COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL November 23, 2016
11A
ELL
Continued from page 1A
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are that they’ll be dealing
with,” said Nisewander, who
taught fi rst grade at Delight Val-
ley School until she retired in
2009 and teaches the class on a
voluntary basis. “The students
are so eager to learn, and the
progress is incredible. They’ve
picked things up so fast, and this
is only our third session.”
Dudley pointed out that the
fi rst class of students to gradu-
ate from the ELL class is now
in fi rst grade, and last year’s
students are performing well in
kindergarten.
“They’re doing extremely
well, and they’re already read-
ing well in English,” she said. “A
lot of that has to do with Mary
(Nisewander). She’s amazing.”
Jackie Lester, South Lane
School District’s P-20 Coordi-
nator, has been tasked with inte-
grating local kids’ preschool ex-
perience with the K-12 system
and beyond, and Lester was able
to secure private funding for the
ELL class.
“We’ve always wanted to
have this class, and now that we
have preschools in two schools,
it’s showed how early we need
to get involved, not just with
them (ELL students), but with
everybody,” Dudley said. “Stu-
dents need to fi t in, no matter
what language they speak.”
In fact, the young ELL stu-
dents will soon be able to utilize
three languages, which effec-
tively turns an early impediment
into a stepping stone for further
success.
“The children are trilingual,”
Dudley said. “We actually use
the kindergarteners often as in-
terpreters at the dental clinic.”
Dudley said that the English
language takes predominance
with most students by the fourth
grade as their ability evolves.
Maria Calmo and Albertina
Herrera, two parents of ELL
students, say they’ve found a
welcoming environment in Cot-
tage Grove after leaving a dev-
astating situation in their home
country in search of the oppor-
tunities that this nation is known
for.
“There are so many oppor-
tunities for me to learn, for my
children to learn,” Calmo said,
adding that the ELL class has
photo by Jon Stinnett
Elvira and Glenda learn the English words for directions
with the help of a hula hoop.
been helpful for her personally.
“The things I don’t under-
stand, I can always come to this
center and ask, then explain it to
my daughter,” she said.
Calmo and Herrera said that
everything about life in Cottage
Grove is different than what they
had been used to. Each has ap-
plied for and received asylum in
the U.S., which recognizes the
horrors of their home country.
“If we were to start telling
you stories from Guatemala,
we wouldn’t have time to fi n-
ish them, day or night,” Herrera
said.
Now, though, visitors to Peg-
gy’s Primary Connection who
have accessed its services in the
past are coming back to volun-
teer to help others.
“You can tell they’re right
here with you, that they’re ready
to learn,” Nisewander said.
“They’re growing so fast aca-
demically, and they’re so excit-
ed about everything. It’s a lot of
work, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Nisewander said that seeing
the class today would warm
the heart of Peggy Lintula, who
founded the center 25 years ago
and who passed away recently.
“This is all about Peggy,” she
said. “This was her dream.”