Troy 30-C Holds Parents Night For Families Of English Learners

Bilingual teachers and English Learners Specialists at Troy Community School District 30-C schools recently held a night of interactive communication with parents of the district’s English Learner students.

The Parent Night was held virtually during this period of the coronavirus pandemic, with staff members each presenting 15-minute live conversations about various subjects related to remote and hybrid learning.

The session topics included how to navigate the web services used by the district to create and grade assignments and to share files between students and teachers; how to use the internet subscriptions recommended by teachers to supplement their students’ education; how to use Troy email; how to submit the daily certifications certifying their students are free of Covid-19 symptoms; how to find their children’s grades and report cards and more.

Separate sessions were also held for parents of preschool EL students.

According to Dr. Kristin Johnson, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Assessments, EL students in the district speak some 21 languages, the most common of which is Spanish, but also includes Vietnamese, Greek, Italian, Filipino Tagalog, Polish, French, Hindi, Thai, Urdu, Romanian and Cebuano.

It is especially important during this year of remote and hybrid learning, Johnson says, for parents of English language learner students to be empowered and equipped to support their children with their education.

“Our bilingual teachers and EL Specialists continue to find creative ways to connect with families and parents,” she said. “During normal times, we find ways to bring our EL families into the schools to grow that home-school connection. Bringing families into our schools physically is just not an option at this time, however, for safety reasons.”

Johnson said session topics also included tips on how to make learning at home easier; ways to practice reading, writing and speaking English; and how to choose books that match their children’s reading levels.

“We know the value of having our families partner with us for the students’ education,” Johnson added, “and we know that language can sometimes be a barrier to that. Our job is to provide the tools and resources to break down those barriers.”

Troy Community School District 30-C has nine English language specialists throughout the district, as well as four bilingual teachers in its pre-kindergarten through fourth-grade schools.