{"id":513,"date":"2018-07-02T14:29:07","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T14:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wptest.mdek12.org\/testsite2\/2018\/07\/02\/mde-helps-educators-meet-the-needs-of-growing-number-of-english-learners\/"},"modified":"2018-07-02T14:29:07","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T14:29:07","slug":"mde-helps-educators-meet-the-needs-of-growing-number-of-english-learners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/2018\/07\/02\/mde-helps-educators-meet-the-needs-of-growing-number-of-english-learners\/","title":{"rendered":"MDE Helps Educators Meet the Needs of Growing Number of English Learners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">NEWS RELEASE<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">For Immediate Release: July 2, 2018<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">JACKSON, Miss \u2013 In response the growing population of English learners in Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) recently published a comprehensive guide to help educators meet the needs of Mississippi\u2019s English learner students. <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">The guide, <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"\/sites\/default\/files\/Offices\/MDE\/OAE\/OEER\/EL\/EL%20Guidance%2C%20Funding%2C%20and%20Instructional%20Supports_combinedAug2018.pdf\">Mississippi English Learner Guidelines: Regulations, Funding Guidance and Instructional Supports<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">, provides teaching resources and practical approaches to managing the day-to-day instruction of English learners (EL).<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">\u201cAs our English learner population has grown over the past several years, school districts have increasingly asked the MDE for technical assistance, professional development and other supports,\u201d said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. \u201cWe expect this new guide to be a valuable resource for Mississippi educators as we continue to work together to ensure that all English learners get the education they need.\u201d<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">The MDE also publishes a monthly video series called <\/font><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mdek12.org\/EL\"><font color=\"#337ab7\">EL Literacy Tips of the Month<\/font><\/a><font color=\"#000000\">.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">Following the national trend, the number of EL students in Mississippi is growing each year. In early 2018, the majority of Mississippi school districts had at least one English learner. Thirty-five districts had between 10 and 50 English learners, 26 districts had between 50 and 150, and 14 districts served more than 300 English learners. <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">Spanish is the most prevalent language spoken by English learners in Mississippi, but more than 20 other languages are also represented. After Spanish, the most common languages spoken by EL students in Mississippi are Arabic, Vietnamese, Chinese and Gujarati. <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">The federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to include in their accountability systems the progress English learners are making toward becoming proficient English speakers, readers and writers. To meet this requirement, EL progress will be factored into the calculation of accountability results for the 2017-18 school year to identify schools in need of improvement. EL progress will be part of official grades for Mississippi schools and districts starting in 2018-19. <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">Some school districts have adjusted to their growing EL population by implementing innovative programs that benefit all students. <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">North Jones Elementary School in the Jones County School District provides an English-Spanish dual immersion program for students in kindergarten and 1st grade. The program also has a component for the parents of English Learners to help them develop their English language skills.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10pt\"><font color=\"#000000\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%\"><span style=\",serif\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"North Jones Elementary School\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"cacc5ff0-7f1f-4df3-a63b-2e1a5f35bfca\" src=\"\/sites\/default\/files\/inline-images\/North%20Jones%20Elementary%20School.jpg\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">The North Jones Elementary School program helps Spanish speakers retain their native language while they learn English. It also enriches the educational experience of native-English speakers because they start learning Spanish as an early age. The school has plans to expand the program into the upper grades. <\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%\"><span style=\",sans-serif\"><font color=\"#000000\">View this Mississippi School Spotlight video to learn more about the English-Spanish dual immersion program at North Jones Elementary School.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release: July 2, 2018 JACKSON, Miss \u2013 In response the growing population of English learners in Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) recently published a comprehensive guide to help educators meet the needs of Mississippi\u2019s English learner students. The guide, Mississippi English Learner Guidelines: Regulations, Funding Guidance and Instructional Supports, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdek12.org\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}