1. Follow relevant bills through the General Assembly, write your legislators, and provide public comment (written, virtual, or in-person) when the bill is in sub-committee.  Legal Aid Justice Center will work with VATESOL to share information on proposed legislation that will impact your teaching and your students.  There is little advanced notice, but you can work with the Legal Aid Justice Center to draft a brief statement or letter before session begins on January 14. 

2. Include your students in the legislative process: 

• Legal Aid Justice Center and/or the Youth Advocacy Clinic from UVA Law are happy to present on civic engagement generally or specific proposed legislation, and we can facilitate student and teacher advocacy. 

• You can develop public comment as a class or small group 

• Submit it in writing 

• Have it read by an advocate in-person 

• Testify virtually 

• Bring yourself and/or your students to the General Assembly 

• FundOurSchools’ Lobby Day is February 3; Register here 

• VACALOA also is hosting a Lobby Day on February 3 

For more information or questions, reach out to Amy Walters at the Legal Aid Justice Center: amyw@justice4all.org. 

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For more information or questions, reach out to Amy Walters at the Legal Aid Justice Center: amyw@justice4all.org. 

 

• Meaningful Language Access Provisions for Students and Families  

• Codification of funding add-ons for high-need students including English Language Learners 

• Increasing funding add-ons for high-need students 

From funding to protecting students, here are three ways to make an impact on Virginia’s budget and legislation this winter. 

1. Take 3 minutes to anonymously share your experiences as a teacher or the experiences of your students and their families.  Hearts and minds (and legislators!) are persuaded by stories, and we need to hear from you – both the good and the bad. Do you have a student who has succeeded because of the resources you were able to offer? Are you underfunded and/or short-staffed? Have your students suffered from discriminatory harassment? Has attendance dropped since January 2025? We are seeking individual stories and specific anecdotes from teachers about their experiences and the experiences of their students to assist in our advocacy efforts. 

Survey Link: https://forms.office.com/r/ztXnEL5Zjf

For more information or questions, reach out to Amy Walters at the Legal Aid Justice Center: amyw@justice4all.org. 

 

Proposed 2026 legislation impacting VATESOL Teachers and Students: 

• Student Protections to ensure that all children in Virginia have equal access to public education by: 

• Codifying the constitutional right to education regardless of immigration status 

• Establishing uniform procedures for law enforcement access to schools 

• Protecting student privacy and preventing discriminatory practices 

• Providing enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance 

• Clarifying that Virginia’s Human Rights Act covers students in schools

• For more information or questions, reach out to Amy Walters at the Legal Aid Justice Center: amyw@justice4all.org. 

 

The Satchel is a web application designed to streamline the alignment of the WIDA English Language Development Standards with the Virginia Standards of Learning for English, History and Social Science, Mathematics, and Science.  

 

This format provides educators and leaders readily accessible and aligned competencies, skills, and standards that are needed to support the instruction of English Learners in the four core content areas. With this alignment, teachers can confidently design instruction that fosters both language development and academic success across the content areas. 

Watch this video to learn how to navigate through the Satchel and begin your journey to language integrated content instruction.

All the best,

Jo-el Cox

Coordinator of Multilingual Learner Instruction

Round Table Session Follow Up

We enjoyed seeing you at VATESOL in Richmond Nov. 13-14! One of the many awesome things you can look for on this year’s program are “Key Take-Away” sessions. During Key Take-Away sessions, we’ve set aside open time and space for you to process the many great new ideas you’re learning. We hope you took advantage of the roundtable time to talk with other conference attendees about how you can take-away new learnings and apply those directly to your everyday work. We can’t wait to hear what your next step are! If you want to share please email our Blog editor Lisa Johnson at johnsonlisarose@gmail.com

Hello fellow VATESOL members and allies.

I am Lisa Johnson the VATESOL Blog Editor, and advocate for English Language Learners.

Are you looking for a summer book club to help you get ready to start your next school. Do you want to make your classroom more responsive but are not sure how? 

This summer I will lead a book club for educators and allies.

