Project ELL-MO, a federally funded grant through the College of Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, selected three teachers from the Hazelwood School District to participate in its 2011-2012 cohort.<\/p>\n
Anna Koester, Spanish teacher, Hazelwood Central High School; Tiffany Nixon, physical education teacher, Arrowpoint Elementary School; and Jean Robinson, reading specialist, Jana Elementary School, are among 20 teachers in the state who received tuition scholarships for Project ELL-MO. The grant supports certified teachers in their completion of 21 credit hours of graduate level courses for ESOL \u2013 English Speakers of Other Languages \u2013 certification.<\/p>\n
Classes are held every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Columbia campus in the fall and spring, including six hours of outside coursework each week. Next summer and fall, the coursework will be completed online. The Project ELL-MO application notes that participants can pursue a master\u2019s degree in education in TESOL \u2013 Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages \u2013 in addition to ESOL certification.<\/p>\n
Through the Project ELL-MO program, Koester, Nixon and Robinson are exemplifying HSD values of creating an inclusive learning climate that meets the needs of a diverse community.<\/p>\n
Their reasons for pursuing the opportunity to become certified ESOL teachers are similar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn college, I was an English major, and I minored in Spanish. I\u2019ve taught both at Hazelwood Central High School. I\u2019m interested in ELL because I began wondering about best practices in second language teaching,\u201d said Koester. \u201cI\u2019m also interested in pursuing a career as an ESOL teacher if a position opens up in the District. This opportunity for free certification in ESOL was too good to pass up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll Hazelwood teachers were emailed about this wonderful opportunity in December last year. I had already been researching ELL programs because I have such an interest in TESOL. I was so excited to hear that I\u2019d been selected out of more than 70 applicants,\u201d said Nixon. She also hopes to become an ELL teacher in the District.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a reading specialist, I sometimes work with English Language Learners. Project ELL-MO, and the opportunity to become certified in TESOL, seemed a perfect fit to gain a deeper understanding and proficiency for teaching English Language Learners,\u201d said Robinson.<\/p>\n
Each says that time management is key to teaching full-time and attending classes out-of-town.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecoming better with time management is something I am working on,\u201d said Robinson. \u201cPrioritizing and thinking through my to-do list has become my drive-time mental activity. Something has to give, so my housework ends up at the bottom of the list.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been very stressful trying to manage my time effectively. I\u2019m very thankful for my principal, who doesn\u2019t mind that I have my nose in a reading assignment nearly every day during lunch duty,\u201d said Nixon. She has to balance her studies while taking care of her family, getting her children to their sports activities, making meals and doing laundry. She is also \u201cvery thankful\u201d that her husband has been a \u201chuge help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koester pointed out the stress factor, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m waking up at 4:00 a.m. to complete assignments, getting myself and the kids ready, and planning before and after school for my school day. Life is going to be a little stressful for the next year and a half,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The ESOL skills they acquire will be used in the classroom in different ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will use it all the time in my Spanish classroom. The basis of all the classes is how to teach a second language after a first language has been acquired. In my students\u2019 case, it\u2019s English. What\u2019s really cool is that I\u2019m teaching some former ESOL students their third or fourth language. What an opportunity!\u201d said Koester.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always enjoyed building meaningful relationships with my students. This is a wonderful opportunity for that to continue,\u201d said Nixon.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince my responsibilities include literacy intervention, I expect the knowledge, perspectives and skills gained through the program to result in better oral language and literacy instruction for all students that I teach,\u201d said Robinson.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my understanding that there continues to be a growing need for teachers with TESOL certification around the country. If the trend is true, then the need is certain to impact large districts such as ours,\u201d Robinson continued, speaking on the importance of ESOL in the District.<\/p>\n
\u201cHSD already has a wonderful ELL program. The services to our ESOL students are a critical bridge toward their English proficiency,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year, our small part of the St. Louis area becomes more and more diverse,\u201d said Koester. \u201cIt is important to create a safe and comfortable transition for those students as they learn English.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a Hazelwood graduate,\u201d said Nixon. \u201cEver since I graduated, the demographics have changed immensely. ESOL is very important because it helps language immersion students learn how to be successful in their target language and academics. They shouldn\u2019t have to figure it all out on their own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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