April 2007
Monthly Archive
21 Apr 2007 07:21 am
Wallisch finds ways to integrate art into education
| When Bill Wallisch accepted the job as principal of Sand Creek Elementary School in Harrison School District 2, he brought true appreciation for arts education. Hhe has doubled the art budget, found money to support an annual fifth-grade field trip to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, has implemented an annual school art show and treasure hunt, and has enriched the school with student-designed murals. “Of our 470 students, at least 70 are ESL kids,” he said. “Many of their families hold down two or more jobs just to make ends meet, and they don’t speak English so meeting their kids’ teachers can be intimidating the first time.” |
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search for : ESL, don’t speak English
20 Apr 2007 07:03 am
Learn English as second language at Wall Highway Baptist
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Wall Highway Baptist Church is meeting an important need in the city by providing a free English as a second language class to the community. The class meets Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. with child care provided. The program was started in August of 2005. Since then, approximately 40 students, representing 11 different countries have come through. Currently, the group has approximately 20 students on any given class night. |
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search for : English as a second language
19 Apr 2007 06:27 am
Rethinking bilingualism
| Bilingual education offers an immigrant student education in his primary language interspersed with English at his level of understanding, from the very first day. The premise is that when subject matter is taught in the first language, the child will understand the subject matter. Once a child has developed literacy in its primary language, it transfers it into the second language. Krashen continues on to say, “It is easier to learn to read in a language we understand. Once we can read in one language, we can read in general.” |
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18 Apr 2007 07:29 am
Anglo and Latino students learn each other’s languages
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Learning another language is difficult. It helps when the student sitting next to you speaks it fluently and is also trying to learn your language. A handful of school districts with growing Latino populations in Lake County have adopted Dual Language Programs that put native Spanish-speaking children and native English speakers together in a classroom where they are taught in both languages at different parts of the day. The outcome is that by high school both groups are bilingual and form friendships across cultural divides. |
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search for : Dual Language Programs
17 Apr 2007 08:10 am
Ontario eyes tighter rules for ESL funding
| The Ontario government is looking to make school boards more accountable for how they spend funds allocated to English as a second language programs. Ontario hands out $225 million in ESL funding to school boards across the province every year, but the funds can be used at their discretion. CBC News has learned that Queen’s Park is getting ready to release a new policy that will take aim at improving accountability, as well as the delivery and quality of ESL programs. As it stands, school boards struggling to balance their books can use some of the money to help pay other bills. |
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search for : ESL funding, ESL
16 Apr 2007 07:06 am
ESL schools go on hiring spree since oversight panel ends
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Despite declining student enrollment in East St. Louis School District 189, more than 150 people have been hired for nonteaching positions since state financial control ended in June 2004. More than 40 of those jobs are new positions that did not exist when the state’s financial oversight panel was in place. School board members Joe Lewis, who is the vice president, and Kinnis Williams, who chairs the finance committee, said the hirings have resulted in a budget deficit for the first time since the state in 1994 took control of finances and imposed the oversight panel for nearly 10 years. |
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15 Apr 2007 06:39 am
Schools delicate balance with Spanish-English dual language program
| Carrboro Elementary parents and staff asking the board to keep its number of students at the lowest socio-economic level high to ensure enough native Spanish speakers for its Spanish-English dual language program. They also asked for an alternative solution such as allowing native Spanish speakers districted to other elementary schools to apply to the program. That program offers two classes at every grade level except fifth grade, where half of the day is taught in Spanish and the other half is taught in English. The program has a goal of enrolling 50 percent Spanish speakers, which it has not yet met. |
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search for : Spanish speakers, Spanish-English dual language program
14 Apr 2007 08:19 am
Learning English as a second language at Chestnut Ridge school
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The class is a favorite of its students from Europe and South America, a chance to learn about a new country and a new language while having a bit of fun, too. Unlike in public schools, where English as a Second Language intends to boost the fluency of full-time students, the program at the Green Meadow Waldorf School mostly aids those in exchange programs who will be here for only a few months. Their short stay can especially set them apart at Green Meadow. Unlike large public districts, or regional parochial ones where students attend different elementary and middle schools, many here are together from kindergarten through 12th grade. |
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search for : English as a Second Language
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