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January 12, 2021
Apply for the 2021 NAM Grant

The Native American and Alaska Native Children in School (NAM) discretionary grant competition is now open. If interested, please email NAM2021@ed.gov with your Notice of Intent to Apply by February 15, 2021. Applications are due by March 3, 2021. View the notice inviting applicants or visit the Office of English Language Acquisition’s (OELA) website for more information.
Strategic Mentoring for English Learner (EL) Teachers

January is National Mentoring Month! Check out this resource from Language Magazine that explores how mentor training for new teachers improves EL outcomes.
Ensuring Continuity of Learning and Information
Check out our continuously updated Resources. These resources are intended for school personnel and institutions of higher education to improve distance learning and the support of ELs and their families during school closures.
NCELA Resource Library
Visit our database of 20,000+ resources.
Biennial Report Presents Data on
ELs Served by Title III from 2014–2016
The Biennial Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Title III State Formula Grant Program, School Years 2014–2016 has just been released by OELA. The report presents self-reported data from state education agencies from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico on ELs served by Title III funds. 

Announcements
Just Published: Profile of ELs in the United States
More than 5 million ELs were enrolled in U.S. schools in grades K–12 during school year 2017–18 according to OELA’s latest fact sheet, Profile of English Learners in the United States. The fact sheet also highlights data on increases and decreases in EL student enrollment by state as well as proficiency assessment results for English language, math, reading/language arts, and science. 
Register Now: NAM Grant Pre-Application Webinar
OELA is hosting a pre-application webinar on January 28, 2021, from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. for the 2021 NAM program grant competition. This webinar will assist applicants with the process of preparing NAM application packages. The webinar will be recorded, and the slides and recording will be posted to OELA’s website.

Coming Soon: NAM Showcase Webinar
OELA has partnered with three NAM grant recipients to highlight successful Native language and EL projects. Join moderators from OELA and NAM project directors on February 4, 2021 at 2:00 pm ET for Successful Native Education Projects: Stories from NAM Project Directors. In this webinar, NAM Project Directors will share their 5-year journey in cultivating successful NAM projects. As prospective FY21 NAM competition applicants prepare to submit grant applications, this webinar will provide concrete examples of successful grant applications. 

Upcoming Events
Keep Indiana Learning is hosting this session featuring English teacher and author Lindsey Acton on trauma experienced by teachers both inside and outside the classroom.
January 27, 2021
Virtual Session
The Parent Camp experience is defined as the hybrid “unconference” for parents by parents to come together and discuss what is best for kids. Bring your family, school, and community together to discuss different topics selected by parents on Wednesday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
Join the Center for Applied Linguistics for a 2-day virtual institute providing proven strategies and practical resources that attendees can immediately use to create a welcoming environment for newcomer students and facilitate their learning.
Through an engaging online platform, join a global community of English language professionals to build your professional English language teaching network; learn from and interact with thought-provoking keynote speakers; gather research, strategies, and best practices from experts in the field; and visit the Virtual Expo for information on the newest English language teaching products and services.​
April 27-29, 2021
Hybrid Conference
The NABE conference will be structured as a 2-day hybrid conference with a Pre-Conference on April 27 and the Conference on April 28–29. The theme is “Honoring the Past, Treasuring the Present, and Shaping the Future.”

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In the News
dcist
The Prince George’s County Public School district has recently experienced an influx of students who have come to the U.S. as unaccompanied minors from Central America. In most cases, these students are fleeing violence in their native countries and have experienced significant psychological and sometimes physical trauma. This district is finding ways of welcoming and supporting this population of students. Among strategies that the district is employing are creating a welcoming environment at schools, providing counseling services for students and their families, implementing “Newcomer” courses where students who are new to the country can begin learning English, and providing professional development for general educators on how to support newcomer students in their schools and classrooms. 
WPRI.com
This article examines the classification of the speakers of various indigenous languages as ELs. It brings up some of the challenges that Native American and other indigenous populations of ELs experience in the acquisition of academic English and retention of their native languages. The article also discusses the history of indigenous language and culture suppression and outlines the current language revitalization efforts. 
WBEZ
With the switch to remote learning last spring, many of Chicago Public Schools’ Hispanic ELs and their families continue to struggle with the use of technology for remote instruction. While the district has provided many families with devices and Internet connection, family members are often unable to help their children with their technology needs because of language barriers. Due to such obstacles, some of the district’s educators have taken it upon themselves to provide technology and language assistance to Hispanic EL families, making phone calls and coming to their homes to offer support.
The Sacramento Observer
Schools pivoting to remote learning during the pandemic raise issues of inequity for students of color, including ELs. Citing their reduced opportunities for oral language practice and for receiving assistance with technology, the former director of OELA advocates for educational authorities to prioritize EL needs and to increase family outreach to mitigate these and other challenges facing vulnerable student populations.
The School Community Journal
This article shares how teachers working toward their English as a Second Language endorsement increased EL family engagement in their classrooms. The article presents a continuum of family involvement in school-to-family engagement with learning, arguing that the latter provides families with more agency in this process. Using multiple examples of activities implemented by the teachers, the article provides recommendations to maximize EL family engagement at the class and school level.
WIDA
In December 2020, WIDA presented its new edition of the English Language Development Standards framework, which is the product of collaboration with educators from around the world. The new edition enhances prior ideas and concepts by providing an updated Guiding Principles of Language Development, four Big Ideas supporting the design of student-centered and culturally and linguistically sustaining practices, a robust English Language Development Standards Framework, and Grade-Level Cluster materials. The resource can be downloaded at wida.wisc.edu.
Professional Learning
NABE has extended the application for this award that recognizes the efforts that bilingual classroom teachers make on behalf of ELLs. The winner of this annual competition will receive a $500.00 scholarship to further his or her education or to use for the benefit of ELLs.
Registration is now open for CARLA’s wide range of institutes targeted at foreign/world language, English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language, heritage language, and immersion educators from a variety of teaching levels and contexts. All of the 2021 CARLA Summer Institutes will be taught online in either an asynchronous or synchronous format. 
OELA announces a call for peer reviewers for the 2021 NAM program grant competition. The deadline to submit resumes for consideration is February 26, 2021. The purpose of the NAM program is to award grants to eligible entities to develop and enhance capacity to provide effective instruction and support to Native American students who are identified as ELs. The goal of this program is to support the teaching, learning, and studying of Native American languages, while also increasing the English language proficiency of students served. Questions? Please email NAM2021@ed.gov.
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is currently accepting proposals for grants up to $35,000 to support innovative research conferences in the field of education research. Applications must be submitted through the AERA online application portal. If you have questions about the Education Research Conferences Program, email edresearchconference@aera.net.
Job Opportunities
Manhattan Strategy Group
Bethesda, MD
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