In 2020 we have been responding to the rapidly changing instructional landscape to continue fostering ELs’ success with several types of online professional development. We also provide an overview of our new and ongoing long-term technical assistance projects, conference presentations, and more.

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New! On-Demand Book Studies

We’re excited to announce two fully self-paced 20-hour online book studies framed around best-selling books authored by members of the SupportEd team. Each book study provides a certificate for 20 hours of professional development. You can click below to learn more about each book study.

• Unlocking English Learners’ Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible by Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder
• Advocating for English Learners: A Guide for Educators by Diane Staehr Fenner

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Online EL Professional Development Courses (June 29 – August 7, 2020)

This summer, we are proud to run five online courses with participants from across the nation. Each 12-hour online course is asynchronous with intermediary deadlines and forum discussions within a professional learning community facilitated by our team of EL experts and bestselling EL book authors.

All courses provide a certificate for 12 hours of professional development upon completion. Graduate credit can also be obtained through Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C. for an additional fee and the successful completion of one 12-hour SupportEd online course.

These courses can also be customized for your district at any time. We invite you to click below and learn more about how you can collaborate with us this summer.

• Strategies for Making Content Accessible to ELs
• Strategies for Building ELs’ Academic Language
• Effectively Reaching SLIFE
• Creating a Culturally Responsive School Climate
• Effectively Advocating for English Learners

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On-Demand Short Courses (coming soon!) 

This spring, we’re excited to announce the launch of two online asynchronous “short courses” – a new format of online learning that SupportEd will offer in addition to our five 12-hour summer courses and on-demand book studies.

We’ve condensed our research-based, proven practices in an easily accessible and self-paced format to help you expand on EL education strategies at your convenience. Reflect on and refine your approach to best supporting the academic achievement and language development of ELs while earning a certificate for professional development upon course completion. Keep an eye out for the official announcement and launch of our two upcoming short courses:

• NEW Supporting ELs’ Pathways to Graduation
• NEW Scaffolding Content Instruction for ELs

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Webinars

• Practical Strategies & Resources to Teach K-12 ELs Online. With districts closing to slow the spread of COVID-19, teachers have had to quickly pivot to teaching ELs in an online format. On March 18, guest presenter and EL online educator Dr. Eugenia Krimmel shared and modeled strategies for teaching K-12 ELs online. The webinar included a Padlet of tools and resources for online content, communicating with families, internet access, and translation.
• Distance Learning & ELLs: What Have We Learned So Far? The challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic are many. Although distance learning has quickly become the default solution for the more than 54 million students displaced by school closures, it is estimated that 25-50 percent of the 5 million English language learners around the country either do not have the appropriate technology devices needed for online learning or access to the internet. Join us to learn more about some best practices we are seeing thus far for both groups of ELLs—those with Internet access and those without.

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Ongoing Technical Assistance Projects

• NCELA. We are continuing our second year of work to manage the U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition’s National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA) in partnership with the Manhattan Strategy Group and WestEd. SupportEd’s main role is to provide EL technical assistance to support the implementation of OELA’s grants and contribute to the development and dissemination of EL professional learning tools and resources.
• Syracuse City School District, New York. We are entering our sixth year of our ongoing collaboration with the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) to enhance their programming for and instruction of ELs. This year, we are collaborating with SCSD around professional development materials to provide their schools options for flexible, job-embedded PD in support of ELs districtwide.
• Reading School District, Pennsylvania. We are continuing our partnership with Reading School District (RSD) to assist in evaluating and adjusting the approach to serving the district’s rapidly growing English learner population. We are working with RSD to review and revise EL program models and the English language development instructional delivery plan and develop a professional development plan, a K-12 ESL standards-aligned curriculum. We are also working with a cohort of teachers at a middle school to provide ongoing instructional coaching framed around supporting ELs in co-taught classrooms.
• Southern Westchester BOCES. We are providing technical support and coaching to educators and administrators focused on support for ELs enrolled in a career and technical education program at the Center for Career Services.

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Face to Face Professional Development

• Reading School District, Pennsylvania. In March, SupportEd Consultant Eleni Pappamihiel facilitated an interactive workshop entitled ELs and Social-Emotional Support: The Role of the Paraprofessional.
• School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We are entering our final year of work on the Together is Better co-teaching project. This year, we conducted multiple classroom walkthroughs and PD facilitated by Kent Buckley-Ess. Our focus is on bringing together grade level teams for working sessions framed around hands-on lesson planning to support ELs during instruction.

Blended Professional Development

• Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland. This year, we are continuing work with MCPS through three cycles of blended professional development created for ESOL and content teachers across seven elementary schools. These cycles include a needs assessment, face to face professional development, an online professional development module, and classroom observation and coaching. The cycles address scaffolding instruction of ELs in the content areas, academic language, and oral language development, among other topics. In January, Diane Staehr Fenner and Marley Zeno facilitated an interactive workshop entitled Supporting ELs’ Academic and Oral Language Development.

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Online Professional Development

• Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, Iowa. In March, Diane Staehr Fenner provided two interactive virtual professional development sessions for teacher trainers on conducting walk-throughs of classrooms with ELs. Participants explored a research-based walkthrough tool and tools for planning professional development for teachers of ELs.
• Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma. In May, Diane Staehr Fenner and SupportEd consultant Teddi Predaris, will conduct six webinars to support educators in honing their leadership skills in support of ELs. Topics will include advocacy, working with parents of ELs, and working with school leaders.
• Reading School District, Pennsylvania. In March, Diane Staehr Fenner conducted two interactive webinars on scaffolding content instruction for ELs. Participants explored categories and examples of scaffolds, steps for planning a scaffolded lesson, and applied strategies to current distance learning for ELs.
• Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Pennsylvania. In February, content and ESL teachers from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit finished an online series of professional development modules created by SupportEd and moderated by Sydney Snyder and Marley Zeno. The online module topics were scaffolding instruction in the content areas, teaching academic language to ELs, making text accessible for ELs, and formative assessment for ELs.
• Marshalltown, Iowa. This month we are facilitating a customized version of our online course–Creating a Culturally Responsive School Climate–for over 400 educators in Marshalltown, Iowa. The course includes three flexible learning components, interactive professional learning community (PLC) discussions, practical application activities, and resources to foster implementation of strategies.
• Mid-State RBERN/OCM BOCES. We are providing two online book studies to teachers in New York State, one on Unlocking English Learners’ Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible and the other on Advocating for English Learners. Participants will read each chapter, apply learning by responding to reflection questions, and take part in a culminating one-hour webinar from book authors Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder.

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Conference Keynotes and Presentations  

• TNTESOL 2020. On February 7, Diane Staehr Fenner keynoted and presented a breakout session at TNTESOL’s annual west TN mini conference. This year’s conference, Supporting English Learners: Strong Partnerships and Promising Practices, was held at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee.
• 2020 TexTESOL IV. On February 29, Diane Staehr Fenner keynoted and presented a breakout session at TexTESOL IV’s annual regional conference. This year’s conference, entitled Teaching in a Culturally Responsive World, was in Houston, Texas.