Three Cheers For Frontier ESL!

Hip hip HOORAY!!! Frontier Regional School's ESL (English as a Second Language) program has officially joined the blogosphere! What's the blogosphere, you ask? Well, let's just say that this brand new blog represents the latest effort to expand and broaden learning opportunities for Frontier EL's (English learners), their families, and the wide world beyond. Although blogging has been around for the better part of the last two decades or so, blogging as a learning tool has seen recent growth in popularity, particularly for EL's. Not only is blogging a platform for communication and reflection, it's also a great way to engage students and encourage them to become more active in their own learning. For EL's, student blogging provides:

• opportunities for reflection by students and their teacher,
• a wider audience for student writing,
• a way to empower the student's voice,
• a supportive learning community,
• a place for feedback for student writing,
• a platform for recognition of students' academic efforts

For families of EL's, blogging increases transparency between home and school, as well as an easy way to engage parents in the learning process. This blog will function primarily as a home/school connection, featuring the headlines and happenings in our ESL classroom, plus tips and ideas for supporting English language learning at home. Comments welcome; dialogue desired! Granted, the ESL program is small here at Frontier, with just two students currently comprising the class roster. This can--and likely will--change at any given time, however, and Frontier's ESL program will always be ready and eager to meet the needs of new learners. Every student matters here. Check back often for news and updates!

Yours in learning,

Mrs. Blair
Frontier ESL Teacher