4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
FRIDAY, MARCH 17. 2006
University prepares teachers for ESL students
BY FRED A. DAVIS III
favis@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Chances are, you won't find any of these 14 University of Kansas students on facebook. com.
This group of KU students consists of seasoned elementary school teachers and educational specialists being trained to teach the moderate influx of English as a Second Language (ESL) children attending Cordley Elementary School at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.
Paul Markham, associate professor of teaching and leadership, teaches their course. "Developing Intercultural
Awareness in the Second Language Classroom," the second course of the six-course ESL certification program offered through the University.
The class meets every Thursday afternoon in the library of Cordley Elementary, 1837 Vermont St. The University is working with Cordley to certify and prepare the teachers for the ESL students.
The course is not necessarily unique, in the sense that certification for teachers is always ongoing, but it's unusual because instead of heading to the University for class, the students head to Cordley.
Markham said that because these teachers have families at home and other responsibilities
not shared by typical college students, the ability for Markham to meet the students at their workplace is a huge benefit.
Cordley principal Kim Bodensteiner said it would have been very difficult for her teachers to go through the training if they had to take the class on campus.
"These teachers are working a full work week, teaching straight through," she said.
She said that with papers and assignments — and arranging things like extra day care while in class — balancing schedules can be very challenging.
Bodensteiner also said that for some, the routine of writing papers and completing assignments has to be re-learned because it has been a while since they have had to do that.
Despite the challenges of the class, the teachers in the course realize the importance of what they're learning — and how it will help with teaching the ESL students.
The course is vital to the training of the Cordley staff because Bodensteiner is projecting 25 to 30 ESL students will attend the school starting next school year. Cordley will be the second elementary school in the Lawrence School District to offer ESL education; Hillcrest Elementary is the other.
That number is expected to climb to up to 100 ESL students in the next three to four years,
Bodensteiner said, with Lawrence's rising immigrant population. Cordley, which has 200 students, will not exceed more than 100 ESL students. Funding for the ESL certification program comes from a grant received by the Lawrence Public School District in August.
Mary Barke, a second-grade teacher at Cordley, said that although taking the class on top of teaching had certainly been a balancing act, she agreed with Bodensteiner that having the class at Cordley was a huge relief.
Barke added that she was not concerned about having to adjust to the new ESL students because Cordley already has a diverse population. Barke said the biggest challenge she saw was giving students the adequate amount of time they need to learn and adjusting the curriculum to meet their needs.
Jan Jenkins, a special education teacher at Cordley, worked with ESL students six years ago. Jenkins was excited about the ESL opportunity, especially for the non-ESL students.
"The benefit will be the richness and diversity brought to the other kids," Jenkins said. "Learning different ways of living, and being exposed to that
— it's exciting to expand kids' horizons."
— Edited by Frank Tankard
Nicollette Ninsi/KANSAN
Mel Gile, Visalia, Calif., graduate student, and Jorge Ortiz, Lima, Peru, graduate student and president of the KU Ballroom Dance Club, spin on the dance floor at Camelot II Wednesday night. The club also holds lessons on Sunday at the Kansas Union.
Ballroom
Rebecca Reid, Topeka sophomore, said that her experience is ir
dance in social settings," Curtis said. "Plus, we always throw in new stuff so people won't get bored. It keeps it fun and entertaining."
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
"Dancing with the Stars' made the club really hot and more people wanted to learn how to dance in social settings."
Christie Curtis dance instructor
"Dancing with the Stars' madly hot and more people wanted dance in social
different dance genres prompted her to take the plunge in ballroom dancing.
Joe's pastry & sandwiches at
"In the past, I have taken jazz, tap, ballet and I have been interested in ballroom dancing for a long time now, and so I decided to give a shot for at least a couple of lessons," she said.
Storm
Ortiz said he initially started attending the club's lessons because he was "fairly bored" when he attended parties.
"I didn't drink or really socialize, so I thought I would give dancing a chance. I couldn't dance at all and it was a little embarrassed," he said. "The club offered me a way to learn how to dance and now I can dance at a nightclub or wedding."
Long said workers had been taking the waste, such as insulation that can't be reused, to the city landfill. He said the University was also trying to reuse as many of the roof tiles as possible.
He said that Facilities Operations had finished cleaning up all the debris from sidewalks and roadways on campus but still had work to do in other areas.
He said he wanted to use the stumps to put in the campus garden as seats for children.
Ron Baker, owner of Willowridge Landscaping Co., 1453 E. 800 Rd., said he had seen a noticeable increase in business since Sunday's storm.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
He said he had been called out to many of the properties he regularly maintains to help with fallen tree limbs and the removal of some entire trees.
Baker said the company had a disposal site where the debris was taken. He said he had been cutting some down for firewood but planned to burn most of it when the burn ban was lifted.
He was also looking into getting a chipper so a lot of the debris could be made into mulch and then reused.
He expects to have all his client's properties back to normal by the end of next week.
- Staff writer Catherine Odson contributed to this story. Edited by James Foley
- Edited bv iodi Ann Holopirek
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