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The Latest from WVTESOL
Maria Skowronski, WVTESOL Secretary, recently attended the TESOL Advocacy and Policy Summit in Alexandria, VA. The summit, which hosts representatives from TESOL affiliates all over the country, took place on June 18th through 20th. The annual gathering is for for educators to learn about U.S. federal education issues and advocate for policies that support English learners and the field of English language education. Have questions about the summit? Direct them to Maria at mskowron@shepherd.edu.
Past President, Erin Clemens, Represents WV at TESOL International
March 2018
Erin Clemens, Past President of WVTESOL and current Executive Director of the West Virginia Literacy Coalition, represented the ESOL educators of West Virginia in Chicago when she attended the 2018 TESOL International Conference in Chicago.
2018 Spring Conference Attendees and Presenters: Thank you!
March 11, 2018
Thanks for helping to make WVTESOL 2018 a success! The past and present members of the Executive Board thank you for your time and energy! It was great to see everyone in Shepherdstown.
You can see dozens of conference photos from 2018 and from past years in the photo gallery.
Have more conference photos to share? You can still submit them to leslie.mehle@k12.wv.us.
Advocacy Updates
February 7, 2018
WVTESOL Statement Supporting International Students and Intensive English Programs in WV
(March 9, 2017) West Virginia institutions of higher education enrolled thousands of international students during the 2015-2016 academic year for both short- and long-term study, bringing substantial but often under-recognized educational and economic benefits. West Virginia Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (WVTESOL) is reaching out in an effort to better inform our state’s education and business leaders... Read the statement here.
(January 19, 2017) More than one million international students from 175 countries attend colleges and universities in the United States, with over 100,000 of those attending short-term intensive English programs (IEPs). Read the statement here.
WVTESOL Position Statement on Access to Higher Education for Immigrant Students
West Virginia law and higher
education policy bar discrimination on the basis of national origin in our colleges.
We are proud that our state recognizes that promoting higher education and
encouraging all students to strive for it benefits everyone. Unfortunately, WVTESOL has recently found
that existing WV law and policies are not always followed, probably because some
educators are unaware of WV law and policy regarding immigrant students who are
not citizens or may not be lawful permanent residents. This includes students who have federal DACA
(Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status. Read more here.
Please visit our Advocacy page to learn more about the rights of English Language Learners (ELLs), how schools can communicate with their parents/guardians, and the civil rights obligations of schools to ELLs.
Please visit our Advocacy page to learn more about access to higher education for immigrant students, resources for educators advising those students, and obligations of school districts under federal law regarding such students.
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