For my Oral History Project, I interviewed my lead ESOL/ IEL teacher at Pine MT.

Middle

School. As a first-year teacher, she has been very supportive and has helped eased me into

teaching. Whenever I have a question, she is willingly to go the extra mile to ensure that my

question is answered, or she directs me into the right direction. I am glad that I interviewed her

because I learned more about the school, community, and her philosophy of education. In

addition, she gave me a few ideas for my upcoming Advocacy Project. Please listen to the

recording on my Oral History Project: Community Interview tab to hear the whole interview

covering the topics of the description of the community and bringing the community together,

teacher involvement while being visible and supporting families, parent-teacher conference and

building student-teacher relationship, advice for first year teacher, and ideas for completing an

advocacy project to help parents of ESOL students.

There are a few topics that I would like to highlight from the interview that reminded me of

the readings from my Collaborative Practices with Families, Schools, and Communities class,

such as the description of the community and bringing the community together, teacher

involvement while being visible and supporting families, parent-teacher conference, and a few

ideas for completing an advocacy project to help parents of ESOL students.

Gillian begins the interview by sharing how the community is supportive of Pine MT. Middle.

The Fine Arts Department brings the community together by hosting several music concerts and

art events. This month, a huge fundraiser, called “The Color Thon”, is taking place this month to

raise money to pay for school events and activities, which the community is encouraged to

donate. Pine MT. is an interesting school to be a part of because, as Gillian states, “The diversity

that we have within our school is something you don't find a lot of places. I mean we have the

American population here. We have students from very diverse backgrounds. We have some
neighborhoods which are zone for this school that are very affluent, and some are the exact

opposite” (G. Skow, personal communication, February 7, 2020). This reminds me of the

teachers in the “The Essential Conversation” (Lightfoot, 2003) who either worked in a rich, poor,

or private school. However, Pine MT. is a school that serves the rich and the poor at the same

time and it can be a rewarding and simultaneously challenging. Gillian continues by sharing,

“So, I think that is something is pretty cool and special about this school is that it's given

how neighborhoods are often self- segregated, economically segregated, you don’t

always get that mix everywhere. I think it's pretty cool that we have that here and makes

it an exciting and also sometimes a challenging place to be”. (G. Skow, personal

communication, February 7, 2020)

As a first-year teacher, I’m learning how to maneuver through a school with such a diverse

background and I believe this will prepare me for teaching in a school without a diverse

background.

Gillian highlights the importance of teacher involvement by attending the students’ games or

events because it shows that the teacher wants to be a part of their students’ lives outside of the

school day. In addition, supporting the families of ESOL students is crucial because we may be

their only access to resource. Gillian understands how teachers can advocate for parents and be a

resource. She states,

“How can we point them in that direction, so sort of being available and letting families

know, if you have questions.. yes, come bring me your questions about your child's

education, but if there are other things you need or other ways we can help I want to hear

those questions too, so that we can, whether it's through the counseling office or the
 school social worker, district staff, or parent outreach specialist ,so that we are meeting

with families where they are and helping them find the things that they need”. (G. Skow,

personal communication, February 7, 2020)

Parent-teacher conferences are vital to form a healthy teacher-parent relationship that will

impact the students’ learning and behavior. Teachers must discuss the good and the bad with the

parents to help the student succeed. In “ The Essential Conversation” (Lightfoot, 2003), the

parent, Andrew, wanted to hear the truth regarding his son’s school performance regardless if it

was bad because he wanted to be able to figure out a way him and the teacher could develop a

plan to help his son perform better in school. By viewing parent as “… intellectual resources”

beyond “homework helpers”, teachers and parents can develop a plan for their students to be

supported at school and in their home (Allen, 2007, p.148). According to Epstein (2010, p.33),

“When teachers make parents part of their regular teaching practice, they create greater overlap

than would typically be expected”. Gillian shares,

“That’s what parents, teachers, and administrators want that we're on the same side and

we're on the side of making the child be successful. If that's the message you're bringing

even when there are negative things with it like well let's talk about some behaviors or

let's talk about you know incomplete work or let's do … there's some things parents don't

want hear, but if it's as part of a message of we want your child to succeed that makes it

easier and makes parents more inclined to participate in school”. (G. Skow, personal

communication, February 7, 2020)

I asked Gillian her thoughts regarding an advocacy project I could complete at Pine MT. She

said,
 “There have been some concerns I know about presentations at the school does that aren't

always linguistically accessible for all our families and so there might be some

opportunity…but another issue that one of a family brought up was that it would be great

if families of ESOL had the opportunity to meet and talk” (G. Skow, personal

communication, February 7, 2020).

Her suggestions immediately reminded me of Maria Lopez and Andrea Brown, from “The

Essential Conversations” (Lightfoot, 2003), who created parent workshops and parent education

meetings to address the needs of parents in their native tongues, provide resources, and educate

the parents on the school’s expectations and goals, while allowing the parents opportunities to

socialize amongst one another. I feel I can create a project that will be beneficial by first ensuring

“a welcoming environment for both students and their families/ guardians” (WIDA, 2015, p.4).

Fenner (2014) shares that families who are unfamiliar with their child’s educational rights and

community resources require more advocacy. With this in mind, I would like to have a Bilingual

Night to gather input from the parents regarding the creation of a parent workshop, review school

policies, ACCESS scores, and other relevant information, and celebrate their students’

achievements.
 References
Allen, J. (2007). Creating welcoming schools: A practical guide to home-school partnerships
with diverse families. New York: Teachers College Press.
Epstein, J. L. (2010). School, family, and community partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools.
Philadelphia, PA: Westview Press.

Fenner, D.S. (2014). Advocating for English learners: A guide for educators. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Corwin.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, S. (2003). The essential conversation: What parents and teachers and learn
from each other. New York: Ballantine Books.
WIDA. (2015). SLIFE: Students with limited or interrupted formal education. Board of Regents
at the University of Wisconsin System. Retrieved from https://wida.wisc.edu/resources/students-
limited-or-interrupted-formal-education-slife