The Okaloosa County School District has nearly 1,800 English Language Learners (known as ELLs). Those students represent more than 50 different languages and cultural backgrounds in the district.
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To support those students, a committee called the English Language Learners Community Connections was developed by local businessman and advocate, David Triana.
Triana is the owner and founder of Conexion, a bilingual Spanish-English publication, as well as the founder of the youth advocacy charity, United for a Good Cause. He started the committee at the request of the Okaloosa County School District, which was looking to make better connections with the Hispanic community, and parents of ELL students.
“One of their major concerns was the fact that a lot of them were not participating in school meetings and things like that to learn more about the kids’ education, how it was going, meeting with counselors, all those things that normally parents participate in,” said Triana. “And obviously the lack of language fluency from some of those parents was part of the reason.”
The committee was officially formed last year. At the end of January, the committee held its first family and community night. Nonprofits, district, and school staff were on hand with information about available resources including low-cost medical care, the state Head Start program, and even federal programs geared toward adult education and graduation assistance.
“Every time we've had an event, there's always been at least one or two parents that came over and said, ‘You know, the best thing about this, it makes me feel comfortable coming to this type of event and knowing that there's going to be people like me that's really what they say, that speak my language, that understand me, and that, I can relate to,’” said Triana.
Nicole Dominguez said she is fortunate to be bilingual — she's raising her children the same. Seeing the need for access to information, she brought one of her employees to the event.
“I have a very large Hispanic employee base,” she said. “I know that these resources will be very beneficial to them.”
“It's kind of a network, and it helps that everybody who is willing to help wants to help,” she added. “And it's in a loving way, it's not in a handout kind of way.”
A handful of interpreters spoke Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, to name a few. If a language didn’t have an interpreter, Google Translate was put to good use.
While Spanish-speaking students make up the majority of ESOL students, Triana said he doesn’t want his committee to be a resource for only Latino families.
“We have done several things for the Hispanic side — meetings with parents, visiting with the kids while they were doing the immersion program and things like that,” he said. “This idea was, well, ‘let's make sure that this is a community issue.’ (And to be be) Thought about as a community issue, not a Hispanic issue.”
In the schools, Anita Choice, Okaloosa County School District’s ESOL Program Director, said the district has interpreters available and monitors the progress of English-learning students through a program called Elevation. The goal is for students to test out of the program. Currently, the district has 400 students who have recently exited the program and are under monitoring.
“And I think there's about 200 students that have been out of the program. They were in the program for four years, and now they're past that monitoring stage,” Choice added.
At the resource event, the committee asked for feedback from participating parents to see what future events could look like.
“We are caring for the whole child,” said Choice. “We're working on relationships in emotional needs, social needs, not just their academic needs, because we know that's important as well.”
One resource Triana would like to see more access to English classes for adults, which he said he’s noticed a decrease in offerings. He’s put local colleges and universities on notice of the need.
“Parents, are telling us directly, ‘One of my major issues is the fact that, yes, I don't speak the language. So when my son comes home, unfortunately, I have to speak to him in my language, and he loses that practice of the language,’” he explained. “So the need for the kid to have the ability to continue learning at home is there, and how can we provide it?”
Triana also wants to see the ELL committee form into an advisory committee for the Okaloosa County School Board and serve as a model for other local school districts.
“We are trying to set the example, and we (are) in contact with leaders in Escambia (and) Panama City. We're keeping them apprised of what we're doing.”
For more information about the ELL Community Connections Committee, email David Triana at united4agoodcause@gmail.com.
