Making Connections. Language, Literacy, Learning. Using Funds of Knowledge to Create Literacy Lessons

Transcripción

1 Making Connections Language, Literacy, Learning A publication of the Department of Language and Cultural Equity Using Funds of Knowledge to Create Literacy Lessons by Susana Ibarra Johnson Luis Moll believes that the secret to effective literacy instruction is for schools to investigate and tap into the hidden home and community resources of their students. He feels that current classroom practices underestimate and limit the ways that minority and other children show what they know and learn. Researchers at the College of Education at the University of Arizona use the term funds of knowledge to describe the information, methods of thinking and learning, and practical skills related to a community s everyday life. Moll conducted research into the lives of low socio-economic, minority students and their families in the barrio schools of Tucson, Arizona. The home investigations revealed abundant funds of knowledge that the schools did not know about and therefore did not use in their curricula. It is essential that educators teach students by building on what they know in order to learn about what more they need to know. Also in this issue... APS' Navajo Language Program Continúa la implementación de los programas de lenguaje dual Innovative Family Involvement Activities Precious Time Well Spent Update: Spanish Spelling Bee, 2005 Making More Connections! Ms. Espi Philpot guides her third grade students at Lavaland E.S. in reading and writing about the theme study. Educators can use funds of knowledge to develop lessons that will successfully encourage students to develop their reading and writing potential. Results of an informal survey given to the faculty at Lavaland Elementary show that teachers are using the students' funds of knowledge to develop a theme study. How does this increase literacy in the classroom? Theme studies which are relevant to the students lives mobilize more interest and make necessary literacy connections. The familiarity of the subject matter provides the students with more opportunities and greater motivation to learn. Successful planning of a lesson using students' funds of knowledge begins with discussing the information and experiences possessed by each student about the theme study. Ms. Espi Philpot's third grade class was given the task to do a quick-write about what they knew about medicinal folk remedies. continued on page 2 December 2004

2 continued from page 1 Ms. Philpot mentioned that the students were very excited and willing to share their knowledge about the topic. This occurrence can be related to the living knowledge that the students have acquired from their families, cultures, and/or communities. Examples of responses from her students include the following: at home to cure a certain ailment. As a result of this information we decided on this topic as the study. Other funds of knowledge that were identified in several Lavaland classrooms were: gardening, ranching, urban skills, translating, culinary arts, and child care and child development. Theme studies which are relevant to the students lives mobilize more interest and make necessary literacy connections. My grandma put potatoes, wrapped up in a rag, soaked in some vinegar, and put it on her forehead and her feet, and she'd feel a lot better. PS: You can use it when you're sick. Estrella My grandma would put a cool rag. She would give us soup and we would take a hot bath and we would rest and then we would feel better. Alexandra The following steps can help facilitate the implementation of the students' funds of knowledge into classroom curriculum: 1. The teacher becomes researcher in order to discover students' funds of knowledge; 2. Quick-writes determine interest and knowledge of the theme study; My grandma when my eyes were closed tight. She would cook something and put a rag in it and put it on my eyes. It was minty. Santiago When my mom was sick my grandma gave her erba wena. Isabel Once the teacher analyzes the data gathered from the quick-writes she can proceed with planning literacy lessons that pertain to the topic of medicinal folk remedies and scaffold students' work toward literacy standards. In order to mediate this type of novel learning, that of integrating students funds of knowledge into classroom curriculum, the teacher needs to become a researcher within her classroom and community. In addition to information from their students, teachers can begin gathering information during parent conferences, community functions, home visits, and after-school conversations with parents. Ms. Philpot and I chose medicinal folk remedies because many of our students and parents had shared information about remedies they used 3. Exposure to literature and discussing the information expand the learning; 4. More in-depth writing, with the teacher mediating the new found knowledge about the topic, promotes developing literacy skills; 5. Students publish their information in a class publication: Book of Medicinal Folk Remedies, for example; and 6. Parents and community resource people can come into the classroom as guest speakers on the theme study. Building a strong foundation of interest, experience, and expertise on these funds of knowledge grounds literacy practices in authentic learning contexts. In addition, this type of instruction supports students in their work toward academic content standards. Moll, Luis, et.al. "Engaging LIfe: A Funds of Knowledge Approach to Multicultural Education." In Banks and Banks (eds.), Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education Jossey-Bass. 2 Making Connections December 04

