Page 18 - TIME Newsletter - 2019

IT PROGRAMMER

MENTORS ESOL STUDENTS

The Multicultural Education Department serves to meet the language and
academic needs of a diverse student population of English Language
Learners (ELLs). These students represent 16% of the District’s total K-12
student population. A keystone of the department is initiating educational
programs that ensure the academic progress of ELLs.
Rose Goldman started the ESOL Mentoring Program two years ago. The
program offers three levels of mentoring. Internal and external adults
mentor upperclassmen, guest speakers who have successfully navigated
a culture change are invited to share their strategies and experiences,
and upperclassmen mentor students new to the country. All mentors
share strategies for success and conduct conversations on academic and
personal growth. Peer mentoring occurs weekly and is student-directed. All
student mentors receive authorization and direction from a supervising adult.
Mentors keep track of both formal and informal meetings. After a successful
year, the students become mentors.

Oscar Solis, a programmer in Enterprise Applications, was inspired to
participate in this program because he remembered what it was like being a
15-year-old kid in a new country, new culture and not knowing how to speak
English or navigate through a new system. He thinks back to when he was
in the shoes of ELLs and clearly remembers wishing to know someone who
could give him guidance or tools to be better equipped to make decisions
about his future in this country. It’s important to have someone to relate to
who knows the struggles ELL students are facing.
Oscar continues to work with the ESOL Mentoring Program on a monthly
basis, and hopes to successfully guide as many students as possible.

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