2014 NYC SIFE Conference
The 2014 New York City SIFE Conference was held on April 25 at King Juan Carlos Center at New York
University. More than 50 educators gathered to discuss the practical and effective strategies to help
English language learners who also experience an academic gap due to their lack of equivalent schooling
experiences to their peers. The SIFE conference is an annual event co-sponsored by the New York State
Regional Bilingual Education Resource Networks (RBE-RN) housed at Fordham University (NYC RBE-RN)
and at New York University (NYS Language RBE-RN).
During the welcoming greetings, Nellie Mulkay, Director of the NYS Language RBE-RN and Eva Garcia,
Director of NYC RBE-RN, spoke about the state’s continuous effort in providing guidance and researchbased strategies to serve the SIFE population. It is important to respect the students’ cultural and
language backgrounds and tap on their prior knowledge to be able to effectively engage these learners.
Currently, the state is developing an eight-week module curriculum specifically designed for ELLs and
will disseminate it to the field upon its completion.
The conference Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nancy Cloud, Director of the M.Ed. in the TESL Program at Rhode
Island College, focused on “Using Informational Text with SIFE Students Grades 5-12.” Dr. Cloud
emphasized that SIFE teaching should focus on using the “developmental approach”, rather than the
“corrective approach.” When teaching informational texts to the SIFE population, teachers should use
“stair steps” books starting with texts
with ample visual support and then
gradually ease students into more
complex texts around the same theme or
topic. Many examples and practical
strategies were shared and discussed.
Participants provided very positive
feedback and reported that they would
be able to implement their learning to
better serve the SIFE sub-group of ELLs.
Click here for this presentation.