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English Learners

Title III State Formula Grant Program

The Agency of Education receives federal Title III state formula grant funds from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) to plan and administer programs to assist English Learners (ELs), including immigrant children and youth, in attaining English language proficiency and developing high levels of academic achievement in order to meet challenging state academic standards.

The program awards Title III English Learner and Immigrant subgrants to eligible local education agencies and provides technical assistance and professional learning related to meeting the diverse needs of English Learners, including:          

  • Planning and implementing effective language instruction educational programs (LIEPs) and curricula on teaching English Learners (ELs)
  • Identifying or developing, and implementing, measures of English Language Proficiency (ELP)
  • Strengthening parent, family, and community engagement in programs that serve English Learners (ELs)

Title III Local Education Agency (LEA) Subgrants

Future opportunities to apply for Title III grants are posted annually in the Spring. Applications are submitted through the Agency's Online Grant Application for Local Education Agencies.

K-12 Home Language Survey

Federal education law requires state and local education agencies to identify all English learners (ELs). Vermont LEAs must administer the State’s Home Language Survey to all kindergarten students and to all students in other grades entering Vermont K-12 schools (public or public/private academies) for the first time in order to identify those who may be entitled to language and academic support services. Depending on responses to survey questions, schools may then ask parent/guardian(s) about their child’s language use and/or conduct screening to assess level of English language proficiency for academic purposes. The K-12 Home Language Survey has recently been updated. New standardized procedures for authorized personnel to submit results via the new Home Language Survey Collection site are described in the “Instructions for Home Language Survey (HLS) Collection and Submission” document. All LEAs have designated contacts for implementing the survey.    

K-12 Home Language Survey

Home Language Survey (HLS) Spanish Version

Home Language Survey (HLS) Ukrainian Version

Home Language Survey (HLS) Nepali Version

Home Language Survey (HLS) Dari Version

Home Language Survey (HLS) Pashto Version

How does your child communicate? Survey English Version

How does your child communicate? Survey Ukrainian Version

Home Language Survey (HLS) Training Presentation

Instructions for Home Language Survey

Memo: Transition to Online Survey

English Language Proficiency

Through collaboration with member state education agencies and local education agencies, WIDA has created many tools, studies, and training resources to help meet legal and program requirements for ELs, including: Kindegarten- Grade 12 WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards Framework; Can Do Descriptors; Assessments; Professional Learning and Research materials, which can be accessed online at WIDA with an authorized username and password. State-specific information about English language proficiency assessments, including important dates, materials and training, is posted on Vermont's WIDA webpage.

Professional Development

WIDA Self-Paced eWorkshops for Multilingual Learner Education

Audience: Classroom and EL Teachers, Specialists, Curriculum Coordinators, Instructional Coaches, School and District Administrators

The Vermont Agency of Education partners with WIDA Professional Learning to offer all educators in our state the opportunity to participate in 8, self-paced eWorkshops, developed by WIDA. These free eWorkshops cover a range of topics related to multilingual learner education and assessment, intended to give educators a choice of workshop(s) relevant to their goals. You can log in individually at any time or, as part of a larger group or professional learning community, from any place—a great option for rural districts who want to participate in professional learning on instructional strategies and resources for English Learners (ELs). Participants can download and print out a Certificate upon completion of each workshop. For full descriptions, see the WIDA eWorkshops Flyer and/or video on the WIDA public Self-Paced eWorkshop webpage.

For info on setting up a WIDA Secure Portal Account with access to these workshops in the eLearning Center, contact: Stephanie Vogel at (802) 828-1533.

Resources

Questions?

Email Stephanie Vogel, Title III/EL State Program Director, or call (802) 828-1533. 

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