3 Albuquerque Public Schools' Navajo Language Program In the Albuquerque Public Schools district, there are currently four high schools and two elementary schools that offer Navajo language classes. The four high schools are Del Norte, Cibola, Manzano, and West Mesa. The two elementary schools are Lowell and Painted Sky. There are plans underway to begin offering classes at the middle school level. The Navajo Language Program offers Navajo language, a heritage language, to Navajo and non- Navajo students in APS. Primarily, our goals are to give Navajo students the opportunity to learn their language and about their culture while offering Navajo as a foreign language to others as well. More so, the emphasis of the Navajo language program is on Navajo language maintenance and revitalization, which requires instructors to focus on oral language development. By using second language acquisition and learning methods, we hope to develop a stronger program in the years ahead. As the Navajo language resource teacher, my main role is to offer instructional, curricular, and technical support to the Navajo language teachers. Also, I spend a lot of time on curriculum development and planning for staff/ professional development. In addition, my immediate plans are to continue working with the Navajo teachers in the classroom and get additional input and support from other people in developing this program for the benefit of all students. For example, on November 4, the Navajo language staff attended a training on Diné language and culture standards implementation that was offered by Mr. Roger by Vincent Werito Roger Begay, Office of Diné Language and Culture, consults with Navajo instructors Shirley Gee of Painted Sky E.S. and Virginia Yazzie of Lowell E.S. Begay, from the Office of Diné Language and Culture in Window Rock, Arizona. The following is a list of short and long range goals for the Navajo language program: more input and support from parents and community members; increased student attendance and retention in program; recognition of Navajo language in schools, homes, and community; language immersion camps; and cultural programs and activities. The Navajo language instructors are as follows: Del Norte H.S. Peggy Rafaelito Cibola H.S. Howard Redhouse West Mesa H.S. Ronda Ike Manzano H.S. Marsha Hubbel Espinosa Lowell E.S. Virginia Yazzie Painted Sky E.S. Shirley Gee For more information on the Navajo Language Program or working with Navajo students, you can contact me at APS Language and Cultural Equity, , ext Thank you. Manzano High School Navajo language students practice their skills in classroom conversations. Making Connections December 04 3

4 Cuando llegué por primera vez a la Escuela Secundaria Harrison, hace unos tres años, había oído hablar mucho de ella. No me permití darle mucha atención a lo que se decía porque no quería Ann Cortés tener una opinión preconcebida ya que tenía una misión en mente. Lo que buscaba era una escuela con una riqueza de idiomas y que necesitara convertirse en una escuela de lenguaje dual. Mientras caminaba por el patio de la escuela las primeras semanas con unos alumnos, me dio un escalofrío como le pasa a uno cuando una idea o experiencia educativa extraordinaria se le ocurre. Me encantaba oír a los alumnos comunicándose en inglés y en español con una facilidad maravillosa, pero esa comunicación se usaba solamente en un registro social. Cuando entraba a los salones ya no se oía español en el ambiente académico. Esta escuela, pensé, es un lugar perfecto para el desarrollo del lenguaje dual. Comencé a asistir a juntas de lenguaje dual y defender este tipo de programas a través de un grupo de maestros extraordinarios del equipo bilingüe de Harrison. Los maestros eran los siguientes: Modesto Rascón, Heather Jenkins (ya no están en Harrison) Katie Williams, Bernadette Ortega y yo, Ann Cortés, la líder de instrucción. Aunque estos maestros sabían algo de los programas de lenguaje dual en la escuela primaria, 4 Continúa la implementación de los programas de lenguaje dual por Ann Cortés, Escuela secundaria Harrison Los estudiantes trabajan en grupos cooperativos. Making Connections December 04 nunca habían considerado la posibilidad de incorporarlo al programa educativo de Harrison. Decidí que sería una buena idea que el equipo entendiera mejor el programa e hice planes para viajar. Con las recomendaciones de Cecilia Gonzales de Tucker y David Rogers (experto en lenguaje dual) fuimos a El Paso para visitar la Escuela Alicia Chacón, una escuela autónoma, nacionalmente reconocida, con un éxito excepcional en la enseñaza de varios idiomas y con calificaciones altas en los exámenes estandarizados a pesar de tener una población de familias de bajo nivel económico. Después de la visita estábamos muy entusiasmados. NUESTRA INVESTIGACIÓN SOBRE LOS PROGRAMAS DE LENGUAJE DUAL Comenzamos a investigar todo lo relacionado con la enseñanza del lenguaje dual en las escuelas secundarias, sobre todo a través del Centro de Lingüística Aplicada, y también la Organización de Lenguaje Dual en Nuevo México, org. Nuestro gran líder, el director, Sam Obenshain, comenzó a escuchar nuestra petición de lenguaje dual ahora! y nos hizo caso. Nos apoyó completamente, hizo su propia investigación y quedó impresionado después de sus conversaciones con David Rogers. David nos hizo participar en La Siembra, un grupo de educadores dedicados a la planificación, implementación y sostenimiento de los programas de lenguaje dual en Nuevo México. Nuestra experiencia con La Siembra nos ayudó a refinar nuestro plan para el programa de lenguaje dual. Investigamos varios problemas durante tres días de trabajo intenso. Nuestros "árbitros" continúa en la pagina 9

