This past spring the Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment was administered to thirty students from Portsmouth West, Wheelersburg, Bloom Vernon, and Portsmouth City Schools. Of those thirty students, nineteen made positive gains, seven had no change, and two had scores that regressed. Five students scored proficient and will be exiting ESL services. Finally, two senior EL students from Portsmouth High School graduated on time with the class of 2021.

The above data can be attributed to great work by teachers, aides, and administrators. The data can also be attributed to the hard work and dedication of our EL students and their families. We are so very proud of our EL students and their teachers as they persevered through a very difficult year and not only persevered but made gains.

Let me introduce you to Eugenio Perez. Eugenio works as a translator for SCOESC. He is assigned to Portsmouth West Elementary school where he works with EL students. Eugenio supports classroom teachers in their instruction by translating. Translation services are an effective method of scaffolding that makes the content comprehensible for the students. Eugenio builds positive relationships with students. He also works very hard to improve his craft in order to improve his ability to provide student support. At the end of the school year, I was talking to Eugenio and the first thing he wanted to share with me was the success of his students and how they had made the honor roll. We are blessed to have Eugenio and we appreciate his efforts!

Join me in congratulating Taitlyn Dutey on finishing her TESOL program. She is in the middle of the picture below wearing a hat. She has recently passed all her state assessments and will be an Ohio licensed TESOL teacher K-12. Taitlyn works for Portsmouth City Schools and leads their ESL program. She creates a warm and inviting classroom that all EL students enjoy and want to be a part of. Taitlyn is doing great work for the EL students and families in Portsmouth City. We are proud of Taitlyn and all that she has accomplished!

Portsmouth City School's created a summer school option for their EL students. EL students K-12 were encouraged to sign up for the program. Almost all of their EL students chose to participate. The program includes English language acquisition through project-based learning. The students participate in art, science, music, woodworking, and cooking projects that promote English language usage. Below you will find some pictures of their students enjoying summer school.

On June 9th and 10th SCOESC hosted SIOP training for interested teachers and aides. We had 14 participants from two different school districts. Heidi Messbarger, an educational consultant at Hamilton County ESC, provided the training. We also had presentations from Seth Sharp, Partnership Manager for Imagine Learning, and Jennifer Denhard, Ohio Educational Sales Consultant for Curriculum Associates. We want to thank Seth and Jennifer for their presentations and for providing lunch. We also want to thank Heidi for two days of very engaging professional development.

6-25-21 -- OELPA Family reports mailed to districts.