TIII Back-to-School Series: Visual Orientation Handbook
I absolutely love this idea of a visual orientation handbook, shared with me by Silvia Tamminen, coordinator at the Aurora Public Schools (APS) Welcome Center in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado.
The Aurora Public Schools (APS) Welcome Center supports one of the most diverse student populations in the country. This demographic includes a large number of folks resettled refugee status. The district is now home to students from all over the world, with especially robust cultural representation from Bhutan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Myanmar, Côte d’ Ivoire, and Eritrea.
Families with school-aged children who are new to the district and also new to the English language are directly referred to the APS Welcome Center. Staff guide Newcomer families through the processes of student registration and school orientation.
Sylvia Timmenem heads this effort. She’s a human rights professional with a concentration on refugee and migration issues. Her knowledge of policy and practice is evident. But she’s also approachable and down-to-earth, with a bold, welcoming smile. As I glance through her workspace, I notice elements of her Fin culture.
“Immigration is something I share with our clients,” she tells me. But she’s also quick to point out that while there are some parallels, her path to America was smoother than many of those she sees in her day-to-day work. Sylvia is deeply aware of the privilege that comes with choice, with a previous knowledge of the English language, and even her appearance. Nonetheless, she does have an understanding of just how complex and overwhelming the immgration process can be. This awareness adds an additional layer of humanity to her interactions.
Sylivia came on board with the APS Welcome Center program in its inaugural season. She and her team built the organization from the bones up. The visual orientation handbook is among the group’s creative, solution-seeking efforts.
The handbook is a non-consumable resource with a permanent home in Sylvia’s office. It is composed of full-page photos and illustrations, slid into sheet protectors and organized into a three-ring binder. Each image is captioned with a simple explanation, which is (or can be) easily translated into a preferred language. Sylvia or another APS staff member reads the book alongside incoming families (and a translator, if requested). Page by page, the tool lays out the expectations for a typical school day.
For example, one picture shows a group of students sitting on the ground listening to a read-aloud. The caption reads, “Sometimes, students sit on the carpet during the school day.”
This was an important inclusion, Sylvia assured me. “Many times our parents cannot believe that their child would sit on the floor to learn anything. In some of their own countries, that would be very strange and maybe make a parent very angry.” She points out that often these seemingly “everyday” aspects of the school day can be overlooked. But in the context of welcoming families from culturally diverse backgrounds, taking the time to explicitly detail various aspects of the school experience can go a long way.
Here are some other situations included in the APS visual orientation handbook:
Kids receiving lunch on a tray (many recently arrived learners would have gone home for lunch or packed their own meal)
Young adults putting their supplies in lockers (this may be a first-time experience for many)
Students arriving for school at or before the scheduled time (concepts of time and urgency around timeliness varies greatly from one culture and context to another)
Photos of co-ed teaching staff (learners and their families may have culturally influenced expectations about the appearance of those in teacher and leadership roles).
There are plenty more great ideas. Check them out in the Aurora Welcome Center’s comprehensive list below!
Could you duplicate this resource at your site? As long as you have a camera and a few hours to spare, of course! (Just be sure to send out a thank you to the APS Welcome Center for the idea. Find them here: http://welcomecenter.aurorak12.org)
This version was created by staff. But other great options might include:
Inviting former Newcomers to take this on as a project (a modernized “buddy” system)
Creating a digital and/or interactive version of the handbook
Engaging teacher teams in creating grade-level welcoming handbooks
And here are a few examples of what that might look like in actuality!
(Adapted with permission from Aurora Welcome Center: Refugee, Immigrant and Community Integration. Photos copyright @DiversifiED Consulting)
TIII Series: The Home Language Survey- Ensuring Compliance and Success
The Home Language Survey (HLS), also called a Heritage Language Survey or Home Language Questionnaire (HLQ), is used in the initial process of identifying a student’s potential eligibility for English language support services. A heritage language survey usually takes the form of a brief questionnaire, which may be administered in English print, preferred language print, orally, or through a translator. The purpose of the survey is to establish an understanding of a student’s language-learning background.