5 El sueño sigue con un programa secundario, Harrison por David Rogers, Director, Escuela primaria Adobe Acres La comunidad de Adobe Acres está tan feliz que nuestra escuela secundaria, Harrison sigue con la implementación del programa de lenguaje dual. Adobe Acres implementó su programa en 1999, y ahora nuestros graduados pueden seguir en uno de los programas más exitosos en el estado. Pero encima de todo, la fuerza de Harrison es la comunicación que mantiene con sus familias, maestros y las escuelas primarias donde empieza la vida académica de sus alumnos. Harrison consulta con su comunidad entera cuando toma una decisión. El programa de Harrison está bien organizado, y promete ser unos de los programas más exitosos por las razones siguientes: Liderazgo visionario bajo la dirección de su equipo administrativo (Sam Obenshain y Chris Eisenberg), y su coordinadora bilingüe, Ann Cortés, este programa se creó en base a las experiencias de su personal docente y al talento de sus maestros. Un año de planeamiento lo que falta en muchas comunidades escolares, es el tiempo para planear su programa antes de implementarlo. Harrison ha tomado el tiempo suficiente para estudiar el modelo, reunir los recursos requeridos, y en el diseño del modelo elegido, responder a los deseos y las necesidades de su comunidad. En su planeamiento, el director Sam Obenshain participó en dos institutos para programas nuevos, porque quería estar cien por ciento seguro que la escuela escogiera el modelo correcto y el diseño apropiado antes de implementarlo. Horario instructivo el horario de instrucción para el alumno de lenguaje dual es inclusivo y completamente integrado al horario escolar. Es decir que el alumno puede elegir el currículo de lenguaje dual sin sacrificar los cursos electivos o cualquier otro componente de su vida escolar. El alumno toma una variedad de cursos enriquecidos con sus compañeros bilingües y monolingües. El futuro brillante del programa continuará, si se toma en cuenta los siguientes retos: Emplear a maestros hispanoparlantes que puedan proveer instrucción de alta calidad tanto en la lectoescritura como en las materias académicas. Identificar los materiales didácticos y textos que estén aunados al currículo secundario y que presenten el contenido en el idioma y nivel apropiados. El mantenimiento de una comunicación abierta y de una relación positiva con la comunidad entera es lo más importante. Hay una filosofía distinta del programa de lenguaje dual que lo aparta de los otros programas tradicionales. Estas diferencias pueden dividir al personal establecido si no se le ofrece la oportunidad de entender dichas diferencias y reconocer los aspectos positivos de todos los programas. El currículo y el plan de capacitación profesional de ambos programas deben intercambiarse al mayor grado que sea posible. De esta manera, todos los miembros del personal pueden celebrar y cosechar lo mejor de su comunidad bilingüe. Felicitamos al programa secundario de Harrison! Making Connections December 04 5

