LA Emergent Bilingual Change Agent Network Application 2023

No one knows better than teachers the potential in all our students, particularly those for whom English is not their home language. Teachers see first-hand the social, cultural, and linguistic assets these students bring to their classrooms, as well as the barriers that many of them face in succeeding academically. The challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and distance learning have shined a bright light and in some cases exacerbated the barriers our emergent bilingual students are facing.

Over the last several years, California has adopted policies that focus on our large population of English learners, including the California English Learner Roadmap: Strengthening Comprehensive Educational Policies, Programs, and Practices for English Learners (EL Roadmap). The EL Roadmap provides principles intended to guide all levels of the system towards a coherent and aligned set of practices, services, relationships, and approaches to teaching and learning that together create a powerful, effective, twenty-first century education for our English learners. But even with these important guiding principles, teachers may not see opportunities improving for the emergent bilingual students in their schools.

Teach Plus believes that you can play a critical role in this work. As a teacher leader in our 11-month Change Agent Fellowship, you will have the opportunity to lead a collaborative team of your peers, in partnership with your principal, in developing customized and school-based solutions to the needs of your learners. Teach Plus has over a decade of experience in activating teachers to serve as leaders and will build your skills to grow and exercise your leadership to facilitate school-based change. Through the Change Agent Fellowship, you will examine data to identify the needs of your school and students, develop a project to address those and chart a path forward to bring about change through continuous improvement.

Successful applicants will receive a $2,000 leadership stipend, a $1,000 implementation grant for their school, and leadership coaching as they implement their projects. Applicants must have at least three years of teaching experience.

*If you click Save my progress and resume later, you will be asked to enter your email and to choose a password. You will receive an email with a link to continue your application.

My Principal's Contact Information:

Principal's First Name

Last Name

Principal's Email Address

Teacher Leader Personal Information

First Name

Last Name

Street Address

City

State

Zip

Preferred Email Address Type

To ensure you receive Teach Plus communications promptly, we strongly recommend using a personal email address.

Work/School Email

Personal Email

Alternate Email

Primary Phone

Mobile Phone

Gender Identity

If "Identity not listed" is selected, please specify

What pronouns do you use? For example: They/Them, She/Her, He/Him

Ethnicity

Select all that apply. To select multiple responses on a PC hold "Ctrl", on a Mac hold the Command key (next to the space bar).

Tribal Affiliation (Optional):

If "Ethnicity not listed" is selected, please specify

Do you identify as a person of color?

(i.e., Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, Asian, Pacific Islander, and/or of other global majority race or ethnicity)

Would you like to receive the Teach Plus Newsletter?

Newsletter (monthly)

News Blast (weekly)

Teach Plus California Newsletter

Teaching Information

Teaching Status

Note: You must be a current teacher in order to be considered for this opportunity.

If "Other" is selected as Teaching Status, please explain

Name of the school where you currently teach

Please write out the complete name.

School Address

City where you currently teach

State

Zip

District

School Type

If "Other" is selected as School Type, please explain

Current Grade(s) teaching

Select all that apply. To select multiple responses on a PC hold "Ctrl", on a Mac hold the Command key (next to space bar)

Main Subject(s) Teaching

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If "Other" is selected as Main Subject(s) Teaching, please explain

Years of teaching experience you have completed (including this school-year)

Years of teaching experience you have completed in your current district (including this school-year)

How did you hear about this opportunity?

Please specify how you heard.

Where did you receive the majority of your teacher training prior to entering the classroom?

Please Specify (Teacher Training Other)

*If you click Save my progress and resume later, you will be asked to enter your email and to choose a password. You will receive an email with a link to continue your application.

Essay Questions

For the three questions below, we are offering two options for completing them:

Complete them in written format in space provided below.
Submit a video response to each of the questions. If you choose this option, share a link to your video in the open response box.

Note– Both options will be evaluated by the same standards and there are no advantages to any format. We are trying to make this application as accessible as possible to all applicants.

1. Tell us about a time that students in your class were struggling. What was the challenge and how did you know it was an issue? How did you address these challenges? Please discuss how you used student data to set learning goals and inform your instruction, created a plan for your students to attain their goals, and how you assessed their progress. (250-500 words / 3-6 minutes)

2. Write about a time when you took on a leadership role in a group or on a project (formal or informal) in your school building and had to lead or influence other adults. Describe the purpose of your leadership role, your experience working with adults (especially if you faced resistance, how did you work to overcome it and build buy-in), and the influence or impact of your leadership on others. (250-500 words / 3-6 minutes)

3. Describe the problem of practice in your school/district that you and your principal want to address and how it fits into your school’s/district’s priorities and strategic plan. What other teachers will benefit from this initiative? What teachers will be a part of your team? How will this improve the practice of these teachers? How will it impact your dual language learners and/or English learners’ growth and outcomes? What content knowledge will you need to address this problem? If there are gaps in your knowledge, please identify them and propose solutions. (250-500 words / 3-6 minutes)

What is the title of your project? (10 words maximum)

Which of the following topics does your project most closely align?

Topics

Principle 1 - Changing the culture or climate in my school to ensure an assets-oriented and needs-responsive school.
Principle 2 - Ensuring the intellectual quality of instruction and meaningful access for emergent bilingual students by changing the instructional practice of my peer teachers.
Principle 3: Ensuring the systems in your school/district are responsive to the strengths and needs of English learners by improving goals and commitments to English learners; a systemic focus on continuous improvement; culturally and linguistically valid and reliable assessment; and a pipeline of well-supported educators skilled in addressing the needs of English learners, including bilingual teachers.
Principle 4: Changing practice to align and articulate within and across systems by adapting programs for continuity, alignment, and articulation across grade levels and system segments and providing extra resources and time in school and/or after-school to accommodate the extra challenges English learners face.
Other (please explain)

Based on the categories listed above, which topic area does your project most closely align to?

Other (please explain)

Resume

Your resume should succinctly (two pages or less) tell the story of how your related experiences, informal and formal leadership experience, and your accomplishments make you a great candidate for the fellowship. If you do not have a current resume, here are some resources to help you build this useful professional tool:

Article on what to include in your resume (new teachers vs. those with many years experience)

ResumeGenius - a free on-line resume builder

Google Docs Resume Templates

Microsoft Word Resume Templates

Please upload your resume in PDF format.

If advanced to the next round, you will be invited to a virtual interview between June 29th and June 30th. We will be sending you an email to schedule that appointment.

Thank you for your interest in the Emergent Bilingual Change Agent Network.

*If you click Save my progress and resume later, you will be asked to enter your email and to choose a password. You will receive an email with a link to continue your application.