Student Example: Khaled’s family has just arrived to register him for school. The family meets with an enrollment specialist at the school. When completing the survey, Khaled’s mother indicates that they are from Somalia. She also notes that Somali is the language spoken in the home. However, Khaled’s first language (and only instructional language) is Swahili, as the family relocated to the refugee camp in Kenya just before Khaled’s birth. Khaled’s exposure to the English language, at least according to the Heritage Language Survey, is limited. These results suggest that Khaled may be eligible to receive English-supportive learning services.
Home/heritage Language Surveys can be extremely useful in identifying potential new-to-English learners. However, keep in mind that these, like other student assessments, are only an indicative tool. They cannot be used as an exclusive measure for language services enrollment. (And they certainly don’t capture the cultural and linguistic funds of knowledge diverse student groups bring to the table).
Next, Khaled will be screened for multilingual programming eligibility (ELL services).
If and when an HLS confirms that a student is new to English, he or she will be considered for language learning services. The enrollment specialist (often the multilingual department head, multilingual coach, Student Assessment Liaison, or other trained personnel) carefully analyzes the data.
Specific testing may vary from state to state or from district to district. Most schools employ WIDA ACCESS, ELPA, Woodcock-Munoz or a similar state/district approved measure. Regardless of the testing instrument, timeliness is key to compliance, but more importantly, as part of our commitment to meeting the learning needs of the child.
It is critical to note that the Heritage Language Surveys (or any other form of registration questioning) is limited in its capacity. That is, no information obtained through school enrollment can be used to evaluate, comment or report on legal immigration status. Federal law strictly protects the rights of all children who are present in the U.S. to attend public school; and it conversely restricts school personnel from any inquiry or interference in legal immigration issues.
I always suggest that schools walk through a HLS “Think Tank” , whether they are starting from scratch to build a questionnaire or have an existing process in place. Here are some of those Think Tank prompts:
What is the schools’ defined purpose for the Heritage Language Survey? (In other words, how and why is the survey meaningful to students and parents?)
Where on campus will the survey be completed?
How is a sense of welcoming and belonging achieved during this process?
Is the assessment culturally responsive? how do we know?
Who at your school will administer the Heritage Language Survey? What is their level of training/expertise to do so?
Who at your school will evaluate the HLS responses? What is their level of training/expertise to do so?
In which languages are print copies of the HLS made available?
In which languages can the HLS be verbally translated/communicated?
Is the language concise and clear?
Are families informed that information is confidential and cannot be used for any outside purpose (including immigration status)?
If a student is highlighted as potentially eligible for English Support Services services, what is the next-step process?
How is Emergent Multilingual (EM) testing and placement information recorded and stored?
How often are student HLS documents revisited/ re-requested?
Finally, let’s explore an HLS example. You’ll find that the first page can be used as a ready-to-roll version, or as a baseline for creating a site-specific version. The template is exactly as we have described, with essential questions for determining potential language services eligibility. That’s it. That’s all you need.
However, you may find it useful to collect additional data. In that case, the additional pages of the survey will provide ideas with regard to collecting additional data and insights about the student and his or her family. Additional data collection is optional for the school, depending on your school’s needs and program goals. It is ideal to have as much information about a student’s specific background and needs at the time of enrollment. The HLS addendum serves this purpose.
Note that if you do choose to ask for additional data, caretakers are not obligated to provide it. If families choose to exercise their right to withhold data, this decision cannot affect child enrollment in any way. In any case, consistency is key. Make it a goal to have 100% incoming family participation in completing the questionnaire.
Title III Back-to School with Multilinguals: Intro to Series
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you are doing.”
These are the words of American engineer and statistician W. Edwards Deming. I often carry them with me into my work as an educational practitioner.
When it comes to enrolling potential multilingual learners (and determining who might qualify for English-specific support services), a clear process is critical. After all, clarity and consistency create calm. Not to mention, they help ensure that we’re achieving legal compliance.
