The GRCC - ESOL Program - Online Instructor's Handbook

All instructors in the ESOL have responsibilities to their students and to the program. Please check this list regularly during the beginning, middle, and end of the quarter to review these duties and to check for any updates. The order of this list is general duties first and then  from the beginning to the end of the quarter.

1. All full and part-time faculty have GRCC e-mail. Please check your e-mail DAILY. If you are having technical problems contact IT x2222, to get an email address contact Heather Lambert x2319 in the Dean’s office.
2. Check voice mail WEEKLY.  Contact Shirley Benson at the switchboard for problems with your voice mail. Contact Heather to be added to the voicemail list.
3. Check the “UPDATES” link on the Instructor’s website for last minute changes in schedules, rooms, course, policies, weather closures, meetings, materials, cancellations etc.
4. If you have had any changes in home phone numbers, name changes, addresses etc. please notify Heather Lambert x2319, in the Dean’s office.
5. ALL STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS MUST BE REGISTERED! Do not allow unregistered students to attend your classes even if they are on your waiting list! 

• Current students continuing in an ESOL class for the following quarter have priority registration.
• Returning students have the same priority as new students (they will be given a date to register by the ESOL office).
• Any transactions after the tenth day will be charged a $35.00 late fee, unless student can document a work schedule change in order to move from a morning to evening or evening to morning class.

• New students will make an ESOL CASAS appointment with the dean’s  office in person.
• Students under the age of 18 MUST submit a High School Release form with the application.
• All new students must take the ESOL CASAS appraisal to determine eligibility, pre-test and placement.

• Every registration transaction (add/drop/change) MUST be recorded on a Registration Schedule Change form.
• Overload Forms must be used to register students in a full class (if enrollment greater than 25).
• No-Show Replacement Forms must be completed for every student replacing a "no-show" student. The No-Show who is replaced will receive a 0.0/NC grade (rather than S). In addition, the student will receive a letter informing them of the replacement and the necessity to withdraw themselves. The student will remain on the roster as a no-show as indicated by the 0.0. If you do not have a student to replace a no- show they will remain on your roster.
• If students do not show up within 3 days of the beginning of the quarter you can replace them with students from your waiting list.
• For questions: Please contact Heather Lambert at ext. 2319.

Waiting Lists

USE your waiting list to replace no-shows.

DO NOT:

• Do not allow walk-ins or people who show up at your door to jump the waiting list or to be registered without taking the ESOL appraisal.
• Do not allow students who are registered in the correct level but need different class times to jump the waiting list! (see below) These students can be added to the end of your waiting list!
• Do not move students up or down a level because you are trying to help them get into a class or because they want to stay with their friends or family members.

Misplaced Students

• If a student is clearly misplaced or has been registered in the wrong level, network with other teachers to see if you can find a seat in an open class to move the student to the correct level.
• Remember, students who are already registered, but have been misplaced or mis-registered by level have priority for available seats before students on waiting lists.
• Students who want to change times or locations (not level) are added to your waiting list. They do not have priority.

Add/Drops

• The last day for adds/drops is the 10th day of the quarter. Consider your class closed after this day*. DO NOT LET UNREGISTERED STUDENTS ATTEND YOUR CLASS.  YOU CANNOT ADD STUDENTS AT THE END OF THE QUARTER! We do have a second enrollment date, so please refer any students you have to the dean’s office for information on registering for class at that time.
• Please replace no-shows ASAP and add from your waiting list by the 10th day.  It is in your best interest to keep your class full because the Dean makes decisions about cutting classes with low enrollment by the 10th day.
• *Students who provide written documentation of work schedule changes can change to a different class time after the 10th day without penalty. You will need to fill out the appropriate forms and be sure to pass the student’s permanent folder on to the next teacher.

Submit a copy of your syllabus to Heather Lambert by the 10^th day of the quarter.  We now have standard syllabi for each level and class that can be somewhat tailored to your specifications. These standard syllabi are available in this ESOL FAC site. Be sure your syllabus clearly states the attendance and assessment requirements for early registration!  

Students who have repeated a level 3 times and are not making progress lose priority registration.  Please include this policy in your syllabus along with the attendance and assessment requirements.

In certain circumstances teachers may elect to allow a student more absences and still give them early registration, but we ask that all teachers establish this as a policy and make it explicit in their syllabus.  

WABERS forms must be completed by all the students in your class, and students must sign and date them. Please have these forms completed by all students in your class as soon as you complete any adds/drops and have an established class. Return the completed WABERS forms to the program office by the date in the quarterly program calendar. Check the calendar on this site for a reminder.