We will be reading Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete's the First Six Weeks of school. Asa group we will come together and discuss the text and how we can build social emotional learning activities into our practice.

If you are interested we will meet in late July and 2 times in August via Zoom.

If you want to learn more about the book and the authors you can read more here.

You may order the book for anywhere books are sold but I prefer Abe.com or Alibris.com for affordability.

The ISBN # is 9781892989048

If you are interested in joining  kindly complete the Google form here by July 15th.

Call for Proposals The Call For Proposals for our 2025 Fall Conference remains open! We love to offer a diverse set of presentations from our wide range of membership, so all are welcome and encouraged to submit by July 15. Conference Theme Advocating for Excellence in Multilingual Education

Submit a Proposal

Demystifying proposal writing for VATESOL 2025: Advocating for Excellence in Multilingual Education

VATESOL is thrilled to host our annual conference, Advocating for Excellence in Multilingual Education, in Richmond on November 13–14, 2025. Whether you are a classroom teacher, researcher, or community advocate, we invite you to participate — as both attendees and presenters! As a member of the VATESOL Board of Directors, I am excited to share practical tips to support your proposal writing and encourage you to submit your session idea by June 30.

1. Access the Proposal Submission Link

To access the proposal submission link, go to the VATESOL website at https://vatesol.org/conferences and locate the “Submit a Presentation Proposal” embedded link. Then fill out your demographic information and choose your preferred presentation format: 20-minute session, 45-minute session, or 90-minute workshop.

1. Review the Proposal Rubric 

Once you opened a presentation proposal form, you will be able to see the link for the rubric. We use the rubric to review proposals and provide ratings and feedback. As you write your session proposal, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the proposal title clearly describe the session?

• Is the proposed topic timely and/or appropriate?

• Is the session based on best practices within the TESOL field?

• Is the proposal abstract clearly written?

• Will this session positively contribute to the conference and the TESOL field?

• Does this proposed session align with the theme of the conference? 

1. Key Proposal Components

The following elements are required for each proposal submission. 

• Title (11 words) – Having a clear title connected to the world of multilingual education makes it easier for attendees to choose the sessions they are interested in.  Capitalize the first letter of the title, and all major words with four or more letters, including words after a hyphen, slash, or colon. Do NOT include presenters’ names, the names of institutions, or the names of your publications or published works.

• Abstract (50 words) - The abstract should describe the content of your session as clearly and succinctly as possible and highlight what attendees should expect to take away from the session. This will be printed in the conference program, so please proofread carefully. Do NOT include presenters’ names, the names of institutions, or the names of your publications.

• Description (200 words) - The description should include a clearly stated purpose and point of view with supporting details and examples, and evidence of knowledge of current theory, practices, research and/or policy.  Be sure to outline the session with an appropriate amount of content for the allotted time and indicate the target audience and student population(s).  Do NOT include presenters’ names, the names of institutions, or the names of-your publications.

1. In sum, focus on three important elements

To ensure your proposal is accepted, we encourage you to pay attention to the theme of the conference, rubric, and anticipated audience. Remember that no identifiable information can be stated in the title, abstract, and description. 

Ready to share your work and advocate for multilingual learners? Submit your proposal today and join us in Richmond on November 13-14 this year!

Katya Koubek

Communications Chair 

VATESOL

Finishing Strong

Dr. Jana Moore, VATESOL K-12 SIG Leader has been teaching in the ELL classroom for 25 years, abroad and within, the US. Her specialties include working with newcomers as well as long-term English language learners, in addition to identifying gifted multilingual learners. Dr. Moore currently serves as the English Learner Program Lead for over 600 English language learners at Parkside MS in Prince William County, VA.