Intake protocol will vary by district, and sometimes by school, too. Your procedures should make sense for your organization. It is also imperative that they take into careful account national, state and district expectations for student enrollment, registration and ELL placement. But the nuts-and-bolts of these procedures are non-negotiable. They’re clearly outlined by the federal government and further detailed by the Office of Civil Rights.
Each time I work with schools in creating these documents, we begin by examining current intake procedures. I generally start with the one big open-ended curiosity: What does the enrollment process for potential multilinguals look like?
Responses are solicited from various stakeholders: front office staff, ELD leads, classroom teachers, and principals. More often than not, most folks have a whole lot of trouble describing this process.
Think for a moment on your organization (we’re not calling ya’ll out here, just pointing out opportunities for better serving kids!). Who can clearly map out this process? Can team members answer, for example:
Who are the first school personnel that potential students and their family members see when they walk in the door?
Exactly how is registration handled?
What about secondary processes for probable ELLs?
How consistent are these procedures?
Who is aware that they exist?
Where is registration information stored?
What types of translation services are available to families?
Who checks (and re-checks) files for accuracy?
Asking questions and evaluating responses alongside school administrators always reveals a few surprises- and a lot of loopholes. In this space, we have room and perspective to analyze what works and what doesn’t, what to keep and what to toss (outside of compliance-regulated components, of course). We are also able to determine critical missing links (communication and clarity usually take the top spots), and get to work filling those holes in purposeful, directed ways. The focus is on simplicity- creating a process that can be easily explained by any key stakeholder at the school.
We’ll begin with a look at the Home Language Survey (HLS). Continue on to our next article to learn more!
Teaching through Ramadan: Supporting our Muslim Students
Ramadan Mubarak! رمضان كريم
We’re in the season of Ramadan, which this year lasts from April 12 to May 12. (Updated 2024 dates: Sun, Mar 10 – Tue, Apr 9). This is the time of the year when many Muslims fast (or abstain from food and drink) from sunrise to sunset. It’s a time of both daily sacrifice and celebration. The holiday culminates in Eid, a several-day festival of food, gifts, and togetherness.
What is the Purpose of Ramadan?
Ramadan is a Muslim holiday. Islam, directly translated, means “peace”. Ramadan, which occurs during the ninth month of the lunar calendar, is a reflection of this. It is a period of introspection, prayer, self-improvement, and community.
Muslims believe that activities like fasting and zakat (charity and generosity) encourage self-discipline, gratitude, and empathy. Practicing these are qualities during Ramadan (and throughout the year) is said to strengthen one’s spiritual connection to God, or Allah (SWT). It is believed that the Qur’an was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) during the last ten days of Ramadan.
Who takes part in Ramadan?
Most Muslims celebrate the month of Ramadan, but not all participate in fasting. Those who are very young, elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding, menstruating, or have health conditions, might not fast. Some who do not fast during Ramadan may choose to recover missed days later in the year.
What does a day of Ramadan look like?
Suhoor begins a typical day during the month of Ramadan. This meal takes place before dawn, usually between 2-4 am, and is followed by morning prayers, or Fajr. If a person is fasting, they will probably return to sleep. Fasting has now begun, so the person will try to refrain from food or water until the Maghrib prayer at sunset.
Then, family and friends gather for Iftar. This is a celebratory meal that usually begins with the eating of dates to break the fast, followed by traditional dishes (and often in abundance!). Some families stay up late into the evenings celebrating, socializing, praying, or reading from the Qur’an.
Eid-al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. Morning prayer is followed by two or three days of communal celebration. During the time of Eid, families may decorate their homes with lanterns or lights, host elaborate meals, give and receive gifts, or attend street festivals dedicated to the occasion. It is an occasion of joy, gratitude, togetherness, eating, and giving.
How can I acknowledge and support my Ramadan-observing students?
