Morgan Logan

Teacher Interview

Over the course of this semester, I have learned about assessments, programs, laws, and

many other vital information. I did not realize how important this information was until I took

this class. Being a teacher does not only mean standing in front of a classroom lecturing students.

It is being passionate about your job and doing everything in your power to help them achieve.

Learning about ELLs and their classroom experience has given me a different outlook on being

a teacher. For my teacher Interview Ana Ramirez-Zurita and I interviewed Jennifer Perez who is

a Dual Language facilitator and instructional coach at Lutacaga Elementary School. This

interview took place at Lutacaga Elementary school in Othello, WA this past thanksgiving break.

Perez has worked at Lutacaga over 10 years and just recently moved to the position as the Dual

Language facilitator and instructional coach. We organized our questions by starting off with

basic information about the teacher and ELLs in the classroom then following up with

assessments and programs in the school. I was able to connect previous knowledge from class

into the interview which was helpful.

The demographics of the Othello School District has very high rates of students on free

and reduced lunch, migrant, and transitional bilingual. About 70% of the students are transitional

bilingual students and 92% of the students are Hispanic. English and Spanish are the main

languages spoken at the school followed up by misteco which is a Spanish dialect. We asked

Perez what it is like working with ELL parents and she mentioned that it was challenging. She

said it was challenging because Othello School Districts population is not only ELL it is also

poverty. Jen states So because you have those two things layered on top of each other it is

difficult. She mentions that parents cant miss work to go to childrens conference because they

have to work as much as they can. She also mentions culture barriers, such as parents not able to
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communicate with the teachers or understanding the school system. In the textbook, Wright

explains in chapter 1 that ELLs may face a cultural and linguistic dispatch between their

schools culture and language and their home culture and language (Wright, 19). Ana and I also

asked Perez about difficulties that teachers have teaching ELLs and some obstacles that ELLs

have to face. She mentions that it is important that teachers understand their students culture. It

may lead to barriers between the students and teachers in the class as well as outside of the class.

She also mentions it may be difficult for teachers to plan and understand all the different

strategies that need to be taken into action. Teachers need to incorporate different activities and

lessons for specific needs. Some obstacles that students may face in a classroom is having

anxiety because they do not understand everything or feeling left out. In the text Wright

mentions that the most beneficial listening and speaking that students will do is through

interaction (Wright, 170). Some of the work provided for them also may be too difficult because

they dont understand the language. It is important that teachers are prepared to incorporate

different strategies such as, cooperative learning or think-pair-share activities.

Programs are very important in the Othello School District and they take advantage of all

of the opportunities they are given. Our next focus of the interview was which programs and how

they incorporated them into the school. We asked Perez about the programs that applied to the

ELL students and she said they have every program that is possible to benefit all of their

students. It is evident that Lutacgas best interest is in their students. She mentioned free or

reduced lunch, LAP, Title 1, Migrant, and Transitional Bilingual. These are just a couple of

programs offered at the school and she talked about how vital these programs are. If it werent

for these programs it wouldnt be possible for most of these students to attend school. We then

asked Perez if she was satisfied with the programs at her school and she said she was is never
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satisfied because she feels that there is always something new to learn. Perez states there is

always a better way to serve students. In their school in particular they have the dual language

program which assists kids in their native language and teaches others a new language. She also

mentions that she helps coordinate these programs with other facilitators on the bases of their

school. They have to discuss the needs of their school, financially what is affordable and what

state standards they have to fulfill. The textbook states The appropriate models for a school

must be determined by teachers and administrators working collaboratively to study the

characteristics and needs of the ELLs; the desires of their parents and community; the current

and potential resources of the school; and local, state, and federal policies (Wright, 115). She

also said with the resources that they have and what they know so far she thinks that their

services are good and shes satisfied with them, but there is always something to work on. We

then asked about what bilingual model she preferred and she said the dual language program

which aims to develop bilingualism and biliteracy, academic achievement in two languages and

cross cultural understanding (Wright, P. 100). She also mentions the 90-10 model which is a

program that targets a specific language (in Othello it would be Spanish) and they teach that

language 90% of the time. Then getting into third grade it would switch to 50/50 so they will be

learning in both languages an equal amount.

