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Engaging

All Families

Through Tech

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Hello!

Lauren Harrison

Asst ELL Director

Gareth Lindwall Honig

ELL Identification & Enrollment

Rachael Kaplan

ELL Social Worker

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Written Communication Tips

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Newton Public Schools

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English

Learners

“First Language

Not English”

Students

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%

PreK-12 Students

5.4%

26.8%

100%

Living in a Multilingual World

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Source: DESE School Profile, 2020-2021

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Language Assistance

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“School districts...have an obligation to ensure meaningful communication with Limited English Proficient (LEP) parents in a language they can understand…”

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-Dear Colleague Letter, January 2015

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English Learner Parent Advisory Council

By-laws

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Let’s Value

& Promote Multilingualism!

Let’s Build Multilingual

Communication

systems!

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How do current communication systems, in their privileging of fluent English and technological literacy contribute to the marginalization experienced by some of our students and families?

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Six Tech Tools to Support Communication

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“I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited. If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning. But when you draw a picture, everybody can understand it. If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, ‘That's a flower.’ So I draw because I want to talk to the world. And I want the world to pay attention to me.”

-from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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Insert Images--or Emojis! 👋🏼

  • Adding images (or emojis) supports comprehension!

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Effective images will be:

  • Representative of diverse students and families
  • Reduced cultural bias
  • Free from stereotypes
  • Uncluttered

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SlidesCarnival icons are editable shapes.

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This means that you can:

  • Resize them without losing quality.
  • Change fill color and opacity.

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Isn’t that nice? :)

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www.slidescarnival.com

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Insert Images--or Emojis! 👋🏼

Shortcut to Emoji Menu:

  • On Mac:
    • control + command + spacebar
  • On PC:
    • Windows + ;
    • Windows + .

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Insert Images--or Emojis! 👋🏼

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Infographics

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  • Closed captioning
  • Auto-translation of captions
  • Adjust playback speed

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Parents may need directions to use

these options.

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Share our tutorials!

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Parent Tutorial for Closed Captions & Translations

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Parent Tutorial for Adjusting Playback Speed

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  • Closed Caption

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  • Closed Caption

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  • Closed Caption
  • Simultaneous Interpretation

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Tips:

  • Speak slower and in chunks.
  • Record your presentation!

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Parents may need directions shared before the meeting.

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Staff Tutorial for Simultaneous Interpretation Set Up on Zoom

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You will need a live interpreter!

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Additional Options for Virtual Meetings

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Parent Tip Sheets: Zoom

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Google Translate

  • Especially for brief parent communications
  • Camera scan feature for print
  • Automatic translation tool in Google Docs

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Using Translation feature in Google Docs

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  • Two-way translated SMS messages
  • Built for ELL families
  • App or website
  • Protects educator privacy
  • Lots of tutorials on TalkingPts.Org
  • New feature for video messages: Automatically translated captions
  • For NPS account contact Allison Levit, ELL Director levita@newton.k12.ma.us

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High Needs / SLIFE Families

SLIFE

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Students with Limited or interrupted formal Education

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Who are SLIFEs?

  • English learners
  • interrupted or limited formal education
  • gaps in their education from their home country
  • at least two grade levels behind peers
  • 3rd-12th graders

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*may have attended school in the US but have gaps in language and literacy due to ineffective or missing instruction

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From MA DESE SLIFE Guidance January 2019: http://www.doe.mass.edu/ell/guidance/default.html

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SLIFE

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Various compulsory education requirements in other countries

Unavailability of Schooling

Civil Unrest in Country of Origin

Migration

Environmental Disaster

Gender Restrictions

Refugee Experiences

Fear of Deportation

Limited Technology Use

may have experienced...

Poverty

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SLIFE

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Assets of

Bilingualism/

Multilingualism

Cultural Background

Resilience

More Capacity for Metacognitive Strategies*

Big Dreams

Diverse Lived Experiences

Ability to Learn

Empathy

Global Perspectives

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Thanks!

Any questions?

You can find us at:

Lauren Harrison harrison@newton.k12.ma.us

Gareth Honig honigg@newton.k12.ma.us

Rachel Kaplan ELL* kaplanr@newton.k12.ma.us

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