A variety of resources are available to support schools and teachers in serving their English learners (ELs) and to improve student learning using research-based practices.
Professional Resource Collection
One item at a time can be checked out to an individual unless specific arrangements have been made.
Program Management
Toolkit for Administrators - important information & strategies for successfully serving EL students in your school
Iowa Department of Education, EL site
Lau Plan Guidance - each school is required by federal law to have an updated Lau plan indicating how the school will run their LIEP programming
Newcomer Support - for those who work directly with immigrant students and their families. It is designed to help expand and strengthen opportunities for cultural and linguistic integration, understand some basics about their legal obligations, provide welcoming schools and classrooms, define academic support to attain English language proficiency (if needed) and to meet college- and career-readiness standards & support and develop newcomers’ social emotional skills.
Community & Family Toolkit - best practices in creating community & family partnerships
ELP Standards - Standards for English proficiency in 4 domains - listening, speaking, reading and writing
Office of Civil Rights guidance/general information and Dear Colleague Letter of January 7, 2015
Dynamic Screener
- ELPA21 Dynamic Screener Training: this is required training for TAs giving the dynamic screener to students for the first time.
- ELPA21 Dynamic Screener Refresher Training for Experienced Test Administrators: this required abbreviated training is for TAs who completed the initial dynamic screener training last year.
ELPA21 Summative Assessment
- ELPA21 Summative Training for New TAs: this is required training for TAs giving the ELPA21 summative to students for the first time.
- ELPA21 Summative Training for Experienced TAs: this required abbreviated training is for TAs who completed the initial summative training last year.
- ELPA21 Test Coordinator Training: highly recommended for district test coordinators
Special Populations
- Alt ELPA21 Summative training for Test Administrators/Scorers: this training is required for all new TAs and Scorers who will be administering the Alt-ELPA21 for the first time.
- Alt ELPA21 Summative training for Experienced Test Administrators/Scorers: this abbreviated training is required for all TAs and Scorers who completed the initial Alt ELPA21 summative training last year.
- Alt ELPA21 Test Coordinator Training: highly recommended for district test coordinators
Professional Development Options
SupportEd - online professional development courses for classroom teachers to gain strategies for supporting EL students in their content classes
TESOL - International Convention and Language Expo held in the spring each year.
NABE - National Association for Bilingual Education holds a spring conference each year.
**Title III funds can be used to pay for conference registration and hotel for PLAEA teachers & administrators. Consider including these learning opportunities in your yearly funding request.**
Glossary of terms
EL/ELL - English learner or English language learner
ELP - English Language Proficiency (often used to refer to the standards of language development)
ELPA21 - English Language Proficiency Assessment
ESL - English as a Second Language
LAU - Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563, was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously decided that the lack of supplemental language instruction in public school for students with limited English proficiency violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
LEP - Limited English Proficiency
LIEP - Language Instruction Education Program
TESOL - national organization for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
TransAct - Website resources that had developed parent notices & other communication maintain education compliance federal regulations (https://www.transact.com/