English as a Second Language (ESL)

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    "Welcome to Loreta Hickey Elementary School, Home of the All Stars! We are so happy you are in Plano ISD and at our school. Hickey Elementary has a culturally rich student body, meaning we have students from many different countries, and celebrate all the unique and diverse cultures our students and families bring. Our ESL Coaches and Interventionists, or ESL Teachers, have a passion for teaching students who are learning English. We love to learn about our students’ culture and teach them about American currency, holidays, traditions, school events- anything and everything possible to help them acclimate to their new environment. 

    We strive to have the students stay in their classrooms as much as possible. ESL Coaches and Interventionists will travel to classrooms throughout the day and provide linguistic support to Emergent Bilingual students in our ESL program. For newcomers, ESL Coaches and Interventionists will often pull small groups of students out of class during individual learning or station time for more explicit and targeted language instruction. 

    We hope this website helps you learn about our ESL Program and the resources available to families of our Emergent Bilinguals. Please know we are always available to answer questions. We are so glad you are here, and can’t wait to meet and personally welcome you and your family to our school!"

     

    - Mrs. Callan and Ms. Mir

    ESL Coaches and Interventionists

    Loreta Hickey Elementary

What is the purpose of an English as a Second Language (ESL) program?

ESL programs are designed to make grade level academic instruction in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) accessible to students learning the English language. ESL programs target English language development in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, through academic content instruction that is linguistically and culturally responsive. Your child will develop reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in English through the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) in conjunction with their grade level academic instruction in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) of all content areas including English language arts and reading, mathematics, science, and social studies.

What are the benefits of having my child in Hickey’s ESL program?

All classroom teachers at Hickey are ESL certified, and teach academic content in the classroom. The Hickey ESL Coaches and Interventionists, or ESL teachers, work alongside and with classroom teachers to make the academic content comprehensible to students learning the English language. We meet with teachers regularly to help adapt instruction and materials to target the linguistic proficiency level of students. Each year we adapt our schedules to meet the needs of our students. You might see an ESL teacher in a classroom working with students, or with a small group of ESL students in their classroom providing targeted language instruction.

  • Other Helpful Websites for At-Home Learning

    TEA has put together a document with other at home resources. Please use them as you would like to help your student at home. We do not recommend buying workbooks and having your child complete page after page, as most Emergent Bilinguals benefit from exposure to language to increase their vocabulary.

If you are having trouble viewing the document, you may download the document.

Maricela Callan
ESL Coach & Interventionist
ESL

 

Silvat Mir
ESL Coach & Interventionist
ESL