In 2006 the Texas Education Agency assembled a group to review and revise the ESL standards. The result was the new English Language Proficiency Standards that went into effect in December of 2007. The standards describe the instruction that districts need to provide for English language learners so that they can successfully master both content area knowledge and academic language. Unlike the former ESL standards, the new standards clearly indicate that the ELPS are to be integrated into each subject of the required curriculum. This book includes a brief introduction into what kind of instruction is required for English learners, an outline of district responsibilities, cross curricular student expectations, and language proficiency level descriptors.

Navigating the ELPS Using the New Standards to Improve Instruction for English Learners

Seidlitz, John

Canter Press

In April of 2015, a team of "border kids" from South-Central El Paso surprised the country by competing in the national chess championships. For these kids, dreams of beating highly privileged students from "fancy" schools in upper-crust neighborhoods aren't on the radar. They have bigger issues to deal with in life. And yet, they choose to voluntarily--even enthusiastically--commit countless hours every week to the practice of a game that they had known virtually nothing about until art teacher Saul Ramirez started a chess club at Henderson Middle School. 
Under Ramirez's caring but firm tutelage, the rising stars of El Paso hunker down, deal with the challenges of life and trust Ramirez to mentor them in their new extracurricular passion--chess.
The Champions' Game: A True Story chronicles Ramirez's efforts to create a revolution of the mind.
Ramirez's genius is not so much the chess that he teaches (even though he's a former Texas state chess champion), but in his ability to intertwine life principles with chess rules to expand the minds, the insight and even the future possibilities of the students he teaches. The book's 14 chapters lay out Ramirez's rules for life--and chess, introducing concepts like guard your queen, control your center and protect your king. 
Ramirez grew up in El Paso's Segundo Barrio, a neighborhood that might bring to mind Compton, or South Central, or 8 Mile, often noted as the poorest zip code in the United States. Ramirez seems to possess a singular ability to draw out the talents of his students, perhaps because chess is much more than just a game to him. In The Champions' Game, he writes, "I want to start a revolution. A revolution of the mind. I want to do what was done for me by [the people] who were always there for me when I was a child, guiding me, teaching me, showing me how to be a man, an artist, a teacher. I want to build children anew, from the mind up. That does not take genius. It takes love."

The Champions' Game

Teen & Young Adult

Ramirez, Saul

Historical Fiction

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Books by Seidlitz, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Seidlitz, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Navigating the ELPS Using the New Standards to Improve Instruction for English Learners

The Champions' Game