Remember, we don’t use SS#’s.  Students should use their GRCC ID. These are on your class roster, CASAS rosters, and on the student’s registration form. When you fill out WABERS at the beginning of the quarter, please mark "Improve English Skills” under goals, if they checked employed or unemployed (under Employment Status) then you will also have them check either “get a job” or “keep current job” under Goals.

The National Reporting System (NRS) and the Washington’s compliance agreement with the U.S. Department of Education require that all Adult & Family Literacy students be CASAS tested.  

CASAS Appraisal

·         The appraisal will determine eligibility and the correct CASAS pre-test to be administered. This is our current placement testing instrument. All new students are tested.

CASAS Pre and Post Tests

·         We are no longer able to conduct our Educational Interviewing class, so CASAS Pre-tests are to be administered in class at the beginning of the quarter as soon as students are comfortable in their learning environment, and if possible before 12 hours of class time.

·         Post-tests are to be administered at the end of the quarter but not before 45-50 hours of instruction.

·         Students who indicate they are leaving the program may be post-tested prior to the 45-50 hour time limit.

·         Your CASAS pre and post test dates and the deadlines for submitting your test order forms are listed in your ESOL program calendar in your quarterly class file that comes with your class folder.

·         Contact Heather Lambert to receive your WABERS password so you can access your student’s CASAS test history and scores online.

·      Teachers need to double check student answer sheets (TOPS pro forms) for accuracy before turning them into Maria! Make sure the students’ names are legible, student ID’s are accurate on both sides, and that all the bubbles are dark and clearly marked!! You will get them back and have to redo them if they are not accurately and correctly completed.

• There is only one place where we record attendance.  It is on the ‘N” drive.  You can get access to this drive on campus, at the Center at Kent, and at the Auburn Center.  You can also download software from Gatornet so you can gain remote access to the N drive from you home computer. https://www.gatornet.greenriver.edu/index.htm You will have to enter your logon and password to access Gatornet when you are off campus. Please contact IT at x2222 for directions on how to do this.
• We strongly recommend that you enter your attendance daily.  Attendance must be complete by the dates listed in the ESOL program calendar. Please contact Heather Lambert x 2319 if you need additional copies or more information.
• Please do NOT turn in hand written copies of your attendance.

 ·   Goal setting and needs assessment activities should be conducted at the beginning of each quarter. These activities help teachers and students work together to define the content for practicing language skills and links classroom practice to student's long and short term goals. We want students think in meaningful ways about why they are in school. By completing these activities in your class each quarter both you and your students can track progress toward student goals as they move through the program. (See website for in-depth information on educational interviewing and an article on goal setting.)

 ·   Needs assessment activities provide you and your students an opportunity to work together to decide what content they want to learn about and which language skills are most important to them to improve. See the ESOL Level 3 curriculum materials for an example that you can adapt for your class: 

If you are working with an aide, please note the following guidelines. Cynthia Gaede x2317 the Basic Skills support specialist is responsible for hiring, placement and other issues concerning aides.

·         Instructors must verify and initial timesheets for their aides before timesheets are processed.  Please keep accurate records of hours worked.

·         Please tell your aide to notify you as soon as possible in the case of schedule conflicts or absences.

·         Instructors should make their expectations for aides clear at the beginning of the quarter. See ESOL Aide Job Description.

·         Instructors and aides should keep the ESOL coordinator informed of any problems that cannot be worked out between the two of you. 

·         Please complete an “aide evaluation form” at the end of the quarter for your aide and return to the program coordinator. If you are working with the same aide and have completed one the previous quarter, you do not need to do this again.

All new adjunct faculty will conduct teacher evaluations during of the quarter. Have your aide or another teacher administer student evaluations for you if you are in your first or second quarter of teaching. If you are administering student evaluations, you can get the packets, along with the transparencies and “easy” version of questions from Valentina Shanazarova the RLC building secretary (x2288).  Please have the person who administers your evaluations return them to Valentina.

The Office of Adult Literacy has stated:

No single assessment can accurately represent all adult education learning.  The SBCTC/ABE Office encourages local ABE providers to use, and involve students in, a variety of on-going, informal assessments to monitor learning and inform instruction.  These alternative assessment tools and techniques, aligned with instruction, may include, for instance, other standardized instruments, teacher-made tests, teacher observation, unit tests, portfolios, performance assessments, checklists, and learner observations.  In addition, providers use local testing procedures for subject areas such as writing for which a statewide standardized test has not been selected.  However, these other assessments cannot be used to document educational gain for state or federal accountability reporting purposes.

While performance funding (the money we receive from the state) is tied to completion of levels as measured by the CASAS, we use locally produced assessments to measure when students have finished a level and are ready to move onto the next level or to exit the program.

