. The topics will be advocating for English learners and supporting ELs in instruction.
• On May 27, Diane Staehr Fenner will keynote the New Jersey TESOL Spring Conference. The topics will be advocating for English learners and inclusive teacher evaluation.