For many of us in the K-12 ELL classroom, we are coming to the part of the school year that seems to have a lull. The ACCESS test has been given; we are waiting for the test results. State testing, whether SOLs or benchmarks, are in full swing to help determine how much our learners accomplished for the year. It almost feels as though there is a pause. There is still plenty of curriculum to be taught, but most students and school staff are already starting to think about and plan for summer vacation (Guilty! I may have started my summer planner already!). But this is exactly the time when we need to be thinking forward and push for a strong finish. Some of the best finishes I have ever seen have come from classrooms that took the time to go back and reinforce some basics. Here are just three suggestions of things we can all do in our classrooms to keep our students rolling towards success as the school year draws to a close.

Encourage Speaking

Students love to talk to each other, so take advantage of this! Keep your students talking to each other, and you, in as many different ways as you can. Encourage them to use complete sentences as a means to practice good academic vocabulary with each other. Activities such as Think-Pair-Share, Gallery Walks, or Student Reports are all ways that students can talk. As an added bonus, I like to bring in Game Days with my students. During this time I have several selections of language, critical thinking, and math games for my students to choose to play. My rule? If you can say it in English, then you have to do it. Even my most reluctant speakers will try a few lines in English for a chance at Game Day.

Encourage Reading

This one cannot be overstated enough: keep your students reading. Work towards developing that love of reading, and not necessarily reading for a particular standard. Use this time to teach students how to find genres they love, and those they do not. We can teach our students to return books that they do not find interesting, and find those stories their minds and imaginations crave. Now is the perfect time to work on this skill, because it can continue into the summer, when they are on their own. Help them get library cards or learn to find books online: set learners up for a successful summer of reading.

On behalf of Virginia TESOL, we deeply appreciate the dedication, love, and advocacy that all of our stakeholders continue to provide for multilingual learners and their families all across our Commonwealth.

In response to recent federal orders and policy changes, Virginia TESOL has compiled a list of resources to support educators in responding to concerns related to immigration. Additional resources and updates can be found on the TESOL Advocacy website.

General Guidelines:

• Important Note: Many students do not know their immigration status or their family’s status.

• School is a Safe Space: Reinforce that schools are safe and welcoming environments for all students, regardless of immigration status. 

• Stick to the Facts: Share factual information about the school’s role, federal/state policies that guide schools, and legal obligation to serve students.

• Lau v. Nichols: 1974 Supreme Court case ruled that English learners have the right to participate meaningfully in public education and should receive additional English language development support. 

• Plyler v. Doe: 1982 Supreme Court case ruled that K-12 schools cannot forbid undocumented students to enroll, nor should we “chill” their school enrollment by asking uncomfortable questions around immigration status, social security numbers, visas, etc.

• FERPA: Schools are not allowed to disclose private information. Our schools do not keep documentation status as part of school records.  Information cannot be disclosed to ICE or anyone else without parental consent or a subpoena.

• Acknowledge Concerns: Validate emotions and fears expressed by students, families, and community members, while focusing on constructive actions.

• Stay Neutral Yet Compassionate: Avoid explicitly opposing political figures or agendas while advocating for the well-being and rights of students. 

Key Messages for Students:

1. You Belong Here: "Our school is a place for everyone, no matter where you're from."
2. Support Is Available: Share resources like counselors and community organizations.
3. Stay Informed: Encourage students to rely on trusted adults for information instead of rumors or social media.

4. Empower Advocacy: If appropriate, suggest safe and productive ways to express concerns or seek help.

Resources for Schools

• Guidance for Protecting Students’ Rights & Privacy

• Answering Immigrant Student’s Questions

• How to Talk to a Child Worried About Deportation

• Strategies to help children impacted by ICE raids

• Supporting Students SEL Needs

• Shifting Immigration FAQs

• How to Support Immigrant Students and Families

• What to do if ICE Visits Your School

• Immigration Support Links

• NAELPA Jan/25 Webinar: Protecting the Rights and Privacy of Multilingual Learners and their Families

• Dr. José Medina - Protecciones Para Estudiantes (video)

• From Dr. Cardona - DOE Directory of Resources

Additional Websites for Resources:

• National Immigration Law Center - Education For All Campaign

• We Have Rights Campaign

• www.justneighbors.org

• Legal Aid Rapid Response Toolkit