About the L.I. RBERN

 

About the L.I. RBERN

The Long Island Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (L.I. RBERN) is administered by Eastern Suffolk BOCES  and funded through a contract from the New York State Education Department, Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages. The NYSED Long Island RBERN is an important part of the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages long term strategy to  promote equity and raise standards for English Language Learners in NYS.  The L.I. RBERN staff provides technical assistance and professional development, as well as individualized on-site program consultation services to all L.I. schools and districts regarding the education of English Language Learners. L.I. RBERN services are provided at no charge to school districts

Home to both the largest and smallest suburban school districts, Long Island is a demographically and linguistically diverse region reporting over 44,000 English Language Learners who speak nearly 100 different languages. The L.I. RBERN catchment area includes both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and it serves all 125 public school districts and 5 charter schools on Long Island.

The work of the L.I. RBERN is structured around two overarching goals: 

1)  Provide technical assistance and professional development to help each district and school in the region create for ELLs an engaging educational
environment grounded in equitable and inclusive instruction that enables them to become proficient in English while capitalizing on their home languages and
heritages.
2) Support the State system and network to close the achievement gap for ELL performance in identified schools and districts by providing targeted
technical assistance and professional development aligned with NYSED objectives and initiatives.

The L.I. RBERN strives to meet these goals by aligning its work to support the following NYSED OBEWL priorities:

• New York State Strategies for Raising Standards;

• Strategies to provide intensive English Language instruction to ELLs;

• ESSA Title III: Language Instruction for ELLs and Immigrant Children;

• Commissioner's Regulations Part 154

• The Blueprint for ELL Success

• The Bilingual Progressions

• The Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S) Framework

• MLLs/ELLs Parents Initiative