Self-educate. Muslim students should not be expected to teach others about their faith, practices, or traditions. Do not assume that a Muslim student wishes to share about these experiences or explain a decision to (or not to) fast. By taking the time to learn more about the month of Ramadan and the folks who take part in it, we can identify points of connection and better anticipate students’ needs.
Avoid assumptions. Keep in mind that Islam, like any religion, is widely interpreted and experienced. Muslim families and individuals may enjoy varied traditions- including the degree to which they practice aspects of their deen, or faith. Talking to students or families privately about how to best support them can increase feelings of comfort and belonging.
Consider scheduling. Fasting from food and water can be tough on students. It can impact energy levels, concentration, and mood. Many students will wake in the hour before sunrise to eat and pray, so sleeping may be interrupted, too.
When planning for participation-heavy content, cooperative engagement, and deep-level thinking, try aiming for the morning, when energy and concentration are likely to be higher. Nagla Badir, writing for Teaching While Muslim, recommends having online assignments due late at night, so that students can complete them after they’ve had a chance to have dinner. This is also an opportunity to think carefully about the timing of calendar events like a band performance or prom, which can share time spaces with Iftar or Eid.
Badir also shares this calendar, where you can look up prayer times for students in your area!
Create safe spaces. For many observers, the period of Ramadan is a time of increased prayer, which occurs during specific windows of the day. Students who may have originated from countries or communities with high Muslim populations would have this time built into their school day. Of course, this is not often the case in U.S. schools, where many of the staff may not even be aware of this need. Having a space set aside (or two spaces, one for males and one for females) can help ensure that these students are seen and valued at school.
Muslim students who, for health or personal reasons, are not fasting during Ramadan may also benefit from a separate space during eating times. These individuals may face uncomfortable pressure or questioning as to why they are not fasting; having a safe location to go to can ease this stress.
Boost Socio-Emotional Learning. Ramadan is a time of family, friends, and community. Often, our observing students are physically distant from family members and/or feel that their holiday isn’t shared with others in the school or locality. This may be especially true for our Recent Arriver newcomers.
At school (whether in person or remote) we can be intentional about incorporating opportunities to learn and practice SEL skills- especially those that include elements of self-awareness, grounding, and collaboration. This important step can help diminish feelings of isolation and support students’ mental and emotional well-being during the period of Ramadan and beyond.
Engage through children’s books. Muslim and Muslim-American literature can be incredibly powerful in facilitating “door and window” experiences for Muslim students in the classroom. There’s an added benefit, too- books can engage non-Muslim students in ways that invite connection, empathy, and tolerance. We’ll visit some of these titles in an upcoming post. In the meantime, start here, at I’m Your Neighbor Books (I’d recommend sticking around to check out this super valuable sight!).
Where can I learn more?
Great question! Here are some of my favorite sites. Have more to add? Please do share them below!
Teaching While Muslim https://www.teachingwhilemuslim.org/
Hijabi Librarians https://hijabilibrarians.com/
ING- Ramadan Information Sheet https://ing.org/ramadan-information-sheet/
Learning For Justice: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/teaching-about-ramadan-and-eid
Muslim Students Association National https://www.msanational.org/resources
With increased awareness- and with some tools in our toolboxes, we can be better prepared to support our Muslim students throughout this beautiful month and beyond, Inshallah!
Ramadan Mubarak, friends. Wishing you all you, peace, and abundance! لويز اليعفوري
Crossing Cultural Thresholds- Engaging EL Caretakers in the Trauma-Aware Conversation
Let’s look to tools and strategies that facilitate re-directive capacities and champion long-term moves toward resiliency. We’ll spend a bit of extra time focused on our Recent Arriver Emergent Lingual (RAEL) students. In this space, we’ll highlight EL parents and families as critical stakeholders in students’ trauma restoration processes.
Trauma-informed pedagogy relies upon, in part, the explicit teaching and modeling of regulatory and prosocial behaviors. Eventually, these strategies can be holistically embedded into children’s everyday school (and life) experiences. In the context of RAEL populations, this also means bridging cultural norms and expectations around mental wellbeing. As learning places, this requires a concentrated shift toward integrating diverse cultural value systems into our trauma-sensitive practice.
