IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Summer 2019 | Page 86

TWO DISTRICT TEACHERS LAUDED STATEWIDE
FOR STRIDES IN SUPPORTING REFUGEE AND
IMMIGRANT LEARNERS
For the refugee and immigrant English learners (ELs) at Baldwin
High School, language barriers pose a serious challenge to their
academic success. To help, teachers Holly Niemi and Katherine
Musselman have designed a series of English as a Second Language
(ESL) programs that enable ELs to improve their English language
and academic skills while supporting ELs’ social and emotional
development to help them comfortably adapt to life at Baldwin.
“We have a unique population of ELs at Baldwin High School,
because most are refugees with limited or interrupted formal
schooling,” explains Dr. Niemi. “This means we have a short amount
of time to help our ELs learn the language and the academic
content, as well as setting realistic post-secondary goals. Baldwin’s
innovative ESL program helps prepare our English learners to
become thriving citizens and to contribute as valuable members of
their new community.”
As part of their program, Niemi and Musselman work in ESL
classes daily with nearly 100 ELs. The impact of the program
works both ways: English learners become more confident in their
language skills and their ability to communicate clearly, while
Baldwin teachers and students gain cultural diversity as they learn
how to engage and empathize with ELs.
“We recently held an empathy-building workshop for Baldwin
High School teachers in which we conducted the entire class in
a second language,” says Ms. Musselman. “This introduced our
teachers to the difficulties that our ELs face in a very personalized
way, by showing them how alien and distancing it can feel to
experience an entire class in a language they didn’t understand.
We asked them to notice their own behaviors and reactions:
Did they try to keep up? Or did they shut down, zone out, start
conversing with their neighbor, or become distracted and get out
their phones? That’s what our ELs are struggling to work through in
their classes every day.” Dr. Niemi describes a recent cross-cultural
awareness project: “We organized an all-day ESL student panel that
allowed ELs a chance to convey information about themselves and
their cultures, while giving staff and students a chance to voice
their curiosity, ask questions, explore similarities, and celebrate
differences, all while engaging in meaningful discussion.”
Niemi and Musselman’s skills and strengths are well-balanced
and complementary, with Niemi focused on research and analysis
while Musselman focuses more on the program’s practical teaching
applications. Their workday often lasts well beyond the school day,
Niemi and Musselman join ESL students celebrating their heritage
during Cultural Clothing Day
84
BRENTWOOD-BALDWIN-WHITEHALL
From L to R: BWSD’s Katherine Musselman, PA Dept. of Education ESL
Advisor Eugenia Krimmel, BWSD’s Denise Sedlacek, and BWSD’s Holly
Niemi at the 2019 Migrant Education Program & English Language
Development Conference in Harrisburg
with participation
in community
events and parent
meetings. “Just
last weekend,
Kate and I went to
a picnic in North
Park to support
our ELs who
participate in the
Refugee Youth
Employment
Musselman and Niemi join ESL students and their
Project (RYEP),”
families for a special Nepali Celebration
says Dr. Niemi.
“They meet
after school to build their capacity for successful post-secondary
transitioning.” Ms. Musselman adds, “ Recently, Holly and I had the
pleasure to be invited guests to a live performance of two of our
Nepali students dancing to the Indian song ‘Jai Ho’ sung by the
Highlander Choir.”
Niemi and Musselman realize the needs of ELs and their families
extend outside of the classroom. “Back in 2010, we hosted an EL
parents’ night at the school, and we had zero parents show up,”
says Dr. Niemi. “We knew that we had to improve our outreach,
and to let our EL families know that they are welcome here.” Future
invitations have clarified that parents’ night features topics relevant
to the parents’ interests, like computer training, lessons on the U.S.
education system, and health and wellness topics. Interpreters are
available, and families can travel to and from the school by bus if
transportation is a challenge. “This year,” says Ms. Musselman, “we
had two buses filled with 70 EL parents and students.”
In April, Niemi and Musselman were invited to present multiple
sessions at the annual Migrant Education Program and English
Language Development Conference hosted by the Pennsylvania
Department of Education in Harrisburg. Going forward, they
hope to increase collaborations between ELs and school staff,
students, families, and the community. “Ultimately,” says Dr. Niemi,
“the benefit of our ESL program is to help our secondary English
learners become more independent and self-sufficient.”