Fort Worth ISD Showcases Its Multilingual Programs During National Education Conference
Fort Worth ISD is showcasing its multilingual programs for immigrant and refugee students during the Bilingual, Immigrant and Refugee Education Directors meeting of the Council of the Great City Schools this week. The conference will provide opportunities to highlight multilingual programs with an emphasis on Bilingual-Dual Language and ESL. The conference is be held through Saturday, May 19, at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel and includes a half-day high school and community tour. Conference participants were expected to visit O.D. Wyatt, South Hills and North Side high schools on Tuesday, May 15.
Board of Education Trustee Ashley Paz is the District’s representative for the Council of Great City Schools and has been a catalyst in building a strong partnership with the organization. Executive Director of Multilingual Programs Elda Rojas, ESL Director Suann Claunch, Director of Dual Language Xavier Vasquez, and Coordinator of ESL Dr. Karen Neal are members of the District’s host committee. Superintendent Dr. Kent Scribner and Mrs. Paz delivered an official welcome, Wednesday, May 16 before conference sessions began. The Mariachi Espuelas de Plata of North Side High School close out the conference with a performance during lunch, Saturday, May 19.
Dr. Scribner, Mrs. Paz, Ms. Rojas and other District staff are attending conference sessions designed for urban school district leaders who oversee multilingual, bilingual and ESL programs for immigrant and refugee students. The conference will have breakout sessions on language acquisition and literacy development, which supports the District’s 100x25 FWTX initiative, which sets a goal of 100 percent of third-graders reading on grade level or above by the year 2025.
“This is a great opportunity for District leaders from across the country to come together to learn best practices, review data and discuss current research pertaining to advancing English learners in the linguistic, academic, and affective areas,” Ms. Rojas said.
She's slated to present two breakout sessions at the conference -- “Long-Term ELLs: Urgency for Today and Prevention for Tomorrow,” today, May 17, and she will co-present “Enrichment Programs for ELLs: Early Childhood, STEM, and Summer Programs” with an educator from Anchorage on Friday, May 18.
The Council of the Great City Schools is the only national organization exclusively representing the needs of urban public schools. Composed of 69 large city school districts, its mission is to promote the cause of urban schools and to advocate for inner-city students through legislation, research and media relations. The organization also provides a network for school districts sharing common problems to exchange information, and to collectively address new challenges as they emerge in order to deliver the best possible education for urban youth.
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