McKinney | March 2023

raise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ form the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 PETER 1:3-5

EDUCATION McKinney ISD continues to offer support to those learning English

BY RILEY FARRELL

A SECOND LANGUAGE About 13% of students speak English as a second language. Of those these are the most common:

Among McKinney ISD residents, 45 languages other than English are spoken at home, according to district officials. Nearly a quarter of McKinney’s more than 200,000 residents speak a language other than English at home, and about 17% were born outside the country, according to the 2020 U.S. Census figures. About one in five public school students in the state are English language learners, according to the Texas Education Agency. How- ever, English learners make up 13% of students in the district, said Zabdi Gonzalez, MISD’s senior director of English learner support. To properly address the needs of these students, MISD offers a $3,000 stipend incentivizing faculty to become bilingual certified teachers. Despite the pandemic, funding for the program was never adversely affected, Gonzalez said. The program is funded by about $200,000. The main issue for the district, Gonzalez said, is the lack of awareness on how to teach students who come from a non-English-speaking country. In these cases, teachers must be trained in proper language acquisi- tion. Gonzalez’s department supports 85 bilingual teachers. MISD has three English-language- learner programs: one-way dual, two- way program and English as Second Language, which is also called ESL. The one-way dual program, the most common program at MISD, is held at Burks, Finch, Lawson, Malvern, Slaughter, Vega and Webb elementary schools. The dual language program mostly serves Spanish-speaking students, according to officials. The two-way dual program, held at Caldwell Elementary, entails English-speaking students and Spanish-speaking students learning together. This allows both sets of students to become bilingual. The ESL program is held at Bennett, Eddins, Glen, Oaks, Reuben Johnson, McClure, McGowen, McNeil, Min- shew, Press, Valley, Creek, Walker, Wilmeth and Wolford elementary schools. It teaches students English

Spanish 80%

Other 12.9% Arabic

2.7% Farsi 1.5% Mandarin 1.5% Vietnamese 1.4%

SOURCE: MCKINNEY ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT

with a certified ESL teacher’s support. The benefits of bilingualism include higher academic achievement, multi- cultural consciousness and hireability in a global job market, Gonzalez said. The state’s English learners assessment is called the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System, in which students can score one of four levels: beginning, interme- diate, advanced and advanced high. The state’s expectation for stu- dents in MISD is to progress one level each year. About 8% of MISD’s English learners in grades 3-12 scored “advanced high” on the state test. This is compared to the 5% seen statewide, Gonzalez said at a school board meeting Oct. 25. “Do we want that percentage to be higher? Absolutely,” Gonzalez said. “So, the district is targeted in the work we do.” Long-term, the district’s English learner program goals are as much cultural as they are language-based, Gonzalez said. MISD officials and teachers aim to “reclassify” English learner students by the time they reach middle school, breaking down barriers, according to district officials. “It’s a misconception that students in ELPs aren’t academically at the same level, or even more advanced, as native English-speaking students,” Gonzalez said. “Part of our work is creating those learning opportunities for everyone.”

McKinney Craig Ranch 6401 S. Custer Rd. McKinney, Texas (972) 569-8301

McKinney Redbud 1700 N. Redbud Blvd. McKinney, Texas (972) 548-3010

FirstUnitedBank.com

Member FDIC.

MCKINNEY EDITION • MARCH 2023