Hoover Hosts K-12 ELL Parent Academy
On Saturday October 13, over 100 families came to Hoover for our 3rd ELL Saturday parent academy. Parents had the chance to hear from school and community presenters on subjects varying from graduation requirements to how to use a fire extinguisher.
Principal Doug Wheeler says “this is our third year holding the Saturday academy, each year we reach more parents.” This year, the academy was open to the other schools that track students to Hoover High School (Samuelson, Hillis, Monroe, and Meredith). Hoover high school has the largest enrollment of ELL students. 17% of the student body are English Language Learners, representing over 27 countries and 40 languages and dialects.
In the entire Hoover feeder pattern, nearly one in four students receive ELL services, excluding students who have successfully exited the program and are no longer in the ELL subgroup.
“We take great pride in our diversity and have taken steps int eh classroom to increase our responsiveness to our English Learner population” said Doug Wheeler, Hoover Principal. DMPS Bi-lingual Community Outreach Workers were on hand to help translate for families.
“It is a very exciting atmosphere, hearing all the languages being translated is a unique experience” said Community In Schools Coordinator Gretchen Critelli.
The Community In Schools Program, funded with DMPS through United Way is a new program purposed to connect schools to their community to address school-specific challenges. In the case of Hoover and its feeder schools, helping the ELL population was an immediate and visible need. DMPS ELL Program Director Vinh Nguyen says “we appreciate the ELL community’s commitment to their children’s education through their participation in this academy.”
If you would like to help DMPS or any of the schools in the Hoover feeder pattern better serve this population, please contact Vinh Nguyen at 242-7853, Gretchen Critelli at 242-7874 or any building principal.
Check out more photos from the ELL Parent Academy on Flickr