WGU FEA1 Task 3 |Passed on First Attempt |Latest
Update with Complete Solution
A. Discuss an instance during your field experience in which you advocated for one or
more specific ELL students.
During my field experience, I advocated for a Spanish-speaking student in my Kindergarten
class, whom I will refer to as “Student X” for confidentiality purposes. This student was at a
Level 1- “Entering” for English Language Proficiency according to WIDA screeners (WIDA,
2020). Student X entered a monolingual English environment and demonstrated a complete
"lack of verbal response" during 1:1 conversations, whole-group lessons, and independent
activities; so it was no surprise that initial district benchmarking data flagged them as severely
below milestones in almost all categories. There were immediate conversations about the
possibility of a special education referral before the first month of school had concluded. It
seemed to me that their silent behavior was being interpreted through a deficit lens. As Student
X’s primary teacher, I advocated for their civil rights, and through collaborative conversations,
the team adjusted our diagnostic timeline to ensure proper language acquisition could be
accurately tracked before further considerations or conversations about special education could
take place.
1. Discuss any relevant laws, policies, or regulations you relied on when acting as an
advocate. Cite any sources you discuss.
My advocacy and opinion on the matter relied on both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974. Under these federal mandates- (which
are strictly monitored and enforced in the state of Washington), under WAC 392-160, school
districts and classroom teachers are legally required to differentiate between a true learning
disability and the natural progression of learning English as a second language (Civil Rights Act
of 1964), (Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974).
In addition, I relied on Washington’s state policies regarding the "Silent Period". This is a
linguistically documented phase in which newcomer students absorb receptive language before
they are ready to expressively produce language (Washington Office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction [WA OSPI], 2021). During the conversations in which I advocated for Student
X, I referenced these regulations to support through laws, policies, and regulations that a
special education referral was inappropriate at this time. Not only that, but evaluating Student X
for an academic or cognitive disability during this window would actually violate state guidelines
entirely.
, 2. Discuss how the results of the advocacy affected the student or students.
The result of this advocacy was the successful protection of Student X’s instruction within my
general education classroom. I was able to document and present my observations relating to
their non-verbal capabilities to our building's multilingual specialist, and we were in full
agreement on bypassing a referral to special education.
I implemented a variety of targeted and tiered English Language Development scaffolds for
student X, and as a result, they were spared an inaccurate educational label. More importantly,
as the weeks progressed, their anxiety decreased significantly, and they began to demonstrate
their academic abilities, specifically in mathematics. This proved that the initial challenges faced
by Student X were not cognitive, but were solely linguistic. Unfortunately, they did not stay at
our school for long, as their family moved about 6 weeks into the school year.
B. Explain a situation involving your collaboration with the families of students to
promote positive learning experiences for ELL students.
To foster a positive learning experience for my multilingual students and ensure content sent
home is accessible to the Spanish-speaking families (85% of my ELL students' L1 is Spanish), I
collaborated with interested families of my Spanish-speaking students to launch a bilingual
"Home Math Bags" program. Mathematical reasoning transcends English literacy barriers, so I
assembled take-home gallon-sized ziplock bags containing concrete manipulatives to support
counting (counters, dice, and ten-frames), along with simple game cards printed side-by-side in
English and Spanish. Before sending the bags home, with the help of our Spanish-speaking
building Family Liaison, I sent home an informational flyer with instructions for playing the
games and visuals. I hosted a brief, informal morning workshop in the classroom during drop-
off. To check in with families, I use our district's communication platform that automatically
translates messages into the user's L1. I am very pleased with the number of families who have
shown interest in this program, have been sending home new games and materials since April,
and plan to continue earlier in the 2026-2027 school year.
1. Describe the results of the collaboration you explained in part B, including the
families' reaction.
In addition to what I stated above, I felt this collaboration increased home-to-school academic
partnerships and improved students' number sense. Families' reactions were very positive and
deeply appreciative. I had more than one parent who expressed relief that they did not need to
speak fluent English to support their child’s academic development, welcoming families' native
Update with Complete Solution
A. Discuss an instance during your field experience in which you advocated for one or
more specific ELL students.