6 Low Cost, No Frills: Innovative Family Involvement Activities In the October Making Connections article, Not Just Bodies in the Building, Epstein s framework for parent involvement was introduced and discussed. Epstein considers six types of involvement as keys to successful school, family, and community partnerships. They are: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community. Educators in the Albuquerque Public School District are reaching out to parents and the community in creative ways. Selected schools were surveyed and several responses were received. Below are brief accounts of just some ways schools are engaging families that are hard to reach. Eugene Field places a huge emphasis on schoolto-home and home-to-school communication. They feel that their success with parents is due to their belief that Parents are the main element of our school system (James Luján, Principal). Eugene Field has an open door policy which invites all parents, families, and siblings to their school at anytime. This means that when a parent comes to the office, he or she signs in and could request to speak to the Parent Liaison (Mrs. Judy Marjerison) or to the principal. The bottom line is that parents are first when it comes to visitors. Having a Family Resource Center is a plus when reaching parents! James Luján notes, When parents have a place to call home at school, it makes a difference. The success occurs with the collaboration of the counselor, secretary, assistant principal, principal, parent liaison, teachers, and educational assistants. Together, they visit homes, make phone calls, write letters, send s, and communicate during school visits. Phone calls are made to parents by Dr. Annette Maestas on a monthly basis by teachers, principals, and other staff to let the parents know about the academic progress of their child. When a phone call is received from a school, it s usually for a negative reason or behavior issue. However, Eugene Field staff communicates with parents about good things happening. This is another reason parents feel welcomed and want to come to their school. Eugene Field Elementary staff encourage parents to give their valuable input in the education of their child. For example, during their Family Math Night, parents were asked "When parents have a place to call home at school, it makes a difference." James Luján to answer the following three questions posted on an affinity diagram: 1. What do you expect of your child in the area of math? 2. What do you expect of your child s teacher when teaching math? 3. What can the teacher expect of you as parents in the area of math? On October 12, Eugene Field broke an attendance record by hosting more that 250 parents. The key is to have parents give input and be part of their child s education. Valle Vista Elementary employs an effective communication tool which also serves to include the parents as participants in school decisions. Every parent enrolling their child for kindergarten must attend a fifteen-minute orientation before they can register their child. The parents are informed that their child will not be placed into a class until the parent has met with one of the kindergarten teachers or support staff for a short but intense information session about the programs offered at Valle Vista. Parents learn about the differences between the dual language and English Plus programs. They make an informed decision about their child s placement and are empowered by their knowledge. So, there are no surprises later with parents lamenting, I didn t know. continued on page 7 6 Making Connections December 04

7 continued from page 6 Valle Vista had an ideal experience when parents, community members, and school staff came together for Read-o-Ween. On October 29, students could come to school in the evening in costumes. Parents and community members set up tents for reading, read to the children, served food, and played music. All children participating received bags with treats and free books. At least 248 parents and community members signed in that night, but as Reina Romero (parent involvement coordinator for Valle Vista) pointed out, many adults were too busy making the evening happen to sign in. The whole effort was parent-led. They were involved in the entire planning and implementation. Irma Ruiz, parent, received a grant of $800 for free books from the Westside South Valley Weed and Seed Strategy. Manuel Ramos, previously a fourth grade teacher at Atrisco Elementary, came up with a unique way to involve families with their children in learning activities by starting a math homework club. He thought of the idea after conferencing with parents who indicated that they would be happy to help their children with their homework if only they knew what to do. Atrisco was using Everyday Math, and parents said they hadn t learned that way when they were in school. Mr. Ramos found a way to help his students and to involve parents who typically are less involved in the upper grades. Here s the catch students couldn t participate in the homework club unless their parents came with them. Two times a week for one hour, Mr. Ramos would work directly with the parents, explaining how to do the particular math problems. The parents in turn had the task of explaining to their children how to work the problems. Mr. Ramos noticed the students attitudes improved because of their parents attendance in the homework club, and the students grades improved dramatically. A major component of McKinley Middle School s Parent Involvement Program is the parent ESL classes, led by Ginger Looney, the ESL teacher. A core group of ten to fifteen parents meets every Wednesday evening in the school library for two hours of English reading, writing, speaking, and listening instruction and practice. The adults are all parents or relatives of the ESL students in Ginger s classes. Teacher Ginger Looney (right) works with parents learning English at McKinley Middle School. The participants spend the first hour in interactive group and individual work ranging from personal introductions to basic vocabulary including letters, numbers, and telephone conversations. The parents then work on the computers for the second hour using Rosetta Stone software which was purchased through Title 1 Parent Involvement funding and with strong support from Scott Elder, the principal. This software uses and scaffolds visual, auditory, and written skills to introduce vocabulary, prepositions, and basic sentence structure. As the parents progress, the software will provide writing and speaking practice. Many of the parents have not used the computer before so they re also gleaning basic computer skills. Realizing the importance of collaborating with the community, McKinley is also developing a partnership with the Albuquerque Academy to arrange student tutors from the Academy. continued on page 8 Making Connections December 04 7

