The ESOL program here at North has two teachers, Anne Freeman and Andrea Corvalán, who work towards helping students with various backgrounds and native languages. The program works with students and parents adapting the material they learn to what they already understand. In the program, there’s a variety of languages that come in but the most common has been Spanish. 

The students work on paper and try to work with parents as much as possible. Although they limit technology usage as a technique to learn English, they’re still very open to using translators to communicate with them.

“The best way to help their kids adapt is just to support them,” Freeman said.

The program does focus on learning English but English isn’t the only subject they teach their students. Depending on their English level they also teach subjects like history and science. As students become more advanced in English, they can take more classes outside of the program, their electives being the most prominent. Math is often one subject that transcends language, although students may need help catching up depending on where they left off in their previous schooling.

Freeman and Corvalán share a common goal: to help students be a bigger part of the FHN community. They hope to guide their students towards clubs, sports and career-friendly activities. With all the requirements for the A+ program, Lewis and Clark and the work program, they like to push students extra hard toward good attendance

“We hope to do more with that [career opportunities],” Corvalán said. “It’s a difficult one because kids have very different goals and that’s part of what we’re hoping to work on, is kind of identifying what their goals are.”

This is Freeman’s 12th year as an ESOL teacher at North whereas this is Corvalán’s 3rd year. Corvalán’s heritage language is Spanish, which gives her an advantage in working with Spanish-speaking students, but they also work hard with students who may not speak Spanish. 

“The goal is for them to learn English but we want them to keep up in their native language,” Freeman said. “That first year is just tough.”