Some are brand new residents adjusting to the cold winters of Iowa. Others have been here three years or more. The program is located in seven schools at present. These include Hoover, Fulton, Prescott, Washington, Jefferson, Senior and Hempstead. At present, there are 68 students enrolled, and are served by three teachers, all part-time.
Students spend most of their day in classes learning the typical array of subjects.
They do, however, leave their classroom to work with their ESL teacher on a regular schedule. This time is focused on speaking, writing and reading skills in English. Their progress is charted and, hopefully, in a period the teacher will determine that they have mastered basic skills and can leave the program. As you likely are aware, the flow of immigrants to Iowa has been steady and will likely increase. Locally, the shutdown of Farmland Foods has reduced our ESL population.