Assessments also play a huge role in the school system. We asked Perez about

assessments in the school and she mentioned the current assessment for ELLs which is,

ELPA21. This assessment is taken once a year so the teachers have all year to prepare for it. She

also mentions how important it is that different assessments are being taken throughout the year

to prepare the students. It is mentioned in the textbook how vital it is for teachers to use several

alternative and authentic assessments throughout the year. This enables teachers to track the
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students progress and growth during the school year (Wright, 144). Incorporating programs into

the school also provides students with extra assistance to pass these assessments. Also

identifying students accurately so their needs are being fulfilled. Jen mentions that funding is

also related to assessments and programs because depending on their statistics depends on how

much funding they will get. This is key because their goal is to provide for every students need.

Overall, this interview turned out successfully. I was able to make connections during the

conversation and get a firsthand explanation of how the school incorporated their ELL students. I

also think it was beneficial that we were able to interview someone that was previously a teacher

but now works firsthand with ELLs. Perez organizes many of the programs that are held at

Lutacaga for ELL students so it was interesting learning about what she does and why she does

it. Programs held in the school are designed to benefit students and provide them with any

additional assistance. She provided us with an immense amount of information and gave me a

different perspective on the programs. I really like the dual language program because I feel like

it really gives all students a chance to learn a new language and challenges them. Perez

mentioned that ELL is now her passion, and that gave me inspiration to go deeper into the

studies for myself and my future students. In my peer reflection Chelsey Hitchcock told me to

incorporate more examples and expand on each question. She read my initial report and the start

of my paper and gave me back great feedback. I learned so many valuable things through this

interview and in class this semester that I will use in my future classroom.
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Bibliography
Wright, W. (2010). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research,
theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Pub.

Perez, Jen. Teacher Interview, Lutacaga Elementary School. November 24, 2015
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Initial Report

Ana Ramirez-Zurita and I interviewed Jennifer Perez who is a Dual Language facilitator

and instructional coach at Lutacaga Elementary School. This interview took place at Lutacaga

Elementary school in Othello, WA this past thanksgiving break. Perez has worked at Lutacaga

over 10 years and just recently moved to the position as the Dual Language facilitator and

instructional coach. She has held this position for about four years now and mentioned that she

has learned a great amount being the coordinator. Entering this interview I did not know what to

expect. I did not know if she was going to be able to answer all of the questions and/or if the

interview was going to run smoothly. Although the interview went perfectly, personally, I felt

like it was very beneficial that we spoke to her rather than just a teacher. It was helpful that she

has experience in both a classroom and specialized in dual language. We started off asking about

demographics in the school, difficulties students and teachers have in a classroom, then got into

the policies and programs. Perez being the dual language facilitator, gave us the opportunity to

ask any questions that we had and use the information we learned prior to the interview. It was

exciting to be able to connect information and actually understand everything that she was

talking about. Perez organizes many of the programs that are held at Lutacaga for ELL students

so it was interesting learning about what she does and why she does it. This Interview was one of

the most interesting and beneficial experiences that I have had. She provided us with an immense

amount of information and it was very interesting interviewing her.

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Teacher Interview Question Discussion

