The grant has been operating at UNT as the fiscal agent Project NEXUS Background The Office of Bilingual/ESL Teacher Education Programs of the University of North Texas received a grant award from the U.S. Department of Education from 2012-to 2016 totaling $985,819 The grant has been operating at UNT as the fiscal agent More information about the project and resources for teachers can be found at: http://www.coe.unt.edu/project-nexus Updated on 9/7/2016

Project Goals GOAL 1- Enhance the ELL education knowledge base of middle and high school mathematics and science in-service teachers 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. GOAL 2 - Enhance the ELL education knowledge base of the UNT mathematics and science education faculty from the 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. GOAL 3 - Analyze and evaluate project data to make decisions about project improvement in order to impact the knowledge and skills of project participants to further ELL content mastery and narrow the achievement gap.

Therefore the Purpose of this SIOP Professional Development is to: Enhance the ELL education knowledge base of middle and high school mathematics and science in-service teachers. Increase the academic achievement of English language learners in mathematics and science and to help narrow the achievement gap as evidenced in STAAR scores. With the Final Expectation to:

Project NEXUS Funding A Title III National Professional Development Program Funded by The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) U. S. Department of Education Awarded $985,000 over 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 August, 2017

ISD’s Partnership Representatives Teresa Luna-Taylor, Director, ESL and Bilingual Programs, Denton ISD, ttaylor@dentonisd.org Sarah Guedry, Secondary ESL Coordinator, Lewisville ISD, guedrys@lisd.net Amy Washam, Sheltered Instruction Coordinator, Denton ISD. awasham@dentonisd.org

PD Partnership Representatives Dawn Osborne, Consultant, Region 10 ESC, doz6847@gmail.com Jan Corona, Consultant, Region 10 ESC, jancorona76@gmail.com

UNT Partnership Representatives Dr. Rossana Boyd, Principal Investigator/Director, Project NEXUS, Rossana.boyd@unt.edu Ana Figueras, Graduate Assistant, Project NEXUS, Ana.Figueras@unt.edu

Participating Schools Denton ISD No. # ELL Students 2015 Lewisville ISD Denton High School 183 Delay Middle School 529 Ryan High School 278 Huffines Middle School 121 Calhoun Middle School 156 Hedrick Middle School 199 Strickland Middle School 186 Killian Middle School 133 Myers Middle School 167 Lewisville High School Harmon & Killough 786 McMath Middle School 98 Approximate number of ELL students 2015-2016 1068 1768

Project NEXUS WEB PORTAL Activities for In-Service Teachers Fall 2012-2016 Each fall, four days of professional development on SIOP for teaching mathematics and science to ELLs each fall for 40 teachers (20 from Denton and Lewisville ISD). Each fall, observation of a sample of teachers using the SIOP protocol instrument. Collection of modified lesson plans using the SIOP features. Project NEXUS WEB PORTAL For the past three years project staff has been identifying and uploading resources, articles, webpages related to the education of ELLs in mathematics and science. Please log on to: http://www.coe.unt.edu/project-nexus

Scholarships WHY: To increase depth of knowledge about educating ELL students effectively to help increase their academic achievement. HOW: The Project NEXUS will award scholarships to pay for tuition and fees up to $1114, per three credit hour course. Admission to UNT is required.

Assistance with ESL Certification WHAT: Review sessions of the TExES ESL Supplemental exam will be delivered by Region 10 ESC free of charge on Saturday, November 5th and April 8th in UNT’s Wooten Hall, room 122 from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Contact Ana.Figueras@unt.edu if you plan to attend. WHY: To encourage in-service teachers to become ESL certified. HOW: Step 1. To add ESL to yoru initial certificate, first register to take the Supplemental exam (#154) at: http://cms.texes-ets.org/texes/registrationinformation/#howto_register . Step 2. Send test registration receipt to Ana Figueras at Ana.Figueras@unt.edu for the project to reimburse the cost of the test registration (around$131). Step 3. Apply to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to have ESL added to your initial certificate.

UNT Math and Science Pre-Service Teachers Spring 2013 – 2017 10 pre-service teachers each year will 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 their tuition and fees ($1114 per 3 hour course.) Spring 2013 - 2017 20 pre-service teachers each year participate in a two-day professional development workshop.

Continued UNT Pre-Service Teachers Mathematics and Science Fall 2013 - 2017 Five pre-service teachers attend state or national conferences with faculty and/or project staff. Spring 2013 - 2017 Pre-service teachers have access to the Project NEXUS mathematics and science web resources.

Project Evaluation Activites Below are some of the evaluation activities: Formative Assessment and Evaluation Summative Assessments and Evaluations For Tracking Outcome-Based Results Workshop evaluation by participants using pre and post surveys. Number and percent of project completers passing the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) ESL exam and obtaining ESL certification. Classroom observations of a sample of pre-service and in-service teachers using the SIOP Observation Protocol instrument. Yearly STAAR results in mathematics and science of ELLs and non-ELL students of participating teachers, and Texas End-of-Course results in selected mathematics and science courses for ELLs and non-ELLs. Analysis of curricula adaptations, lesson plans and syllabi of pre-service and in-service teachers incorporation of ELPS and SIOP Model features. Data on enrollment and credits earned in coursework taken by pre-service and in-service teachers at UNT. Project Management feedback template for use in tracking and reporting on project activities. Number and percent of project completers placed in LEAs, teaching ELLs after completion of the project and one year after project ends.