English Learner Coordinators Meeting
Monday, March 16, 2009
Participants: Cece Boehme (WH), Michele Estill (SH), Juliet Fraser (MVSH), Scott Gaudet (MMHS), Jamie Holding (ECHS), Anne Paxton-Smith (VHS), Lance Yocom (VHS), Joann Phillips (GHS), Maxine Sagapolutele (ECVHS).
Refugee Conference: Discussion regarding procedures for refugees coming to the United States. This is a very long process and can take years. They are set up in a furnished apartment when they get here. The cultural orientation process used to take weeks, but now it is done in hours. They usually come to the US from a country other than the one they left. They are set up in refugee camps and receive minimal education services. They are out of school for at least a year and usually have no transcripts. The question was raised about how we handle the lack of documentation and there was no answer at this time. This is a big issue and San Diego is scheduled to get many more refugees this year.
Mt. Miguel: Scott stated that he has a person at his site who speaks Tagalog and who is available for translation services.
West Hills: Had concerns about her library aid that is pulled from her regular job for translation services. Cece Boehme says that she is not getting paid for her services and is wondering how she will get paid.
R-Fep: Anne Paxton-Smith presented a rough draft of an R-Fep flow chart. She said this is a rough draft and still needs to be finalized.
Celebration at Schools: There was discussion regarding whether school sights should have a celebration for students when they R-Fep. The majority felt that would label them. Anne said she would rather celebrate when they went from a 3 to a 4.
Math Placement: There was discussion regarding math placement, and where to place a student. Anne presented everyone with a math sequence sheet that was developed at VHS. She said she has the district algebra readiness test that she feels would be helpful to EL teachers. With this test they can see where their students are in math.
Recommendation Forms: EL teachers would like to have input on the recommendation forms that are generated from assessment and given to the middle schools. They felt it was confusing and was misleading to the EL population.
Designated Counselor: There were mixed feelings about having a designated counselor for EL. Anne felt it was a positive thing, others felt that all counselors need to know about EL and be culturally aware. EL Coordinators feel like they have to take the role of teacher and counselor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Teri Beveridge