1. What is your position? Dual language facilitator and instructional coach at Lutacaga elementary
2. What are the demographics of your class/school (how many ELL)? Over 80 percent free or
reduced lunch, about the same ELL range so high level of studetns that come to the school
where their first language being something other than English. Biggest other population is
Misteco, native dialect from Mexico usually but they are not a written language so difficult. Fins
different ways to help them
3. What are some difficulties when teaching ELL students? Being able to really understand the
different cultures when she first came to work here, she loved hearing other languages. Some
other teachers havent so there are personal barriers that some people arent even aware of that
they have to overcome. Also planning and understanding all the different strategies that you can
use to help your ELL students. Build in their vocabulary and general speaking and also getting
into the academic level.
4. What are some obstacles ELL students face in the classrooms? There is different levels of ELLs
so they go through different stages. Silent stage where they might sit there and absorb
information and it may not look like theyre doing a lot but actually at some point they will step out
of that and feel comfortable. They may move into a phase where theyre just speaking in small
phrases, pointing at things, drawing, and then it just progressing from there. There is bics and
calp Bic is Basic language development and calp is getting into the academic levels. So some
students are able to tell on another students, or asking a teacher to go to the restroom. Thats
when it gets difficult to teachers when theyre able to respond to basic needs, teachers associate
that with assuming theyre already at grade level. Some obstacles they face teachers are trying
to plan for all of those different levels and sometimes whats good for one students isnt for
another so trying to balance that. Whats good for students needs as well as for a whole class
Students are sometimes nervous to share their native language, if theyre nit buddied up with
someone else they might have a lot of anxiety.
5. What strategies did you use in a classroom that helped them?
6. What was it like working with ELL parents? (communication, scheduling) its challenging
because out population isnt just ELL its also poverty. So because you have the two things
layered on top of each other, it is difficult. Parents cant miss work to come to conferences or
schedule ahead for conferences. There always need to be a translator and sometimes they dont
tell you they need it so its difficult. They have them available but also there are cultural barriers.
Dad will do all the speaking and the mom will just sit there. Some teachers dont understand that,
thats not the culture were used to. Help the teachers understand that and be prepared and how
to appropriately communicate with them.
7. Are you satisfied with programs offered at your school? She helps to make them but shes never
satisfied because there is always something new to learn theres always a better way to find a
way to serve students. In their school in particular they have the dual language they serve kids in
their native language for the most part. She believes everything should be additive, so adding to
what you already have, it much better than subtracting. Also have an ELL model where students
are pulled out of their classroom and theyre served in a small group and work on specific needs.
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Also it is important to have a balance of those things. With the resources that they have and what
they know so far she thinks that their services are good and shes satisfied with them, but she is
never okay with just staying there.
8. What are some suggestions you would have for programs to implement in your school?
9. Do you support the use of non-English language in the classroom? Because of the dual language
program she absolutely supports it. Also this is much different than other schools because their
whole school is dual language so half the time they are speaking Spanish at school. So it is
actually expected and important that they speak another language. Living in Othello were not
working with multiple languages, we have English, Spanish, and Misteco. So theyre able to
target a specific need in their district.
10. Do you teach other cultures/heritages in the classroom? This is more challenging because they
are demanded to teach the common core state standard. Culture and their native heritage isnt
built into those standards. So they have to try to find ways to incorporate that as best as possible.
They had a cultural night where each grade level took on a different country and presented it.
They learned about different countries and be proud. They try to celebrate big cultural events like
Cinco de Mayo, parents come in and make tortillas and learn about that holiday.
11. What are some of your favorite activities to do in an ELL classroom? Which are most effective?
Grab the students attention?
12. What policies apply to ELL students? How are these policies implemented in programs at your
school? They follow the state criteria and make sure everything is accounted for. There is a state
level and a federal level. transitional bilingual, they have to make sure they assess all of the
students, elpa 21 assessment thats the current state assessment for ELLs they have to keep
track of the programs and services, have to record whos in the dual language program and not in
the program but getting whos bilingual services. There are countless polices that make sure they
are providing the students with appropriate instruction and also measure if the instruction is
working. The ELPA is once a year, so they have to prepare all year for it and pass. Language
growth is on a continuum, so they are expected to go up, it is like hierarchy. Identifying students
when they come to school so they know about the students and filling in those needs. Also get
funding based on the number of ELL students so it needs to be accurate.
13. What bilingual model do you prefer (such as dual language, immersion, pull out method etc.)
prefer the dual language but also the 90-10 model, so they learn first target language which in
Othello would be Spanish, so even English dominate kids have to learn in Spanish first, then
taper off and 10% is in English then in 3rd goes to 50/50, half in each language. They use 50/50
right now. Spanish speaking are models for the English speakers but they cant support the 90/10
model because of the teachers.
14. Which form of assessment do you think is best for assessing ELL students?
15. What programs does your school have to offer for ELL students? (free reduced lunch) they offer
every program that is possible, free and reduced lunch, lap, title 1, migrant, bilingual, every
program available in district state and federal program. As far as state and federal programs.
Morgan Logan