PROJECT NEXUS A Title III National Professional Development Program Funded by The Office of English Language Acquisition of the U. S. Department of Education at $985,000 for five years for the Bilingual/ESL Teacher Certification Programs of the Teacher Education and Administration Department at the University of North Texas May 1, 2012 to April 30,

Project Goals Goal 1 Enhance the knowledge base of middle and high school in- service teachers in mathematics and science from the two surrounding local educational agencies (LEAs), Denton and Lewisville, through customized professional development for teachers to acquire the instructional skills and strategies to teach academic content and language development and acquisition to increase the academic achievement, graduation rates and entry into postsecondary education institutions for middle and high school ELLs. 3

Goal 2 Enhance the knowledge-base of the UNT education faculty in the mathematics and science 9-12 teacher certification programs through ongoing course content analysis and advanced professional development to integrate current evidence-based research and standards- based instruction into the certification degree- granting programs for effective instruction and assessment for ELLs. 4

Goal 3 Analyze and evaluate project data to make project improvement decisions in order to impact the knowledge and skills of project participants, and make instructional improvement decisions in order to further ELL content mastery and narrow the achievement gap. 5

Participating Schools Denton Independent School District # of ELL Students Lewisville Independent School District # of ELL Students Denton High School123 Delay Middle School521 Ryan High School161Huffines Middle School121 Calhoun Middle School181Hedrick Middle School218 McMath Middle School138Killian Middle School91 Strickland Middle School115Durham Middle School109 Approximate number of ELL students served in Denton ISD each year 718Approximate number of ELL students served in Lewisville ISD each year

Fall and Spring * 4 days of professional development each school year for 40 teachers (20 from Denton ISD and 20 from Lewisville ISD) on SIOP for Teaching Mathematics and Science to ELLs at a Denton ISD site and Lewisville site (includes materials). Each district will receive $100 per day for substitute pay for each teacher who attends the training. Fall of Fall 2016 *2 days of individual coaching for 10 teachers (1 day for 5 teachers from Denton ISD and 5 from Lewisville ISD each academic year) whose ELLs students are struggling the most with mathematics and science. 7

Day one – 8:30 AM to 3:30 PMDay two – 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM  Introduction to Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP)  First and Second Language Acquisition  The Academic Language of Mathematics and Science  Planning SIOP lessons with ELPS (Biology, Algebra, Geometry, Physics and Chemistry)  Building Background  Comprehensible Input  Evaluations and adjourn  Incorporating ELPs, lesson planning and unit design (Biology, Algebra, Geometry, Physics and Chemistry)  Strategies  Practice and Application  Review, Assessment and Alternative Assessment  Lesson Delivery and Lesson modeling (Biology, Algebra, Geometry, Physics and Chemistry)  Sneak preview of the follow-up  Evaluations and adjourn Initial Professional Development Plan for In-service Teachers Two-Day Professional Development Workshop Agenda Initial Professional Development Plan for In-service Teachers Two-Day Professional Development Workshop Agenda 8

Day one – 8:30 AM to 3:30 PMDay two – 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM  Instructional coach will work with teachers in small groups by content area  Questions and answers to address specific teacher concerns  Lesson modeling targeting specific mathematics/science problem areas for ELLs  Demonstration of effective assessment for lesson objectives  Evaluation and Adjourn  Instructional coach will work with teachers in small groups to develop own content lesson plan based on problem areas for ELLs  Each group of teachers will demonstrate their mini lesson to the group as a whole.  The group critiques lesson using SIOP Protocol instrument  Coach will summarize and offer expert feedback  Evaluation and Adjourn Additional Two-Day Professional Development Follow-up Workshop Agenda 9

ESL Certification Coordinators and campus administrators from participating schools will annually identify 12 teachers out of the 40 to take the supplemental TExES examination up to the fifth year. The grant will pay for the examination registration fee of $120. TExES Test Preparation UNT will sponsor ESL Supplemental TExES exam review sessions each year which will be provided by Region 10 Education Service Center. ESL Supplemental Certification Additional Benefits for In-service Teachers ESL Supplemental Certification Additional Benefits for In-service Teachers ESL Supplemental Certification 10

10 teachers each year (5 from Denton ISD and 5 from Lewisville) can enroll in two web-based graduate level courses related to ELLs and funded by the project. EDBE 5590 – Pedagogy for Teaching ESL in Grades EC-12 EDBE 5570 – Assessing Content and Language in ESL and in Bilingual Education Tuition and fees will be paid with project funds and credits can be applied toward a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction ($1,160 per course X 2 = $2,320) Summer 2013 to Fall week Spring semester courses 6 credit hours In-Service Teachers will have the option of registering for graduate level courses related to the education of ELL Students 11

Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 *1 day of professional development on using SIOP for coaching and informal assessment techniques. This is for middle and high school campus administrators, instructional coaches from participating schools as applicable and Central Office Mathematics and Science curriculum coordinators. *second day of professional development will be on ELL data-based decision making for the same participants listed above. Fall 2013 to Spring 2017 Onward *Campus administrators and school coaches will observe mathematics and science teachers’ classroom instruction using the SIOP instrument. 12

Participation of Math and Science UNT Faculty Members Fall 2012 * Two days of professional development for 20 mathematics and science education faculty members Spring 2013 * Two days of follow up professional development for 20 math and science education faculty members Fall 2013 to 2017 Faculty members implement SIOP and ELPS with teacher candidates Fall 2013 to 2017 * Faculty members present at state or national conferences 13

Participation of UNT Math and Science Pre-service Teachers Spring 2013 to pre-service teachers enroll in one of these two courses EDBE 4470 – Assessing Language and Content and EDBE 4490 – Pedagogy for Teaching ESL EC-12 or 5 pre-service teachers enroll in both courses. Project pays for their tuition and fees ($1060 per 3 hour course) Summer 2013 to pre-service teachers participate in a two-day professional development workshop as the one described for in-service teachers the first two days. Fall 2013 to 2016 Five pre-service teachers attend state or national conferences with faculty or project staff Spring 2013 to Spring 2017 Pre-service teachers access the web portal of math and science resources. 14

Formative Assessment and Evaluation Summative Assessments and Evaluations For Tracking Outcome-Based Results Workshop evaluation and program participant surveys. Number and percent of program completers passing the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) exam and obtaining Texas ESL certification. Classroom observations using SIOP Observation Protocol. STAAR results in mathematics and science for ELLs and non-ELLs, and Texas End-of-Course results in selected mathematics and science courses for ELLs and non-ELLs. Checklists on ELPS and SIOP Model features for use in analyzing curricula adaptations and syllabi modifications. Data on enrollment and credits earned in Pedagogy for Teaching ESL and Assessment of Content and Language for ESL and Bilingual Students. Project Evaluation and Review Technique and Project Management feedback template for use in tracking and reporting on project activities. Number and percent of program completers placed in LEAs, teaching ELLs after completion of the program and one year after project ends. Project activities will be evaluated by GILD, an external evaluation team. Below are some of the evaluation activities. 15

Project NEXUS Questions and Answers Rossana Boyd, Project Director, Karthigeyan Subramaniam, Co- Principal Investigator Office Tel