The National Council for Behavioral Health names two dimensions of sustainability in trauma-informed programming:
1. Making changes, gains, and accomplishments stick
2. Keeping the momentum moving forward for continuous quality improvement.
So, how can we best support these two dimensions? A sustainable path toward resilience requires us, as practitioners, to monitor students’ success and adapt our instructional cues as needed. Fortunately, we already recognize this as a best practices approach across all grade levels, content areas and language domains. We are experts at checking in on our students and personalizing the learning experience based upon individual strengths and needs. The same tenets apply to the processes of transition shock, including trauma.
Shifts are required in the broader educational landscape, too. Sustainability requires honest conversations about our organization’s infrastructure, including leadership, policies, and procedures as they ignite or diffuse underlying transition shock. It demands moving away from punitive practices and toward restorative solution seeking. Sustainability relies upon the collection and analysis of data in order to determine if our trauma-informed programming is effective and equitable. It means that all team members are equipped with tools for understanding and addressing student trauma, and that educators are widely supported in recognizing and managing the secondary stress that may arise through our work with trauma-impacted youth.
Essentially, we are charged with ensuring that the strategies we introduce are good fits for individual students. A good fit means that they are not re-triggering and are both culturally responsive and language adaptive. A good fit means that learners are empowered to experiment with mitigation strategies in their toolboxes, to fail forward in a safe space, to reevaluate without self-admonishment, and to try again.
Involving Caretakers as Critical Stakeholders
If we are to truly address transition shock (including trauma) in our learning spaces, then we must also become active in engineering webs of support around our students- in this case, we’re speaking specifically about our RAELs. Here, we’ll concentrate on arguably the most critical stakeholder group of all- the parents and caretakers of our Emergent Linguals.
In communicating with culturally and linguistically dynamic caretaker groups about transition shock, it’s important to first identify our guiding principles. How do we cross cultural thresholds to build authentic partnerships?
As with our students, safety and trust are paramount. Cultivate these properties as we would in the classroom- practice welcoming, routine, predictability, and transparency.
Be cognizant of biases around mental health and trauma. Name observed behaviors and avoid labeling.
Reduce isolation by connecting families to appropriate resources, as well as to families with socio-cultural commonalities.
Strive to meet with parents in person and, if needed, arrange for a trained translator wherever possible. Avoid using children as conversational brokers.
Talk to parents about the link between students’ school performance and socio-mental health. Use direct and clear language.
Remember that mental health terms may be unfamiliar, unmeaningful, or untranslatable for Recent Arriver parents. Translate these terms ahead of time if possible, and provide visual cues where appropriate.
Honor socio-cultural perspectives when advocating for student care.
Champion wrap-around supports and refer students for advanced care in a timely manner.
Sustainability is enhanced when students’ home and cultural values show up in the school space. Highlighting the voices of our RAELs’ caretakers can simultaneously bolster our culturally responsive efforts and temper student anxiety. Meanwhile, opening doors to culturally responsive communication around trauma-sensitive topics builds trust and enables a collaborative approach to long-term restoration.
Inquiry-Based Learning with ELLs
Teachers who aim to engage English learners in inquiry-based learning often feel overwhelmed at the idea of merging two seemingly separate bands of learning. However, upon closer examination, there is a significant overlap in best-practices facilitation of English Language Development (ELD) and student-led discovery. In fact, language acquisition and inquisition do not need to be exclusive- they can (and should!) work in tandem to support one other. Moreover, this can be achieved without dramatic increases in time, resources or teacher planning.
Let’s begin by identifying the six stages of inquiry: planning, retrieving, processing, creating, sharing, and evaluating. Within each stage, we’ll explore possible implications for ELLs and outline ideas for inclusive implementation.
Planning
Planning creates the foundation for the entire process of inquiry. It begins with the students, as they learn to recognize their own interests and question their own curiosities. For English learners, effective participation in the planning process also means navigating conversational, academic, and content-specific vocabulary. It also requires an ability to navigate strategic or organizational skill sets, and these may be working concepts for students with limited or interrupted education.
