Heartland AEA and associated partners will be offering some great ESL opportunities this year. Take a moment to read more about them and some useful information.
Iowa Culture and Language Conference (ICLC)
We communicated in a previous Administrator Connection about the Iowa Culture and Language Conference (ICLC). This week, we have more details on how your district can receive Title III reimbursement to attend the conference. The ICLC will be held in Coralville, Iowa at the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Pre-conference sessions will be on November 1, 2010, with conference sessions on November 2-3, 2010.
All the information you need to register can be found on the Northwest AEA website, http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/upcoming_events/iowa_culture_language_conference/
Title III will pay for the registration, sub pay for the conference and offer a small mini-grant to help defray travel costs. There are a few stipulations, however, whicha are the following:
• Districts with 75 ESL students or more may send 10 participants under Title III funding at the early bird rate of $125 (offered until September 15). Districts with fewer than 75 may send 5 participants. Of course, your district may send as many participants as wanted, however, Title III won’t be able to cover funding for more than the allotted slots.
• Title III will provide a mini-grant to help pay for travel expenses. Districts with 75 ESL students or more qualify for a $200mini-grant. Districts with fewer than 75 ESL students qualify for a min-grant of $100. Districts do not need to apply for this mini-grant, it will automatically be noted on the reimbursement claim form.
• Pre-conference registration is limited. Title III will fund a total of 40 participants (no more than four per district) until the 40 slots are filled using Title III funds. Again, districts may send as many participants as they would like without Title III funding support.
• Claim forms for district reimbursement will be sent to one district administrator after the conference. Reimbursement will be made only to the district, not to individual participants.
• Participants will not need to sign in at the conference as in the past, however, administrators will need to list all participants from their district on the reimbursement claim form. For the district to receive reimbursement, participants must attend the entire pre-conference day and/or both conference days in which they are registered. Please note the beginning and ending times, if you cannot stay until the last session is over each day, you do not qualify for Title III support.
ESL Advisory/Networking Meetings
We have scheduled four ESL Advisory/Networking Meetings again this year. We hope that every district will have at least one representative present at each of the meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity to hear the latest in workshop offerings, policy changes and ESL news, as well as giving participants a chance to find out what is happening in other districts. Dates for this year are the following:
September 14, 2010, in Room 18 of the Johnston Regional Education Center
December 7, 2010 in Room 14 of the Johnston Regional Education Center
February 22, 2011 in Room 3 & 4 of the Johnston Regional Education Center
May 10, 2011 in Room 3 & 4 of the Johnston Regional Education Center
Other Announcements
Several schools have asked about ordering the IPT for screening purposes. As stated in a letter from Kevin Fangman last spring, Title III can no longer pay for or provide these required assessments. Each school district will need to order and maintain a supply of this test. The IPT can be ordered from Ballard & Tighe, www.ballard-tighe.com or (800) 321-4332.
Many schools have asked about purchasing a computer program for use with their ELLs. Even though we do not advocate putting an ESL student in front of a computer instead of direct instruction, there is a great program for enrichment and reinforcement, Rosetta Stone, which is available through the Iowa Educators consortium (IEC). More information about the Rosetta Stone purchasing opportunity is available further down this week’s Administrator Connection.
Thank you for taking the time to read this very lengthy note. Please feel free to pass this information on to others in your district. We hope you will be able to take advantage of some, it not all, we have to offer. We look forward to working with you and your district during the upcoming school year.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Stephaney Jones-Vo at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14680 or Pat Latham at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14681.
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