Professional Development

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Language and Culture Bulletin series
Teaching ELLs: Best Practices
Various Presenters

This workshop series will address topics of teaching and learning to English Language Learners (ELLs) that relate to the classroom strengths and experiences of Portland and other area ELL teachers.  The emphasis is on the resources and experiences of our very experienced Portland Schools staff in their work with ELLs that can be of great benefit to all staff in the district.  All workshops will be held at The Multilingual and Multicultural Center.  Each workshop will be advertised two weeks before delivered; sign up is electronically through Suzanne Hardy at the Educational Planning Office.

A Sabbatical Journey: Implications for Teaching ELLs
Tom Talarico, ELL teacher at PHS, will share implications of his recent sabbatical experience of learning Spanish in an intensive context at Middlebury College.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007.

Teaching to Minimally Schooled Adolescent Learners
Tambria Alexander, newcomer high school teacher, will apply what she has learned from teaching literacy to refugee students who have had minimal or severely interrupted schooling.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007.

Lessons Learned About Curriculum Delivery
Celebrated multicultural book author Margy Burns Knight will share her experiences about the “what”and “how” of delivering culturally appropriate content to all students.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007.

Lessons Learned from Teaching in the Mainstream to Teaching ELLs
Jane Jameson, ELL teacher at Riverton Elementary, will engage her audience in exploring the important differences in teaching in the ELL classroom as opposed to mainstream classroom.
Monday, January 14, 2008.

The What, How, and Why of READ 180
JoAnn Galli, ELL teacher at Lincoln Middle School, will discuss her experiences with Scholastic’s READ 180 Program in improving the reading comprehension and fluency of ELLs. 
Monday, February 11, 2008.

Teaching to the Youngest: Aspects of Delivery Instruction to PreK and Early Elementary ELLs
Rebecca Beal, mainstream kindergarten teacher at Presumpscot Elementary, will facilitate a discussion on her extensive experience working with preK ELLs. 
Tuesday, March 18, 2008.

Issues of Assessment in Teaching ELL
Clara Jean Howard, Moore Middle School Teacher, will share her experiences in evaluating and assessing ELLs across the content areas.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008.