Letter from the Editors
Stacy Brown, Oklahoma City Public Schools, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Jose Franco, Lexington School District 4, Swansea, South Carolina, USA
Dear PK12 Community,
We hope you enjoy this issue of PK12 News. In this issue, we are highlighting co-teaching, translanguaging, and technology for language development. We are also featuring new leaders serving PK12 students around the world.
Thanks to everyone who attended the June 1st PK12 open meeting. We appreciate your time and attendance. We know that as busy professionals, not everyone was able to attend. We will continue efforts to host meetings and events at two different times on weekend days to accommodate time zones and busy schedules. A resource we shared at the open meeting was a PK12 links document to help members keep up with the interest section and the association. We will continue to update this document over time.
If you would like to submit an article for an upcoming newsletter issue, we will again post a call for articles in the TESOL PK12 MYTESOL community as we approach the next issue. We can also email the call for articles directly to you via email if you prefer. Since only around 30% of PK12 members are currently on MYTESOL, we regularly email members upon request. Feel free to let us know if you would like to be notified about upcoming calls or other community information at [email protected].
If you haven’t joined the MYTESOL platform yet, it is free to join. Current TESOL members can join the PK12 Community and many other TESOL communities to share and connect with colleagues across the globe. There is also a new MYTESOL app so you can choose how you want to experience the platform! If you are new to the new MYTESOL, feel free to reach out if you need support navigating the platform. There’s a lot to explore! Be sure to check the main feed, which can be found by clicking on “Home” in the top toolbar. You can find updates from the association and colleagues there. Also be sure to watch for the TESOL Connections Monthly Member Appreciation posts for fun activities, discounts, and other benefits from the association. Here was the post for May, here was the post for June, and here is the post for July. You can search for members in your area or anywhere in the world by clicking on “Members” in the top toolbar. Nancy Flores, TESOL’s Member Engagement Manager, also shared a very helpful post to support members new to MYTESOL.
Additional association resources and publishing opportunities include TESOL Connections and the TESOL Journal, both of which are excellent resources for teaching tips, research, and more. Please let us know if there are ways we can help you access resources if you are coping with intermittent power and connectivity issues. We hope to continue to find ways to help PK12 members connect and engage. Thank you for being a member of our community!
Sincerely,
Stacy Brown & Jose Franco
PK12-IS Editors
Stacy Brown is a trauma and policy specialist and international emergency case worker, currently serving in the U.S. and 58 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Additionally, she serves as an EL administrator in Oklahoma. She has served in leadership for TESOL International Association and affiliates for 16 years and volunteers with multiple local and international organizations dedicated to protecting and advocating for forcibly displaced families.
José Franco is a former assistant professor in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of The Andes in Trujillo State, Venezuela. He is currently working as a multilingual learners (ML) teacher at Lexington School District 4 in South Carolina (Sandhills Middle School and Frances Mack Intermediate School).