Promising Practices

Introduction:

A promising practice is an activity, procedure, policy, or model that has shown evidence of effectiveness in small-scale interventions.

It must have produced actionable data that could help generalize the results to different settings and populations.  

1. At least three data points should be used to support the connection to instructional practice and improved student achievement in academic content for students learning English.
2. Then resources aligned to those practices that clearly impact students learning English.
3. This is the key to Program Evaluation and an effective use of funds that impact student's academic achievement and ability for advanced coursework.

Multilingual Learner Overview

 

Evidence-based Improvement for ESSA

Evidence-Based Improvement: A Guide for States to Strengthen Their Frameworks and Supports Aligned to the Evidence Requirements of ESSA
Wested

 

Resources

What Works Clearing House

Teacher Resources:
     REL Resources for Educators of English learner Students

Professional Learning Community Conversations:
     Training to Support Collaborative Conversations Between EL Specialists and Classroom Teachers for English Learner Students in New Mexico

 

 

Newcomers

New Americans in Utah

New Americans are vital in Utah’s fast-growing and robust economy and most in-demand fields. New Americans, or any foreign-born individual, arrive in Utah for various reasons, such as refugees fleeing conflict, families reuniting after years of separation, parents seeking a better life for their children, students pursuing their education, or workers seeking to fill an occupation or profession. 

• 272,134 immigrants in Utah or 8.5% of the population 
• Tops countries from Mexico, India, Venezuela, Brazil and Canada
• Immigrants contribute $613M in state and local taxes and $1.1B in federal taxes
• Close to 10% of immigrants are entrepreneurs in Utah, and 8.5% of homeowners

The Utah State Legislature created the Utah Immigration Assistance Center during its 2021 general session with the passage of H.B. 404. In the 2023 legislative session, its name was later changed to the Utah Center for Immigration & Integration to reflect the broader immigrant integration strategies and the opportunities for immigrants to contribute to the state's economic advancement with S.B. 53.

The Utah Center for Immigration & Integration The Center) assists individuals and businesses in navigating pathways to recruit and retain global talent. It also engages with state and federal government partners to convene, facilitate, and advise on immigration policy and strategies that promote economic opportunity for New Americans or foreign-born individuals living in Utah.

Creating New Futures for Newcomers

Immigrants in Utah
American Immigration Council

Granite School District Support for Newcomers

Jordan School District Newcomers

Newcomers: New Americans in Murray City School District

Ogden School District Support for Newcomers

Wasatch County School District

 

Welcoming Newcomers:

Newcomer Toolkit
United States Department of Education

Meetings

Title III Quarterly Meetings for ALS Directors

 

2025-2027 Alternative Language Services (ALS) Directors’ Meetings

August 27, 2025
New and Continuing ALS Directors

October 29, 2025
Updates and Promising Practices

January 28, 2026
Updates and Promising Practices

March 25, 2026
Updates and Promising Practices

May 27, 2026 Updates and Promising Practices

August 26, 2026
New and Continuing ALS Directors

October 28, 2026
Updates and Promising Practices

January 27, 2027
Updates and Promising Practices

March 31, 2027
Updates and Promising Practices

May 26, 2027
Updates and Promising Practices

2023-2025 Alternative Language Services (ALS) Directors’ Meetings

All meetings are Zoom meetings and are archived on the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Supporting Students Learning English YouTube Channel.

Meeting Schedule

October 26, 2023 ALS Meeting (Drafted by CE)
YouTube

February 9, 2024 ALS Meeting (Drafted by CE)
YouTube

April 26, 2024 ALS Meeting (Drafted by CE)

August 16, 2024 ALS Meeting
New and Continuing ALS Directors

October 25, 2024
YouTube

January 24, 2025 ALS Meeting
YouTube

April 25, 2025 ALS Meeting (Drafted by CE)

 

 

Funding Timeline

Title III Standard Operating Procedure

May 15

Preliminary Title III Allocations sent to eligible Local Education Agencies (LEAs) as EL Flow Through-ELFT. Purpose: Funding Improvement Plans (Based on student data and evaluating program effectiveness).

Preliminary allocations sent to all LEAs with an allocation under $10,000 to form consortiums with a fiscal agent and signed MOU.

FINAL Immigrant grant - Significant increase calculated for eligible LEAs with allocation over $10,000.

June 1

Deadline for signed Consortium MOUs.

August 15

Final Allocations sent to LEAs and Consortiums.

October 30

Due: Annual Self-Assessment (Application) for Title III Grant Awards

November 15

All applications for Title III funds are approved by USBE Specialist and available for reimbursements.