At Green River our in-house assessment policy for each level is as follows:

Levels 2-6 are currently doing the following:
                ·         a writing sample

·         a reading cloze (C-Test)

·         a reading comprehension passage with questions

·         an oral interview

·         formative performance assessments that are grounded in the materials covered with in a specific class.

We currently use a bank of standardized end of quarter assessment tools for use with levels 2-6.  The assessments are located on the N drive. Your level lead should determine which final assessment will be used. All teachers should use the same final assessment forms for their level.

 As you administer and score your assessments please remember students who have repeated a level 3 times and are not making progress should not be given an early registration form. They can be given an orange late registration form or referred to a community based organization. Please include this policy in your syllabus along with the attendance and assessment requirements. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the ESL Program Coordinator.

For students who have passed the level 6 exit assessment and are leaving the ESOL program:

For ESOL students, who want to go to ABE, send the names to Heather & Maria. Then send the students to Heather to make an appointment for ABE CASAS testing.  They must take both the ABE math CASAS and complete a short writing sample. The CASAS is a timed test so they must arrive on time! Calculators are not allowed for the math.  These students must also complete an admission application for GRCC and submit their INS documentation to Enrollment Services. Please make sure that students take this test before ESOL student registration, so that you can advise students into the correct classes.

If they want to continue studying at GRCC send them to the Assessment & Testing Center now located in the Welcome Center. Also let Heather know and she will remove the registration block. Students who need financial aid should visit the financial aid office.  Please make sure you do this before ESOL student registration, so that you can advise students into the correct classes.

Please note the following message from Mary Eddington, director of financial aid. 

Hello Everyone,

I'm sending this note to request your assistance when working with ESOL students who plan to continue studying at GRCC when they complete their ESOL program.  Will you please ask your students to fill out an admission application for GRCC and submit their INS documentation to Enrollment Services once they finish their ESOL series.  We're finding that those who do not complete the application are often being charged non-resident tuition as international students.  When this happens their financial aid is delayed.

Thanks for your help!

Please fill out Student Profile Sheets for all students on your roster, even students who dropped or were no-shows. This is a very important step for us to remain compliant with state record keeping requirements. 

§  Put completed assessment tasks in the files of students who are being promoted to the next level, that is, students who have completed the level. Promote a student to the next level only if a student has a C for each skill area. You can also use the "A" designation for a student who attended less than 60 hours.  Contact the ESOL coordinator if you need help.

§  Include a writing sample for all students each quarter.

§  Return all files to the Heather in the dean’s office at the end of the quarter.

§  Fill in the CASAS test scores, forms and date tested for each student. If a student was absent for testing, record a 0, and make a note in the comments section that the student was not present for testing.

§  Do not write any confidential information about students in the comments section, this includes any disabilities students have. Please inform the dean’s office of any student who has a disability that would require accommodation for CASAS testing. You can make a note in the comment box that teachers should check with the dean’s office for necessary test accommodation for the student.

You will receive a registration packet from Heather Lambert toward the end of the quarter.  Each teacher meets with the students in their class and reviews their attendance, CASAS test scores, and final assessments and then fills out a registration form in ink for the student.  Students take this form to RLC 125 to pay their tuition and register for class.

 It is very important that you impress upon the students the importance of registering at this time, and the earlier the better.  If they do not register on the specified dates, they may not get a class.  Continuing students need to take advantage of their status as continuing students to register early and get a seat in the classes they want.

When you fill out registration forms for students, please keep in mind that students may not register for more than 21 credits. 

 If you have a question about whether a student is ready for the next level, contact a full time faculty member for help in making the decision. 

 Level teachers should handle registration for students in support classes. If students ask about registering other family members or friends, please tell them that they must make an appointment for placement testing first. You may not fill out a registration form for them!

If students are enrolled and earn S or P grade, they will get the complete number of credits for that class. We no longer assign variable credit.

 Our students get one of three grades, P, S, or NC, in web grading.

·         P = passing into the next level. {Note that "P" here is passing; on WABERS "P" means progress.}

·         S = Satisfactory progress, and remaining in same level.

·         NC = No credit, either the student was a no-show or did not accumulate 11 hours.  Students who were No-shows will appear on your web roster as NC. DO NOT CHANGE THE CREDITS TO ZERO!

·         Students may only repeat a level if they have not completed the competencies for that level.  Three quarters in a level should be ample time to complete the competencies for most students. Web grades are due by the date listed on the memo you received with your grade roster.  If you have questions about how to do web grading, contact the ESOL coordinator

·        Go to the Instructor Briefcase to access your class roster online. You will need your GRCC Instructor ID and an Employee PIN.  Please contact Angie Brenner at (253) 833-9111 ext. 2518 with questions or requests for permissions and/or a password.