In part 1 of this article, I talked about the difficulties I had faced when it came to sharing information about ESL/ELD programming with families. In the community where I worked, ESL/ELD programming was often viewed from a deficit perspective by many caregivers and even some school staff. Widely held deficit perspectives about ELLs, combined with my own need to learn more about ESL/ELD programming, resulted in rather poor communication with MLL families.
In my current work as an instructional leader working in ESL/ELD programming, I talk to educators that experience similar issues regularly. How should teachers go about addressing ESL/ELD programming with families that may not be aware of what it is? How should educators re-start conversations about their child’s ESL/ELD programming with families when it has gone unaddressed for an extended period of time?
Recently I spoke to a middle school colleague about how she communicates with MLL families when they transition to grade 6 from the feeder elementary school. Her practice was to call all MLL families to welcome them in the early months of the school year, and share with them that their child would be receiving ESL or ELD support. In her experience, families were often happy to hear how their child would be supported in this way.
The teacher also shared with me that she also calls families when their child is no longer receiving program adaptations, or had completed STEP 6 of the ESL continua. In her experience, caregivers often responded positively; after all, becoming proficient in another language is something to celebrate.
Listening to these reflections on family communication and transparency made me think of how empowered we are as educators to shift thinking in our schools and communities.
Let’s take a look at some ways educators can build transparency and communication with families about ESL/ELD programming, while also re-casting the work we do as MLL educators through an assets-based perspective.
Make Information about ESL/ELD programming Readily Available to Families
In an age of endless information, there is no reason families should have difficulty accessing information about ESL/ELD programming. Leave an easy-to-read brochure that explains what ESL/ELD programming looks like in your school in the main office so families can build their understanding and know who to contact should they have any questions.
Make ESL/ELD Programming part of Regular Family Communication
When you make welcome calls or share updates to families of MLLs, take the time to reference the student’s growth in language and literacy. It’s a great opportunity to share what you are doing to support their growth as multilingual learners, and keep the conversation going about academic language development.
Leverage Curriculum Night, Open House, and other school Community Events to Raise Awareness about ESL/ELD Programs
The tools, terminology and resources we reference as educators, like the STEP Continua, accommodations, and modifications, may be unfamiliar to families. Have a short presentation ready that you can use (or share with staff) to explain to families what these terms and tools are, and how educators use them to enhance and adjust programming for newcomer students. If possible, invite a settlement worker or community member that speaks the same language(s) as the communities in your school in to help interpret whenever necessary.
Sharing information with families about ESL/ELD programming should never feel like a hard or difficult conversation. With the right combination of direct communication and use of digital information, you will find that it will get increasingly easier to make programming for MLLs a regular part of your communication with families.
