ESL Program helps families succeed with English language

(Traducción al español disponible aqui)

Senior year is usually filled with excitement: Graduation is just around the corner, and with that, adulthood and independence. Now imagine moving to a foreign country where the teachers don’t speak or write in your language, and as a result, having to go back to 10th grade instead of graduating. Imagine also the sense of isolation as you hear other students teasing you, but you aren’t entirely sure what they’re saying.

This was the situation for Paula Cruz, now a Liberty HighSchool alumna, as she entered the English as a secondlanguage program. That same program later helped her son overcome the frustration he experienced in elementary school when switching between Spanish at home and English at school.

“ESL was the greatest thing. The teacher was so patient with me, too, because in the beginning I felt I didn’t know how to do it,” said Cruz, who worked hard and eventually graduated with honors.

Her ESL teacher at the time was Penny Medina, who still worksat the high school today. Liberty Central School District also has two elementary ESL teachers and one middle school ESL teacher.

All together, they work with about 100 students and are responsible for things such as screening incoming students, working with classroom teachers to address their students’ language needs, modifying and adapting materials, facilitating communication between families and schools, coordinating bilingual testing, and providing transitional services to former ESL students.

These services were a great help to Cruz’s son, who started using ESL services in first grade. She said he knew all of his letters in Spanish, but would get them mixed up sometimes when reading them in English.

“At the beginning, I think he felt a little embarrassed that he had ESL, but I told him that he didn’t need to feel embarrassed because it was a good thing that the teacher was helping and I had used the services, too. He got to interact more with the kids [and by fourth grade] he was up there with the level of reading,” said Cruz.

Her son is now in middle school, on track with his classmates and even in National Junior Honor Society. His and his mother’s success stories illustrate the ideal outcome of a successful ESL program, which helps districts improve graduation rates for all students, according to Director of Student Services Eileen Conway- Whitaker.

“Our goal is to stress that education is the key for many families to a better life. We have such wonderful ESL teachers who do that by going above and beyond to assist, support and provide outreach to the families of our ESL students,” she said.

Examples of their outreach efforts include annual summer orientations for families, parent workshops, college information for students and even holiday parties for migrant families (see photos). Some outreach ideas are a product of the close relationship between educators with the Liberty ESL program and the migrant education program in Oneonta.

“We also ask parents if they would like us to offer other activities and courses,” said Whitaker, who encourages parents to contact ESL teachers with any ideas.

Cruz and her son no longer need ESL services, but their experiences have given her a great deal of insight into how to help ESL students. “I think the main thing for parents is caring and being with the kids, working with them,” she said. “Support them: that’s the most important thing.”