Key Organizations to Help Support ELLs Through Community Partnerships

Organizations that work on behalf of specific immigrant communities can play an important part in helping schools bridge language and cultural gaps (Colorín Colorado, 2019)

1) Interpreters: Many school districts struggle to find interpreters for school events or conferences and to translate important documents for parents, especially for languages that have a lower incidence in the district. Community organizations may be able to provide interpreters, print translations, or recommendations of other translation services.

2) Cultural liaisons: It is important for schools to be sensitive to the diverse cultural backgrounds and customs of all of its students, more specifically the customs of ELL students may be very diverse when it comes to religious observances, dietary restrictions, and social expectations. Community organizations with a cultural and or national affiliation can provide teachers with valuable insights by offering training and workshops that focus on providing information about a specific culture and or country. This may be particularly valuable when a new immigrant community begins to grow in an area that has not previously been settled by members of this community.

3) Experts on historical and political background: When welcoming students from a new immigrant community to the school, it may be helpful to learn more about the historical and political background of that community, especially if that background has shaped immigration or resettlement patterns. For instance, when refugees resettle into a new community, understanding the conflict that displaced those refugees may go a long way in determining how to provide necessary support. This is also an important step in understanding potential traumas or hardship students may be experiencing.

    These specific organizations can be searched for throughout your local community in order to give new ELLs and their families the appropriate supports. These outreach programs and strategies will all benefit ELL academic success, by decreasing the additional barriers between the family and school by means of community partnerships, thus bridging the cultural gap that may be evident or problematic. 

References

Colorín Colorado, 2019. Working with Community Organizations to Support ELL Students. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/working-community-organizations-support-ell-students