1. RETELL Faculty presentation
Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners
RETELL Faculty presentation

2. Sheltered English immersion
What is SEI?
Sheltered English immersion

3. A Program Model that includes the following…
Sheltered Content Instruction. Sheltered content instruction (also called Sheltered English Immersion or SEI) includes approaches, strategies and methodology to make the content of lessons more comprehensible and to promote the development of academic language needed to successfully master content standards. Sheltered content instruction must be taught by qualified content area teachers. See footnote 4.
English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. ESL instruction provides explicit, direct, and systematic instruction to learn the English language that is intended to promote second language acquisition and English language proficiency. It includes learning outcomes in the four language domains: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

4. 2012 MA Initiatives for improving English Language Learner Education
In 2012, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted new regulations and launched an initiative to improve the academic achievement of ELLs and close the persistent proficiency gaps between ELLs and their English proficient peers.
Oak Bluffs School December 2013

5. RETELL
ELL Student Global Development
WIDA English Language Development Standards
ACCESS for ELLs Assessment
Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsements and Courses
Figure 1 Components of the RETELL Initiative, WiDA Implementation Guidance Part 1

6. RETELL COMPONENTS
Three major components of the Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners (RETELL) initiative are designed, in tandem, to strengthen teaching and learning for ELLs:
1) required professional development about sheltering content instruction and promoting language development for ELLs (the SEI Endorsement and related courses for teachers and administrators),
2) a new set of English language development standards (the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment English Language Development standards – or WIDA ELD standards, and
3) a new annual language proficiency assessment, Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for ELLs (ACCESS for ELLs).

7. SEI endorsement Licensure Requirements
All incumbent core academic teachers responsible for the education of ELLs and the administrators who supervise and evaluate these teachers must earn an SEI endorsement by July 1, 2016, or by the end of the cohort period they are assigned to, whichever occurs first.
If an ELL is newly assigned to a core academic teacher, that teacher has a year to obtain an endorsement.

8. Who are CORE academic teachers?
Early childhood teachers
Elementary teachers,
Teachers of students with moderate disabilities
Teachers of students with severe disabilities
Teachers of the following academic subjects: English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, civics and government, economics, history, and geography.

9. Changes in Educator Preparation, Licensure and Teacher/Administrator Assignment Requirements:
June 1, 2013: Require approved educator preparation programs to have the SEI Endorsement Course embedded in course work.
July 1, 2014: Require all applicants for a first-time initial license as a core academic teacher or as a principal/assistant principal or supervisor/director to meet requirements for SEI Teacher and SEI Administrator Endorsement, respectively. (603 CMR 7.15(14)(e), 603 CMR 7.04(2) and 603 CMR 7.05, 603 CMR 7.09(2)(a)(4) and 603 CMR 7.09(3)(b)(5))

10. SEI/ESL PDP requirements
July 1, 2016: Require all educators who seek to renew their professional educator licenses to earn at least 15 Professional Development Points (PDPs) related to SEI or English as a Second Language and at least 15 PDPs related to training in strategies for effective schooling for students with disabilities and instruction of students with diverse learning styles. (603 CMR 44.06(2)).

11. Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools RETELL Preparation Plan
Overview of RETELL initiative
1. Cabinet Presentation
RETELL overview
Licensure requirements
Process and times of course offerings
2. Meeting with Union Reps
Q&A
3. Presentation at Faculty Meetings
Faculty list will be provided by Central offices
Teachers must check in with principals about Category trainings completed
Provide evidence of completed Category trainings
4. Educator Category Training Checklist

12. SEI Endorsement Course Options
It is the Department’s responsibility to produce a schedule of SEI Endorsement course sections. To develop a schedule which meets districts’ and individual educators’ needs, the Department will work both with districts’ RETELL Liaisons and with the pool of qualified instructors.
The administrators’ course will be composed of five three-hour sessions.
The full-length course currently consists of eleven face-to-face sessions and five online sessions, which must be held sequentially.
The longer Bridge course, for educators who completed any two of Category Trainings 1, 2 and 4, will be 24 hours in length, broken into ten sessions; sessions 1, 2, 4 and 8 will each be three hours in length; the remaining sessions will each be two hours long.
The shorter Bridge course, for educators who completed Category Trainings 1, 2 and 4 will be a total of 15 hours, broken into five face-to-face sessions of three hours each.

13. Part of a big picture of enhancing education for ELLs
Licensure Requirement
MA DESE provides/mandates training
For more information about the RETELL initiative, visit