The EHHS Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) department has seen a period of great growth in the last few years. EHHS has continued to see a growing number of multilingual learner (ML) students join us in the last several years. The students, teachers, and administrators want our school to be a place where all students learn and grow together. The department helps students who come from different countries or students who grew up with a different first language in the household.
Last year, they created an international club that students could join, and they created many new things not only for the ESL/ML students, but also for our school as a whole so that we could understand their program. This club was created for everyone and every culture. Mrs. Dyanne Michalowski is one of the ESL teachers who has been here for many years. She has seen the difference that EHHS has made with the new ESL students. She says, “I think there’s been more opportunities for them to interact with each other and the community but also with other students.”
Not only has there been change in the high school but also in the elementary school, and middle school. They’re trying to build up the entire ESL program to try to get as much support to as many students as possible. Mrs. Michalowski continues, “We give our students more opportunities to celebrate their culture by starting an international club where the students meet to discuss different activities like promoting cultural awareness.” The TESOL department also organizes family nights for all members of the ML population. The event spans the entire district as an opportunity for a lot of different families to get to know one another within the program. They try to do this activity twice a year — once during the fall and once during the spring. They bring food and dance and they discuss all of these activities and what they want to change.
Another big change that they had was bringing in the daily announcements being offered in Spanish. Every morning during flex, students share over the loudspeaker announcements about what is going on throughout the day and week. Many teachers and students thought it would be beneficial for our Spanish-speaking population to have the announcements in Spanish. This can increase our Spanish-speaking students’ sense of community and attachment to the things going on in our school. The announcements have already been provided in Spanish in middle school and some elementary schools.
All of the TESOL teachers try to come up with new ideas for the students to be a part of everything by just coming to the USA without knowing anything. We try to make EHHS a better place every day and we always do what’s best for the students. Thank you to the TESOL teachers.
