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MIDTESOL Matters
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MISSOURI STATE SNAPSHOTS
COLLECTED BY SHEILA MONK, MISSOURI MEMBER-AT-LARGE
One of the first in a series of collaborative workshops to be held in St. Louis, MO, in partnership with the International Institute, service agencies, community stakeholders, law enforcement, schools, youth and adults, and NCPC's Outreach to New American's program was held Wednesday evening, September 13, at the International Institute of St. Louis. The workshop of Crime Prevention Training focused on Gang Prevention in Refugee Communities of St. Louis. Presenters were from the National Crime Prevention Council and St. Louis Police Department. Bosnian, Southeast Asian, African, and Hmong/Mien refugees, service providers, law enforcement, individuals who work for agencies/organizations that have contact with refugees, new American populations, and concerned citizens were encouraged to attend. Participants addressed such issues as gangs and gang violence, why youth join gangs, effects of gang membership, signs of gang membership, how to prevent youth from joining gangs, identifying and reporting signs of gang membership, how to deal with bullying and stereotyping to prevent youth from joining gangs, and local gang prevention resources and enforcement. Adult ESOL classes participated with the support of interpreters for the larger language groups.
The 2nd Annual Educating For Change Curriculum Fair will be held in collaboration with ABC's of Literacy: Acting for a Better Community at the International Institute of St. Louis on Saturday, September 31, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. This free event is open for all who are interested in activist issues of social justice, anti-racism, multilingualism, multiculturalism, and cultural relevance. There will be presentations in the forms of workshops, table and poster displays, and a panel discussion. A free lunch will be included. For more information contact Rebecca Rogers at rogers3948@aol.com or Mary Ann Kramer at (314) 367-5000.
Adult Education ESOL teachers of Missouri recently attended DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)-required annual summer workshops with the loss of hourly paid class time to maintain their certification. After the past two years of having outstanding leaders in the field of ESOL (Laura Pollard and David Redd) as the workshop presenters, this year's workshop left something to be desired. See more opinion on this event in the "Letter to the Editor" in the Winter edition of MIDTESOL Matters. In other DESE-related news, a new task force on ELLs and SPED has begun meeting to discuss a state-wide process for identifying and placing ELLs in SPED programs. Along with this, DESE is in the beginning stages of revamping state standards for ELL students.
