Beyond Teaching Language: Embracing a Holistic Approach to Supporting English Learner Students and Their Families

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 76
  In Roundtable Session: Culture, Langauage, and Holistic Education

Abstract

This study describes the ways one elementary school is attempting to address the needs of its English Learner students and their families, the majority of whom are Latinx, through a multi-pronged approach that includes targeted academic instruction, the adoption of school-wide values and behavioral expectations, a significant family-community outreach program, and teacher professional development in trauma-sensitive schooling and instruction. The authors share analyses and findings from data gathered through multiple sources as well as implications for educators, with the goal of creating spaces and contexts where English Learner students and their families succeed and indeed thrive.

Authors

• Carrie Wall, Pepperdine University

• Bernadette Bridget Musetti, Loyola Marymount University