Assisting, Collaborating, and Training ESL Content Teachers (ACT-ESL)

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Assisting, Collaborating, and Training ESL
Content Teachers (ACT-ESL)
Hosted by VCU School of Education and funded by
the U.S. Department of Education
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• What is the ACT-ESL project?

• The ACT-ESL Project at VCU is designed to train
  content-area teachers in methods which promote
  ELLs academic engagement and success.

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• ACT-ESL Teacher Participants

• 2008-2009 56 teachers
• 2009-2010 55 teachers
• 2010-2011 60 a
• 2011-2012 60 a

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• The ACT-ESL training cycle

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• Topics of the Summer Institute

• Sheltered Instruction (SIOP)
• Language analysis of content and adjustment
• Cultural understanding of teaching and learning
• Variables of ELLs academic success
• Content area reading
• Assessment

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• Benefits to you as teachers

• Instructional strategies and resources to help
  your students, particularly ELLs and
  low-achieving students.
• Professional development points
• Stipend(24 x 34 hrs. 816).
• Professional development opportunities such as
  presentations at local, state, and national
  levels. (Travel expense honorarium)
• Scholarships ( 300 each)

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• ELL Student SOL Scores at a HS

NON trained teachers NON trained teachers NON trained teachers ACT-ESL trained teachers (n13) ACT-ESL trained teachers (n13) ACT-ESL trained teachers (n13)
Subject Number of Students Mean SD Number of Students Mean SD
SS 26 429.88 44.15 74 464.20 50.51
Science 96 0
English 41 424.56 40.16 1 449.00
Math 104 419.73 43.04 30 439.27 29.52

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• ELL Student SOL Scores at a MS

NON-trained teachers NON-trained teachers NON-trained teachers ACT-ESL trained teachers (n7) ACT-ESL trained teachers (n7) ACT-ESL trained teachers (n7)
Subject Number of students Mean SD Number of Students Mean SD
SS 59 438.78 77.74 6 432.83 59.42
Science 21 412.38 38.9 10 437.70 61.79
English 118 429.22 59.61 11 444.27 44.11
Math 140 443.36 81.17 21 447.52 85.2

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• Commendation from the VDOE to Chesterfield County

In a letter from the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Patricia Wright, to CCPS
superintendent, Dr. Newsome The VDOE is
pleased to recognize Chesterfield County Public
Schools as exceeding the LEP AMAOs for the
2009-10 school year based on Standards of
Learning (SOL) assessments and English language
proficiency LEP assessments administered during
the 2009 school year. Congratulations on your
exceptional progress on behalf of the LEP
students in your division.
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• Are you eligible for the ACT-ESL project?

• You are an endorsed teacher in math, science,
  social studies, or English/language arts.
• You will be teaching a credit-bearing course in
  your endorsed area with (an) ELL student (s).
• You are available for the summer institute,
  follow-up classroom applications, and a
  post-seminar.

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• Are you available for these Summer Institute
  dates?

June 21-25, 2010 at VCU All teachers (Math,
Science, English/Language Arts, Social Studies)
Lunch will be provided to the participants
of summer institute.
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• Comments from past participants
• Most valuable topics for me

• cultural factors influencing learning how to
  adapt lessons for ESL students
• better use of academic language in the
  classrooms- ways this can be accomplished
• methods and reasons to adapt instruction,
  activities, and the like in my classrooms
• to incorporate (deliberately) language
  instruction into content instruction
• SIOP lesson planning
• I learned how to teach more effectively, not
  just to ELLs but to all students.

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The goal of ACT-ESL is to help and support you as
you advance your students!Supporting teachers,
helping studentsbecause all students matter!
Please contact us at actesl_at_vcu.edu 804-827-2616
http//www.actesl.vcu.edu