New York State Bilingual Common Core Initiative: Language and Content Scaffolds for Emergent Bilinguals

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Language and Discourse

Abstract

On January 11, 2012, NYS officially adopted the Common Core Learning standards for ELA (English Language Arts) and Math. Following that adoption, NYS spearheaded and sponsored the Bilingual Common Core Initiative (BCCI), which focuses on the content and language scaffolds needed to reach the demands described in each of the standards. Each standard is addressed twice, in the New and the Home language. Languages are not seen as separate entities, but as forming a unified semiotic system in which transfer and learning occur naturally. This presentation focuses on the process of developing these progressions and their implications for emergent bilinguals across the state and possibly the nation. Moreover, it includes feedback from teachers to the development of the BCCI.

Authors

• Patricia Velasco, Queens College - CUNY

• Helen L. Johnson, City University of New York

• Estrella L. Olivares-Orellana, Teachers College, Columbia University