8 continued from page 7 The kindergarten team at Wherry Elementary is committed to sharing teaching/learning ideas with families. The teachers host a series of four sharing nights throughout the year. The kickoff was "Phonemic Awareness" in October, where parents could attend the session in English or Spanish. Two teachers presented while the other teachers offered child care. Parents were shown how they could assist at home with their child s development of English and Spanish phonemics. There was a real sense of sharing. In the session for Spanish speaking parents, for instance, the teacher solicited ideas about how parents had developed phonemic awareness when they were young. The parents shared rhymes and games that the teacher has incorporated in her teaching. She taught the parents games that they could do at home. In addition, differences between phonemes in English and Spanish were discussed. The kindergarten team found the sessions to be especially helpful because most parents were...the parents learned from each other and became more comfortable with their new school environment. new to the school due to massive boundary changes. The sessions not only answered their questions, but the parents learned from each other and became more comfortable with their new school environment. The teachers sent thank you notes to all who attended. An Atrisco parent volunteer tutors a kindergarten student as part of the "Albuquerque Reads" Chamber of Commerce project which provides two 30-minute, one-on-one reading sessions every week for each of Atrisco's kindergarten students. In addition, the Wherry dual language kindergarten team plans to send cassette tapes home after parent teacher conferences that parents and children can play together. The tapes include the sounds of the letters, numbers 1 20, numbers by 10 s, colors and simple phrases in English and in Spanish. A powerful way for schools to include families as participants in school decisions, governance and advocacy, is to send parents to conferences. For example, Michelle Chávez, the Parent Morning Team Leader for La Cosecha Conference reports that 11 APS schools sent a total of 88 parents to the conference on November 19. Longfellow Elementary sent 26 parents; La Mesa Elementary, 13; and Dolores Gonzales Elementary, 10. Although there is a cost ($35 per person), these schools and others have made it a priority in their budget. Parents at Lowell Elementary attend English language classes. Educators throughout APS are involving families in many innovative ways. The confidence of the parents is strengthened and they are empowered to be involved in the education of their children. It has been shown that students perform better academically when their parents are involved. 8 Making Connections December 04

9 continuación de la pagina 4 fueron Mirle Hernández de la escuela Truman y Eva Thaddeus de Adobe Acres. También visitamos la Universidad de Nuevo México y las escuelas secundarias Truman y Washington. El año 2000 fue un año crítico ya que David Rogers asumió el puesto de director de la escuela Adobe Acres, la escuela tributaria más cercana a Harrison. David Rogers estableció el programa de lenguaje dual en Adobe Acres, como se esperaba, de manera que nosotros en Harrison podíamos anticipar un grupo pequeño de estudiantes del programa dual en agosto de Nuestra nueva meta era el estar bien preparados para recibir el primer grupo de estudiantes de lenguaje dual en agosto de NUESTRA BÚSQUEDA DE MAESTROS ALTAMENTE CAPACITADOS Nuestro problema mayor fue encontrar maestros que estuvieran altamente calificados y que tuvieran su certificación en educación bilingüe, así como en las materias de nuestro programa. Es casi imposible encontrar educadores con requisitos tan particulares. Buscamos maestros en diversos lugares y eventos, tales como la feria de trabajo de APS en abril del 2002, las conferencias bilingües y de lenguaje dual, y sencillamente también hablando con la gente. Las personas que encontramos han enriquecido tremendamente nuestro programa. Regina Wooden, la coordinadora actual del equipo de lenguaje dual, llegó en 2003 directamente de México, donde ella había organizado un programa de computadoras de arte digital. Enrique Candelaria llegó el mismo año trayendo veinticinco años de experiencia en educación bilingüe. Este año comenzamos la clase de español como lenguaje de herencia con la gran maestra María Elena Orozco. Las otras maestras, como la Sra. Apodaca y la Srta. Gordon, hacen un trabajo excelente modificando las lecciones para que el contenido sea accesible para todos los estudiantes. Nuestra escuela colabora con el Departamento de Equidad Lingüística y Cultural. Esto nos proporciona apoyo sistemático, desde Los maestros del programa de lenguaje dual en la escuela secundaria Harrison la identificación de las necesidades de los estudiantes con el examen LAS hasta presentaciones en los salones. Cecilia Gonzales de Tucker ha sido un gran recurso en nuestro programa debido a sus esfuerzos incansables, su trabajo en los salones al lado de los maestros y su conocimiento de las organizaciones comunitarias. Su talento ha contribuido a mejorar nuestro programa. Este trabajo ha sido muy emocionante para mí porque el programa será de gran provecho para nuestra comunidad. Hago hincapié en el hecho que esto no sería posible sin el trabajo y apoyo de Sam Obenshain. Le enviamos un agradecimiento de parte de todos. Esto es sólo el comienzo. Hemos creado un panfleto que incluye nuestra misión, el personal del programa y los cursos que se ofrecen. Ustedes pueden solicitar uno cuando vengan a visitarnos. NUESTRA MISIÓN NUESTRA MISIÓN EN LA ESCUELA HARRISON ES CREAR UN PROGRAMA DE LENGUAJE DUAL PROGRESIVO Y DINÁMICO. VAMOS A PROPORCIONAR ESTIMULANTES OPORTUNIDADES EDUCATIVAS Y A INCORPORAR EL APRENDIZAJE EN DOS LENGUAS EN NUESTRO RIGUROSO PROGRAMA ACADÉMICO QUE VALORA LA DIVERSIDAD. Making Connections December 04 9

