Penn Hills School District diversity continues to grow
Share this post:
Penn Hills School District continues to become more and more diverse in its student population.
According to the district, current records show that although only halfway through the current school year, the district’s K-12 English Learner (EL) enrollment includes six more eligible students than the total number of EL students served the previous school year.
According to district records, 67 EL students are currently receiving services.
To support the needs of the growing population, the district employs two full-time English as a Second Language teachers — Therone Wade-White and Amy Kavo. Current students enrolled in K-12 EL programming speak at least one of 12 different languages — Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Vietnamese, Jamaican, French, Burmese, Napoli, Russian, Igbo, Tigrinya or Urdu.
EL programming is student-specific and may include pull-out classes as well as additional support for those enrolled in traditional classes. Monitoring is also extended once students earn sufficient assessment scores that confirm English proficiency.
Penn Hills School District uses the services of TransPerfect to assist with translation of written documents and also verbal communication for students and their families. Thomas Iaquinta, associate principal at Linton Middle School, is also known to assist with translation based on his extensive Spanish language proficiency.
Beyond school day modifications, special events and activities are also hosted to help increase the district’s EL students’ and families’ sense of belonging within the district and larger community.
On Dec. 16, home school visitor, social worker and long-time Penn Hills resident Kyoko Henson helped facilitate a Fiesta celebration at Linton Middle School. The event was well attended by the district’s Spanish-speaking students and their families, with more than 60 individuals joining Henson, Wade-White and Kavo.
District Superintendent Nancy Hines also stopped by to show support. Some families brought samples of special recipes that contributed to the vast array of food items available that night. Beyond a shared meal, EL teachers, Henson, students and their families also enjoyed familiar music that played in the background while participants engaged in dancing and various games.