Now Wow How

Charlie's Angels 1 Comment

My current organization involves public school, more specifically English as a second language (ESL) education. The need that is evident in my current setting includes families of nonnative English speakers being more involved in school. One of my focuses for the Now, Wow, How project will be on the families of ESL students. Many immigrant families are afraid to be involved in the school and are reluctant to reach out to the teacher due to the language barrier. The care now looks minimal in our current ESL program because there is a lack of support for ESL families in our district.

We currently have an ESL night one day out of the year that provides services for immigrant parents of ESL students. During this night, books are donated and fun games are played. In five years, I want more ongoing and consistent support for parents of ESL students, so they can feel comfortable in conversing with the school or advocating for their children if need be. I also want them to feel comfortable being involved in school. I will make caring leadership and social change real by implementing more family nights and providing English support for the parents. I learned that being a leader means making people feel comfortable and motivated to make a difference. By having people feel wanted and respected, they are more willing to make an impact in their community.

One major aspect of the ESL night that was discussed in class is to either provide transportation or bring the ESL nights to their homes/ community. Many immigrant families do not have access to transportation, which can be a barrier for engagement. I think if I can get more ESL families involved and less hesitant to converse with the school, the student’s learning will be positively impacted. I am interested to see how they engage immigrant families in the German school system.

One thought on “Now Wow How”

  • Katherine Cassada

    Agreed, this will be an interesting conversation in Germany, Tiffany. US schools, in my opinion, really need to get beyond the “surfacey” programs – an ESL night, an international food night, a few translated documents, etc – to deeper, more meaningful and entrenched practices. ESL nights and food nights matter, they are a start, but only a start. I agree – we need to consider that if we, as educators, went to our families, in their homes and in their communities, we could make significant progress in building relationships and sharing information. Creating an inclusive community matters to the children and the adults.

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