10 So you re a brand new teacher or someone new to the district and you find out that you are required to take a class. What s your first reaction? Probably something to the effect of a long frustrated sigh. No teacher has enough time, especially new teachers; and you can t imagine giving up four precious hours a week for a class with a title (LEP class) you don t even understand. But what if I told you that those four hours a week will result in improved lesson plans, insight into how to meet the needs of all your students, a valuable collection of classroom resources, and a chance to talk with other teachers? Maybe now instead of sighing, you might just raise an eyebrow. That s it open your mind. I am writing to tell you why, in this case, it s not that hard to make the best of what might at first appear to be a bad situation. I just finished the nine-week Limited English Proficient (LEP) class and I am all smiles (no, it s not because it is over; but rather because at the end I can confidently say that my time was well spent and there is a marked difference in my teaching, for the better). Case in point, the other day when I was reading my students self-evaluations on a recent ecosystem unit, I was delighted to read the reflection of one of my LEP students. In response to the question Were there any activities in the unit you did not understand or that confused you? he wrote, no because they were easy and ms. Precious Time Well Spent by Jessie Fries-Kraemer, Eubank Elementary kamer expleinet slowly. I have learn about nature and how plants animals and humand dipent on each other. He got it! It worked! What he described as expleinet slowly was not what might first come to your mind the image of a teacher talking dumb talk (Do you under stand?) and praying that no one asks any questions because the lesson is already over. No, what this student described, with the language available to him, was an intentional effort to shelter instruction on my part. Heads together: students engaged in active learning. What does that mean? It means that in my planning and instruction I had explicit goals and strategies to increase students language proficiency and to ensure that all students had access to the grade level content I was teaching. "How?" you might ask, because that is the hard question. First, I used, whenever possible, real things that students could touch, hear, smell, see, and even taste. Also, in every lesson I had specific language objectives both for key vocabulary and language uses. Whenever there was a text, I modified it by adding illustrations or supporting it with graphic organizers, outlines and activities that broke down the text into manageable parts. Throughout the unit I planned activities that activated and built students prior knowledge, supporting them in making connections. continued on page Making Connections December 04

