Multilingual Monthly: March 2023

In this Issue

Upcoming Live Events for NYC Public School Staff

Opportunity to Attend Multilingual and Immigrant Family and Community Conference

New Resources on High-Quality Bilingual Education Programs

Order NYC Comprehensive World Language Exams and Second Language Proficiency exams

Upcoming Live Events for NYC Public School Staff

Review our events below or explore our SharePoint calendar!

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

March 21, April 25, and/or May 23:Culturally Responsive Family Engagement Series – with African Communities Together (registration form)
- March 21: Cultural Competency and Language Access
- April 25: Engaging African English Language Learners
- May 23: Social-Emotional Learning for African Immigrant Students

INSTRUCTION

English as a New Language
- March 24, March 31, and April 20: Multilingual Learner Working Group: Developing Our Collective Understandings and Exploring Meaningful Resources for Teachers of MLs (Cohort 2) (registration form)
World Languages
- March 22, April 18, and May 10: World Language Wednesdays (overview and registration form)

Opportunity to Attend Multilingual and Immigrant Family and Community Conference

The Division of Multilingual Learners (DML), in collaboration with community-based organizations, advocates, and education leaders, invites you and your school to a three-day multilingual family conference for students, families, and school-based staff from Thursday, April 27 ⁠–Saturday, April 29. The April 27 and April 28 workshops will be hosted via zoom; the April 29 workshops will be in-person at the Intrepid Museum. The workshops will provide resources and activities to promote multilingualism and advocacy through various workshops and activities.

Backpack home this translated flyer with families and share it with your staff so they can learn more about the conference and register to attend by April 18. Continuing Teaching and Learning Education (CTLE) credit hours will be provided to teachers who attend. For questions, email DML@schools.nyc.gov.

Culturally Responsive Family Engagement Workshop Series

DML, in partnership with African Communities Together is hosting a three-part professional learning series on Culturally Responsive Family Engagement for Multilingual and immigrant families. Each session will take place from 2:00–3:30 pm; interested participants should register for the series by March 21.

Home Language Instructional Resource

Check out the Home Language Use in Diverse Classroom Settings resource and explore the many approaches for purposeful home language use in all grades and contents. By providing space in the classroom for students’ home languages, teachers can help multilingual learners to understand the content, build confidence in their skills, and validate their cultural and linguistic identities and experiences.

Order NYC Comprehensive World Language Exams and Second Language Proficiency exams

As outlined in the March 14 Principal’s Digest, the ordering period is open for the NYC Second Language Proficiency (SLP) and Comprehensive World Language Exams (formerly LOTE) until April 5. Middle schools should design their world languages or bilingual program to culminate in the locally developed SLP exam when and where possible to provide students access to advanced language coursework and a pathway towards the New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB). See the World Languages FAQ for more information on how your students can earn high school credit in middle school.

In addition, the Comprehensive World Language exams in American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, and Spanish are approved as +1 pathway exams, which provide equity and access to graduation for MLs/ELLs. Some students may need to complete six credits of world languages to be prepared for the exam, while others (for example, native or heritage speakers) may need to complete fewer or possibly no credits to be prepared for the exam. Students are not required to complete coursework to attempt these exams. Schools should determine whether MLs/ELLs have acquired the proficiency necessary to be successful on the exam. See the 4+1 FAQ for more details about the World Languages exam as a +1 option.

2023 School Survey

Every year, NYC Public Schools asks all families, teachers, and staff in grades 3-K through 12, and students in grades 6-12 to take the NYC School Survey. The administration window for this year’s 2023 NYC School Survey for all families, teachers, students in grades 6–12, and select support staff is now open, through March 31. All respondents can access the survey by visiting this webpage. Your school’s survey coordinator should distribute the surveys and access codes to families, students, support staff, and teachers and encourage them to complete the survey. Families can also access the survey by logging into their NYC Schools Account (NYCSA). For additional information and resources on survey administration, see the NYC School Survey InfoHub page. For questions, email surveys@schools.nyc.gov.

Bookmark our Resource Sites!

SharePoint site

How to Access it: You can find our SharePoint by clicking this link, or by navigating to the SharePoint application in your browser and searching for Multilingual Learners. You can also sign up for email alerts. Visit this SharePoint page to learn how!

You can find relevant resources to support newly arrived multilingual learners/English language learners (MLs/ELLs) and immigrant students, including newcomer ELLs, on this page on the Multilingual Learners SharePoint. You can also share these resources using this InfoHub document. You are invited to bookmark the page and refer to it periodically to access newly added resources and opportunities.

Standalone English as a New Language (ENL): In TeachHub, select the “ENL Standalone” tile under “Educator Resources” on the K-12, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, or DOE Created tabs. Add this tile to the favorites section of your TeachHub home page by clicking on the heart.
- PDF versions of all Middle School and High School units are available for your convenience to display or print. Find them on TeachHub!
World Languages: In TeachHub, select the Middle or High School Google Drive, then the Spanish folder. For guidance on these lessons, please see the Introduction to Lesson Sequences for World Language Teachers and NYC World Languages video library.
Home Language Arts/Spanish Grades K-5: In TeachHub, select the Elementary Google Drive, the grade, and then HLA. Twenty new lessons have been added for Unit 1.

View instructional videos to support multilingual learners and English language learners across content areas. Teacher- and student-facing videos are available to bring classroom lessons to life.

Multilingual Monthly: March 2023