The Monroe County Community School Corporation not only provides English learning education for students within their district, but for the adults in the community as well.
The English Language Learning office serves as the information center for students and their families’ questions and concerns regarding school life in the community.
The information includes enrollment, English language instruction, relations with peers and staff, financial issues and counseling for newcomers during their time in the school system.
The ELL Office also organizes resources on issues of diversity, providing information to MCCSC staff on a respectful learning environment, and promoting cultural sensitivity in the education community, according to the MCCSC website.
Choonhyun Jean, ESL coordinator for MCCSC, coordinates programs for students from elementary to high school age.
Andrew Clampitt, MCCSC public relations and information officer, said the district wants to support students.
“We have a vast array of resources for students where English is a second language to them.” Clampitt said.
Not only do students within the district have the resources available to learn English as their second language, the Broadview Learning Center offers classes for adults within the community as well.
Directly associated with MCCSC, the learning center focuses on teaching those students and community members who want to learn English as a second language.
Prospective students are initially given a test and an interview.
Then they are evaluated and placed in a class that best suits their English proficiency level. All classes are free.
Diana Hoffman, one of the three staff members running the learning center, said there is new registration every week that school is in session.
The classes range from English as a Second Language Beginning, ESL Intermediate, ESL Advanced and even an English to Go class for people who cannot attend class regularly.
She said this class meets for 12 hours and from there work off-site.
They can come in once a week for private conversation.
The new class has five students enrolled this semester.
But the entire ESL program had 502 students last year, and Hoffman said the office is hoping to bring this number up to 600 this next semester.
She said the learning center is also trying to get more involved in outside things in regards to immigrants and refugees in the community.
“There’s been several meetings to help Syrian refugees come to Bloomington,” Hoffman said. “We’re working on that, maybe help those people come to class here and learn.”
Hoffman said the educators and volunteers working with these adults learning English not only teach English classes but also take the students on field trips around the community.
These include going down the B-Line Trail, Monroe County Public Library, and generally showing them around the community.
“We have a big Thanksgiving celebration here and international students bring food from their countries and share it,” Hoffman said. “They’re not only learning about the United States, but the countries their fellow students are from.”
She said recently one of the ESL students got an award with her English speaking certificate to get her hair done, but was too nervous to go alone so one of their aides volunteered to go with her.
“I think that when people first come here everything is foreign to them, of course, there’s a lot to adjust to,” Hoffman said. “They have to adjust to not only our language, our culture, it’s a big change.”