 

Monitoring

Title III 5-Year Monitoring Schedule

LEA Guidelines for Title III Classroom Visits

Team Members Guidelines for Title III Classroom Visits

Title III Classroom Observation Tool

 

Annual Self-Assessment for Funding

Annual Improvement Plan: Self-Assessment Tool

 

MOU for Consortium Funding

Standard Consortium MOU

Equitable Services

Equitable Services to Private Schools Series, Title III

Title III English Language Acquisition Equitable Services to Private School Students, Teachers, and Other Educational Personnel

Competency Based

 

Background

The Utah Legislature held a joint education conference with all legislators serving on education committees as well as the governing boards of the three education entities – The State Board of Regents, the Utah College of Applied Technology, and the Utah State Board of Education. 

 

Utah's Competency-Based ESL Endorsement

Competency-based education, or CBE, is generally viewed as a move away from the traditional definition of “seat time” for credit to a student proving mastery of a set of competencies through assessments.  CBE has gained increased attention, especially in Utah's state legislature, as a greater focus is placed on educators for the 21st century workforce:  stressing higher order learning goals of inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, integrative and reflective thinking, written and oral communication, information literacy, intercultural understanding, and teamwork and real-world problem solving.

Such learning provides flexibility in earning college and USBE MIDAS credit for increased professional learning through prior learning assessment, personalized online and blended learning, and project-based learning. CBE program design leads to increased learner engagement with goal setting based on TESOL Standards and self-assessment as presented in a capstone portfolio exhibition. The learning is both immediately applicable to an educator's real-world experience. 

Requirements for USBE Approval of an LEA Competency-Based ESL Endorsement

 

Utah's Innovative LEA Designed Endorsement Program Models

Utah's approach to adult learning focuses on educator goal setting based on the TESOL Standards through a comprehensive self-assessment. This honest self-reflection in a positive and safe environment is supported by the learning needs of each teacher's students. As designer we ask ourselves these questions:

1. How do we learn from the experiences of other LEAs who have designed their own competency-based programs?
2. What impact has those programs had on the achievement of students learning English?
3. How does the instructional coaching cycle and observations (the USBE tool or adapted tool) provide quality feedback to highlight promising practices and increase cognitive rigor to engage students?

Box Elder School District Competency Based ESL Endorsement
Cache School District Competency Based ESL Endorsement
Canyons School District Competency Based ESL Endorsement
Jordan School District Competency Based ESL Endorsement
Murray School District Competency Based ESL Endorsement
Tooele School District Competency Based ESL Endorsement
Wasatch County District Competency Based ESL Endorsement 

 

Forms 

  

Resources

A Guide for the Placement and Transcript Evaluation of Foreign-Born Students

Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)

English Language Development (ELD) Standards
World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA)

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
United States Department of Education

Language Codes

 

Evidence-Based Practices

Evidence-Based Improvement: A Guide for States to Strengthen Their Frameworks and Supports Aligned to the Evidence Requirements of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
WestEd

This guide provides an initial set of tools to help school districts understand and plan for implementing evidence-based improvement strategies.

Non-Regulatory Guidance: Using Evidence to Strengthen Education Investments
United States Department of Education

This guidance seeks to help State Educational Agencies (SEAs), Local Education Agencies (LEAs), schools, educators, partner organizations, and other stakeholders understand the four levels of evidence and recommends a step-by-step process for choosing and implementing interventions that improve outcomes for students.

The Evidence Provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Results for America

ESSA's definition of "evidence-based" includes 4 levels of evidence:

• Level 1: Strong
• Level 2: Moderate
• Level 3: Promising
• Level 4: Under Evaluation

Title III Specialist Job Description

Professional Learning

Communities of Practice Course Catalog
Canvas

Online courses, modules and other learning experiences will be updated through the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Canvas for educators to learn with and from each other through intentional Communities of Practice to focus on:

1. Using strategies that build relationships with each student as a capable learner;
2. Developing a culture of student and family advocacy to ensure equitable access to high quality instructional opportunities for each student as a Civil Right;
3. Supporting opportunities for Social Emotional Learning to increase the well being and academic success of Utah's diverse students;
4. Sharing the diverse cultural assets of our multilingual learners, their families, and communities to create a future for Utah that we all love.

 

Legislation

Overview

House Bill (H.B.) 302: Education Language Services Amendments
Utah State Legislature

Educational Language Services Amendments HB 302

Refugee and Immigrant Student Policies H.B. 230

 

Meetings

September 28, 2022
Education Interpretation and Translation Services (EITS) Advisory Council

Public Notice Website - Division of Archives and Records Services:

• EITS and HB302
• September 28, 2022 (Audio Only)
• Languages of Students and Families by Local Education Agency (LEA) - Native Language Count by LEA

 

Model Policy

Model Policy Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Model Language Access Plan

 

Reports

Education Language Services Report
Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Policy, Law and Professional Practices

EITS Report Contract Details

 

Resources

Educational Interpreters
Utah State Board of Education Special Education Rules and Policies Technical Assistance

Guidelines for an LEA Developed Procedure for Responses to HB 302 and HB230 Complaints

Search Contracts
Utah Division of Purchasing and General Services

 

Standard Consortium

Legal Details About Forming Consortiums