'Springboard for success'

Summer ESL class helps young students enhance their skills

Learning to raise their hands, stand in straight lines or borrow books from the library is just part of a summer school program that is giving some Garland students a unique opportunity.

The prekindergarten/kindergarten bilingual and English-as-a- second-language summer school program is designed to be a springboard for success, said Diane Permenter, summer school principal at Lister Elementary School.

About 650 students participate in the half-day, six-week program. Its objectives are to help children continue their education, maintain their level of skill development and master new or unfamiliar concepts – including school rules – Ms. Permenter said.

The district has offered the program for the last 10 years, said Ms. Permenter, who is also a bilingual/ESL coordinator for the Garland school district.

There is no cost for qualifying students, and the district provides transportation to students who live outside a 2-mile radius of the school. Students also receive a free lunch as a part of the city’s annual Summer Nutrition Program.

“It’s a lot of oral development for the English language like reading, songs and rhymes,” said Linda Flores, assistant summer school principal. “The activities are kept short because little kids have short attention spans.”

The students also get to visit the library, paint and make arts and craft projects.

“Books are my favorite because I like to read,” said April Andrade, 6. “I like Clifford [the big red dog], and I’m learning the ABCs and numbers.

“I like to play, too,” she said.

The curriculum is aligned with the one used during the regular school year.

“It helps them prepare for the new school year,” Ms. Permenter said.

In the bilingual classes, the three basic goals are to learn letters, numbers and reading, said Andres Garcia-Sanchez, a teacher from Murcia, Spain, who is part of an exchange program.

Mr. Garcia-Sanchez teaches Spanish at Bullock and Weaver elementary schools during the academic year.

“Some are struggling, but they feel more confident with letters because we write every day,” he said

Using English during the summer is crucial to mastering the language, ESL teacher Shelli Girdler said.

“What tends to happen when they’re at home in the summer is they tend to speak in their native language,” Ms. Girdler said. “So they tend to forget, and it could put them at a disadvantage. In summer school, they talk in English.”

Students were tested at the beginning of the program to determine their skill level. Students will be tested the last week of summer school to assess their gains and to provide information to their new teachers, Ms. Permenter said.

“It’s all very proactive in its design,” Ms. Permenter said. “They have a springboard for success.”

Part of the program’s success comes from parents’ support and excitement about the opportunities available to the children, Ms. Permenter said.

Hundreds of parents showed for a recent “meet the teacher” function.

“We expected 160 people, ordered food for 200 and we had 500 parents come,” Ms. Permenter said.

Some parents were so thrilled by the invitation that they followed their child’s school bus along its route to make sure they could find the school, some bus drivers said.

“We thought that if we could get the parents in at this level, it would create a level of involvement that could last long term,” Ms. Permenter said.

Mr. Garcia-Sanchez calls the program a blessing.

“The students are always learning, and they’re always being stimulated,” he said.

Staff writer Toya Lynn Stewart can be reached at 972-272-6591, ext. 225, and at [email protected].



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