Engage ELLs: Utilize graphic organizers and tech tools to assist brainstorming and planning. Provide meaningful conversation prompts. Employ vision boards, interactive word walls, or similar visual cues. Provide opportunities to talk through ideas using cooperative structures.
Retrieving
To move forward in discovery, students must actively pursue information that is relevant to their inquisition. For new-to-English learners, this process can be hyper-stimulating and may overwhelm the student’s capacity to self-direct. Often, the teacher's response is to jump in, influencing the inquiry process with his or her own thoughts and diminishing the student’s opportunities for agency. Shifting this responsibility back to the student requires that we explicitly prepare ELLs to successfully retrieve information. We facilitate this process by lowering affective filters and establishing reliable processing routines.
Engage ELLs: Clearly explain and demonstrate the process of information retrieval. Explicitly teach and model self-directing strategies. Limit the amount of information a student has access to in the early stages (for example, encourage students to select ONE print, ONE online and ONE video source). Create opportunities for small group discovery and exchange.
Processing
The processing component of the inquiry phase calls upon learners to focus ideas and information into a central topic for investigation. Alberta Education writes, “Coming to a focus can be very difficult for students, as it involves more than just narrowing the topic; it involves coming to an authentic question, a personal perspective or a compelling thesis statement.” This aim can be especially challenging for ELLs, who are already juggling conversational English and content vocabulary- and who must now navigate and employ the language of inquiry. Additionally, students may encounter cultural implications tied to sorting, organizing and condensing the information into a central theme.
Engage ELLs: Employ graphic organizers to narrow down a topic. Allow for multi-modal processing, including kinesthetic and/or experiential learning, community interviews, and small group work. Recognize culturally variant patterns in sorting/organizing and support culturally responsive means to an end.
Creating
The creating phase begins the active second half of the inquiry process. In this stage, learners begin to build momentum and confidence in their quest for discovery. The creating phase is threefold:
● Identifying and arranging relevant pieces of information
● Determining a presentation format that highlights the targeted inquiry
● Crafting written and oral expressions of ideas, questions, and concepts
English learners are likely to benefit from precise supports and scaffolds in this process, specifically in the domains of reading and writing. Laying the essential groundwork at the beginning of this process enables students to self-guide with efficacy- and also significantly reduces teacher workload.
Engage ELLs: Establish clear systems, protocols, expectations and performance rubrics. Employ kinesthetic and/or tech-based storyboard. Offer a wide range of presentation options, including culturally responsive means of expression. Explicitly support students in the areas of speaking and writing.
Sharing
School-based inquiry culminates in the sharing of findings, conclusions, and thoughts on the process of discovery. Multi-modal sharing of outcomes is encouraged; presentations may take any number of sensory-engaging forms. Regardless of the format, presenters and audience members must turn to language as the conduit for information transfer. In this context, speaking and listening domains are emphasized.
Engage ELLs: Support learners with rubrics for speaking and listening. Provide opportunities to restate/summarize/paraphrase the presented material. Refer to anchor charts, interactive word walls, and other content language resources. Clarify information as needed. Allow for a variety of ways to demonstrate comprehension, both as a presenter and audience member.
The six stages of the inquiry process are tied together by reflection.
Reflection is a metacognitive property that can be employed as a useful learning tool. In most cases, reflective thinking must be explicitly taught and modeled- at least in the initial stages of application. It is helpful to enact a standard process and predictable language bank for reflection. In this way, we can invite students to reflect at the culmination of each stage. Eventually, learners can apply these skills in sustained ways as they consider strategy and outcomes throughout the entire inquiry process.
If we look closely enough, the relationship between inquisition and language acquisition becomes evident. With a few thoughtful considerations, we can successfully plan for engaging, language supported discovery. We can champion inquiry-based efficacy and 21st-century success for all new-to-English learners.