11 continued from page 10 Lastly, a great deal of the work in the unit was hands-on and collaborative. Students worked in cooperative groups. It was loud, but their talk was purposeful they were hypothesizing, explaining, describing, negotiating, calculating; basically, engaging in a study with authentic language, actively learning. Where did I learn that doing such things would help my English language learners? LEP class, of course! To top it off the instructor even gave us time in class to share ideas with each other. Which leads me to another selling point: 99% of what goes on in the LEP class can be directly applied to your actual work teaching students. What about the other 1%? Well, that is taken up with the time it takes for the instructor to take attendance. On a more serious note, the biggest change that I underwent in the LEP class was in my attitude. I have a story that makes this painfully obvious. Last year, on my first day of teaching, I distinctly remember being told that one of my students spoke no English. My reaction: begging the person who told me to change that student to another class. Professional response? No. Genuine response? Yes! Of course, that student was not moved and I spent most of the year basically pretending that she wasn t there. I had no strategies. Yesterday, a similar conversation took place. My response? Excellent, I know just what to do and where to go for support. Now think about those students whose class would they benefit the most from? Yep, you re right, the class taught by someone who knows how and wants to support their needs. Same teacher, but now she has some strategies. She just finished taking the LEP course. Back to your reality there is no denying that giving up time is hard. The frustration you feel in being required to take this class is one that all teachers can relate to, even the ones that will be teaching your LEP class. And we all know that nothing results in overnight success. In spite of all of this, I encourage you to give this class a chance. Since ultimately you don t have a choice about having to take the class, you might as well make the most of it. I can attest that if you do, you will benefit, and more importantly, there will be benefits for your students. An Update: SPANISH SPELLING BEE, 2005 By now, the Spanish spelling bees may be well under way in schools and clusters, and students, teachers, parents, and community members are gearing up for the final events. Since the October issue of Making Connections (available at where the general rules and procedures were outlined for the Spanish Spelling Bee, there is new information concerning the district and state bees. Be sure to mark your calendars with the following items and note the important details about the spelling bee word list: Cluster representatives should call in the name of the school hosting the cluster bee with the date and time to Frances Candelaria at ext Once the winner and runner-up have been determined, please call these names in to Frances by February 11. The district bee will be held at Albuquerque High School in the Lecture Hall at 10 a.m. on February 23. At this competition, the first and second place winners from each participating cluster will vie for the titles of district winner and runner-up. The district winners will then compete at the state Spanish spelling championship on April 16 during the New Mexico Association of Bilingual Education 2005 conference at the Convention Center. This year there is a new list for the state competition which will also be used for the district bee. This new word list and rules, Spelling Bee Booklet, have just recently become available on the NMABE website: under the Spanish Spelling link in the site index. Even though individual schools and clusters are using or have already used an old list for their bees, it is extremely important that the cluster winners have the new, current list from the NMABE site since the words for both the district and state bees will be drawn from it. Cluster bee organizers should be sure to confer with and inform all of their cluster schools concerning which list they will be using for the cluster competitions. Buena suerte! Making Connections December 04 11

12 Making more connections! Coming Events Cross Cultural Resource Library National Association for Biilingual Education NABE 2005 Many Rivers, on Course to Academic Excellence: January 19-22, San Antonio, Texas. For more information, visit NABE's website at or call Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages TESOL Teaching Learning,Learning Teaching: A Nexus in Texas: March 30-April 2, San Antonio, TX. For more informtation, visit the TESOL website at Southwest Conference on Language Teaching Teaching and Learning: A Salute to Foreign Language Educators: April 7-10, Irving, Texas. For more information, go to The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has a branch of its National Education Service Centers (LNESC)in Albuquerque. Services, such as help in applying for financial aid and field trips to universities, are provided to targeted schools; school counselors have this information. In addition, however, LNESC will provide free practice ACT tests to any APS students. For more information, you may contact John Moya, Director, at jmoya@llnesc.org or FYI... Monday and Wednesday: 8:00-5:00 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:00-4:30 Closed daily for lunch: 12:00-1:00 Montgomery Complex LIBRARY SPECIALIST: Jo Ann Gonzales Please call , ext.154#, before making the trip to make sure the library is open. TESOL Endorsements and Survival Spanish Courses for APS Teachers at Sandia High School Spring 2005 LCE is making available spring courses at Sandia High School for the TESOL Endorsement and in Survival Spanish. These College of Santa Fe courses are open to APS teachers, who will be reimbursed for tuition costs. The TESOL courses satisfy all NM State requirements for the endorsement. Survival Spanish course participants will learn to communicate better with monolingual Spanishspeaking children and their families. The Survival Spanish courses satisfy the foreign language requirement for the TESOL Endorsement. Tuition for each course is $375, to be paid on the first day of class and reimbursed when the course has been passed. Contact: Prof. Henry Shonerd, at Department of Language and Cultural Equity City Centre, 6400 Uptown NE, Suite 601 West, Albuquerque, NM Phone ; Fax Director: Lynne Rosen ALS Coordinators: Nana Almers, Doddie Espinosa, and TBA ALS/Special Education/LAS Coordinator: Jerry Gallegos Multicultural Education Coordinator: Joycelyn Jackson Title VII Project Coordinator: Rosa Osborn Translation and Interpretation Services Coordinators: Tomás Butchart and Jason Yuen Making Connections is a publication of the Department of Language and Cultural Equity, Albuquerque Public Schools; it is distributed to the Board of Education, district administrators and departments, and all schools. Please direct questions and comments to the editors: Nancy Lawrence and Dee McMann, Making Connections is printed by APS Office Services. Special thanks for their expert help! 12 Making Connections December 04