Skip to main content

Using Technology to Help Our ELL Parents Become More Involved

          One key component often left out of the English Language Learners education is the involvement with the students’ families. Technology is one way to accomplish this. Technology allows for translation services and copies of forms and their child’s progress in the parents language. All of these can be easily and readily accessed by the parent on a carefully created website. The problem I foresee and have seen in my own district is the funding and ability to create a site that can effectively include all of this. The new STARR report card and website created by a district in Texas is a glimmer of hope for all districts trying to more effectively and clearly communicate with the parents of ELLs.

          It just makes sense to give parents communication in their own language. I know this is the law, but too many districts are not providing this information then question why parent involvement is so low! I can’t imagine these parents dilemma.

          “Franklin Roosevelt once said that the real safeguard of democracy is education. I agree with Roosevelt, and I believe we fortify our nation’s future by rallying around high standards, good tests, and great parent-teacher communication. The new STAAR report card and website are an exciting investment in the best of what unites us: love for our children and hope for their future”.


http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/letters-to-the editor/article159512859.html#storylink=cpy

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preach It! This recent letter to the editor encompasses many of the blogs I have written about… inequity of English Language Learners (ELLs), dual language programs, and common sense! The writer comes right out and states the problem- racial disparity in many areas specifically in the advanced learner program (AL) as it directly affects the ESL student population, their future and education. The stakes are high. 65% of the student population are ELLS, yet only the other 35% of the population are truly qualified for AL. You are leaving out the majority. Both the MAP and Cogat, needed for entrance into AL are designed for a monolingual student when 65% of the student population is bilingual.   Kristen Marie Scott, teacher at Nuestro Mundo Community School, states the overwhelming obvious truths. After reading these next two quotes by her in her letter to the editor, one might want to say out loud, “Preach It!” “No standardized measure in Spanish has been ad
Post a Comment
Read more
Hometown Heroes... They Surround Us!   I would love to add to this blog a weekly highlight of an ESL teacher who rocks their job! There are endless teachers out there who meet the needs of their L2 students. They may not even be ESL certified! The same teaching practices and strategies apply for all students. L2 students can handle more rigorous and demanding content but need assistance with the language barrier. So Lauren McCoy, recipient of the Hometown Hero in Education Award, kept her expectations high and started an Advanced Placement course in English to give ELLs the opportunity to pursue greater goals. “ McCoy, 28, told the Daily News , "I didn’t make the readings easier, but gave them the tools they needed to understand the readings." That what being a hometown hero is about… knowing our students potential and providing the tools and opportunities for our students to succeed! https://patch.com/new-york/gramercy-murray-hill/murray-hill-teache
1 comment
Read more
Finally…           Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) now allows states flexibility to assess the growth of English Language Learners (ELLs). No learner is the same including our growing number of ELLs in the United States. It states that now ¼ of all students speak a language other than English at home. ESSA now allows a growth-to-target model. It sets annual and long-term goals based on their baseline test upon entering the US. Each ELL has an individual learning plan. That sounds familiar (IEP). It finally makes some sense now !         “Historically, ELs have often been held accountable for making exactly the same English language growth each year. Trouble is , research reliably shows that different levels of language proficiency take different amounts of time to develop. That is, many students move rapidly from basic to intermediate English language skills but then take longer to move to advanced levels of academic language proficiency ”         Things are finally
1 comment
Read more