Liberty Middle School Teacher Champions ESL
Sandy Foster understands test anxiety. If she didn’t already, she certainly learned this summer how her students feel with a big exam looming, and then waiting for the results.
Foster, an English teacher at Liberty Middle School, is one of eight USD 382 teachers who took a test for English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) certification.
“It was a hard test,” Foster said. “I felt real strong on the grammar part. For the rest of it, I’m sure I had a deer in the headlights look.”
What made the test extra difficult was that the teachers did not take classes to prepare. Gina Bates, ESL director for USD 382, pulled together some study materials, directed her colleagues to websites and facilitated some study groups. Everyone passed, she reported.