During my field experience, I advocated for a Spanish-speaking student in my Kindergarten
class, whom I will refer to as “Student X” for confidentiality purposes. This student was at a
Level 1- “Entering” for English Language Proficiency according to WIDA screeners (WIDA,
2020). Student X entered a monolingual English environment and demonstrated a complete
"lack of verbal response" during 1:1 conversations, whole-group lessons, and independent
activities; so it was no surprise that initial district benchmarking data flagged them as severely
below milestones in almost all categories. There were immediate conversations about the
possibility of a special education referral before the first month of school had concluded. It
seemed to me that their silent behavior was being interpreted through a deficit lens. As Student
X’s primary teacher, I advocated for their civil rights, and through collaborative conversations,
the team adjusted our diagnostic timeline to ensure proper language acquisition could be
accurately tracked before further considerations or conversations about special education could
take place.
1. Discuss any relevant laws, policies, or regulations you relied on when acting as an
advocate. Cite any sources you discuss.
My advocacy and opinion on the matter relied on both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974. Under these federal mandates- (which
are strictly monitored and enforced in the state of Washington), under WAC 392-160, school
districts and classroom teachers are legally required to differentiate between a true learning
disability and the natural progression of learning English as a second language (Civil Rights Act
of 1964), (Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974).
In addition, I relied on Washington’s state policies regarding the "Silent Period". This is a
linguistically documented phase in which newcomer students absorb receptive language before
they are ready to expressively produce language (Washington Office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction [WA OSPI], 2021). During the conversations in which I advocated for Student
X, I referenced these regulations to support through laws, policies, and regulations that a
special education referral was inappropriate at this time. Not only that, but evaluating Student X
for an academic or cognitive disability during this window would actually violate state guidelines
entirely.
, 2. Discuss how the results of the advocacy affected the student or students.
The result of this advocacy was the successful protection of Student X’s instruction within my
general education classroom. I was able to document and present my observations relating to
their non-verbal capabilities to our building's multilingual specialist, and we were in full
agreement on bypassing a referral to special education.
I implemented a variety of targeted and tiered English Language Development scaffolds for
student X, and as a result, they were spared an inaccurate educational label. More importantly,
as the weeks progressed, their anxiety decreased significantly, and they began to demonstrate
their academic abilities, specifically in mathematics. This proved that the initial challenges faced
by Student X were not cognitive, but were solely linguistic. Unfortunately, they did not stay at
our school for long, as their family moved about 6 weeks into the school year.
B. Explain a situation involving your collaboration with the families of students to
promote positive learning experiences for ELL students.
To foster a positive learning experience for my multilingual students and ensure content sent
home is accessible to the Spanish-speaking families (85% of my ELL students' L1 is Spanish), I
collaborated with interested families of my Spanish-speaking students to launch a bilingual
"Home Math Bags" program. Mathematical reasoning transcends English literacy barriers, so I
assembled take-home gallon-sized ziplock bags containing concrete manipulatives to support
counting (counters, dice, and ten-frames), along with simple game cards printed side-by-side in
English and Spanish. Before sending the bags home, with the help of our Spanish-speaking
building Family Liaison, I sent home an informational flyer with instructions for playing the
games and visuals. I hosted a brief, informal morning workshop in the classroom during drop-
off. To check in with families, I use our district's communication platform that automatically
translates messages into the user's L1. I am very pleased with the number of families who have
shown interest in this program, have been sending home new games and materials since April,
and plan to continue earlier in the 2026-2027 school year.
1. Describe the results of the collaboration you explained in part B, including the
families' reaction.
In addition to what I stated above, I felt this collaboration increased home-to-school academic
partnerships and improved students' number sense. Families' reactions were very positive and
deeply appreciative. I had more than one parent who expressed relief that they did not need to
speak fluent English to support their child’s academic development, welcoming families' native
