	July/August 2004
Wisconsin Summer Transition Program Removes Roadblacks For ELLs By Kristin Bair, ELL Outlook™ Contributing Writer In the early 1980s, five-year-old Phia Vue and his family immigrated to the United States from Laos. At that time, the only words Vue could speak in English were yes and no. His family settled in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, a small community where Vue began his education in the preschool program. At that time, Vue was one of only a handful of ELL students in the school district. During the school year, Vue attended ESL classes taught by Marilyn Schmidlkofer, a certified K-12 ESL teacher, and also received a great deal of one-on-one instruction. In the summers, he attended summer school. He was allowed, and in fact encouraged by Schmidlkofer, to progress at his own pace. In just a few years, Vue was fully transitioned into a mainstream classroom. In 1994, Vue graduated from Kaukauna High School and has since earned a bachelor's degree in government from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. For the past four years, he has worked as the Targeted Outreach Director for the Boys and Girls Club in Appleton. And each summer for the past four years, he has returned to Kaukauna to serve on a discussion panel during Kaukauna's ELL Summer Transition program for eighth-graders. Vue believes that the move from middle school to high school requires a strategic balance. "The adjustments you have to make are as much social as they are academic. At this time, students often feel like they're alone-ELLs even more so. They lack confidence and are quieter than their peers." For this reason, he uses his time with the ELL students to emphasize the importance of balancing school, work, family, and friends. Unlike many summer ELL programs, Kaukauna's ELL Summer Transition program is not centered on academics; instead, it is a holistic program designed to help eighth-grade ELL students make a smooth transition into high school. Throughout the program, each eighth-grader is paired with an ELL student mentor from the high school. Each mentor has already been through the summer program and has successfully completed the transition from middle to high school. They have a number of challenging and fulfilling experiences that they look forward to sharing with those just beginning the process. Seeing progress in the mentors from one year to the next is one of the things Schmidlkofer most enjoys about her continued participation in the program. "They are more outgoing and confident. They are able to share their experiences with others," she says. Schmidlkofer teaches the program in English, but students can converse with their mentors in their native language. Each student who completes the program as an eighth-grader earns half a credit towards graduation, and each student who serves as a mentor also earns half a credit towards graduation. Schmidlkofer says that the program does a great job of building relationships among the students. Because not many of the students' families have strong educational backgrounds, "kids have to support each other," she says. The majority of Kaukauna's ELL students go on to college after graduation, so developing relationships and understanding the education process from an early age is vital. Today the Kaukauna Area School District enrolls approximately 3,800 students; 125 of these are ELLs, mostly Hmong, with an increasing Hispanic population. "This year," Schmidlkofer says, "there was a total of fourteen students in the ELL Summer Transition program: seven eighth-graders and seven mentors from the high school." Vue's panel discussion is just one of many activities and presentations featured during the three-week, sixty-hour program. John Moore, Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Coordinator of Summer Programs for the Kaukauna Area School District, explains that students also take a tour of the high school, spend time in the ELL resource room and the library, talk with mentors about cocurricular activities in which they'd like to participate, discuss and compare study strategies, and much more, all the while practicing and improving their English skills. This year, one panel featured three freshmen and one senior from various state universities who had graduated from Kaukauna High. Another panel featured three former Kaukauna students who were attending private colleges (Carlton College, Lawrence University, and St. Olaf College). The panel of students at private colleges was designed to expose ELLs to the possibility of a private-school education. "Most of these families [of ELL students] are socioeconomically disadvantaged," says Schmidlkofer, "and therefore have access to scholarship and grant money." We know that native language support is not always possible in ESL classrooms: The teacher may not know the native language of the students, or there may be students from many different native languages in the classroom. When native language support is possible, it can often be difficult to use the native language in appropriate ways with each student. One of the most successful panels this year featured two Hmong former students who had dropped out of Kaukauna High School at eighteen to join gangs. Now twenty, both are experiencing serious problems in their lives. They bravely returned to talk about their troubles with the ELL students, and the students were able to witness how these young men have struggled without an education. Although the discussion had been scheduled to last for one hour, instead it lasted for two and a half hours. Schmidlkofer also brings in a number of speakers, including the high school principal and the police liaison for the high school. One of the projects students most enjoy is the required PowerPoint presentation about themselves. Schmidlkofer presents them with a list of four to five areas they must address, which includes goals, interests, and family background; the rest is up to them. "The kids love this project," Schmidlkofer says, laughing. "The self is always a strong area of interest." While the students explore their own goals and background and make connections between their lives and their futures, they are also actively strengthening their technical skills. By the time the program is over, Schmidlkofer says that all are very adept at PowerPoint. Perhaps the highlight of the program is the production of a five-minute video. During the last week of the program, the students are divided into groups and each group is required to make a video that somehow incorporates their culture with high school life. In the past, students have explored gang life, a history of their homelands, and other topics. "This year, a group of students documented an escape from Laos," Schmidlkofer says. "We used the forest behind the school as the hills of Laos. Some of the students brought in young cousins to act as children. We even had Thai soldiers." In the film, a Hmong grandfather has gathered his grandchildren and tells the story of his escape many years after, when his family has successfully settled in the United States. While the grandfather speaks, the film goes into a flashback, showing the escape itself. It was a great success. Although the ELL Summer Transition program was not in place when Vue was in eighth grade, he believes it's a vital part of each ELL student's continued success. "The program allows the students to see someone similar to them who is doing well for one reason or another. Someone who has made good choices. They learn that along the way there will be bumps. But they also learn that they can ask for help."
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July/August 2004

Wisconsin Summer Transition Program Removes Roadblacks For ELLs

By Kristin Bair, ELL Outlook™ Contributing Writer

In the early 1980s, five-year-old Phia Vue and his family immigrated to the United States from Laos. At that time, the only words Vue could speak in English were yes and no. His family settled in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, a small community where Vue began his education in the preschool program. At that time, Vue was one of only a handful of ELL students in the school district.

During the school year, Vue attended ESL classes taught by Marilyn Schmidlkofer, a certified K-12 ESL teacher, and also received a great deal of one-on-one instruction. In the summers, he attended summer school. He was allowed, and in fact encouraged by Schmidlkofer, to progress at his own pace. In just a few years, Vue was fully transitioned into a mainstream classroom.

In 1994, Vue graduated from Kaukauna High School and has since earned a bachelor's degree in government from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. For the past four years, he has worked as the Targeted Outreach Director for the Boys and Girls Club in Appleton. And each summer for the past four years, he has returned to Kaukauna to serve on a discussion panel during Kaukauna's ELL Summer Transition program for eighth-graders.

Vue believes that the move from middle school to high school requires a strategic balance. "The adjustments you have to make are as much social as they are academic. At this time, students often feel like they're alone-ELLs even more so. They lack confidence and are quieter than their peers." For this reason, he uses his time with the ELL students to emphasize the importance of balancing school, work, family, and friends.

Unlike many summer ELL programs, Kaukauna's ELL Summer Transition program is not centered on academics; instead, it is a holistic program designed to help eighth-grade ELL students make a smooth transition into high school. Throughout the program, each eighth-grader is paired with an ELL student mentor from the high school. Each mentor has already been through the summer program and has successfully completed the transition from middle to high school. They have a number of challenging and fulfilling experiences that they look forward to sharing with those just beginning the process.

Seeing progress in the mentors from one year to the next is one of the things Schmidlkofer most enjoys about her continued participation in the program. "They are more outgoing and confident. They are able to share their experiences with others," she says.

Schmidlkofer teaches the program in English, but students can converse with their mentors in their native language. Each student who completes the program as an eighth-grader earns half a credit towards graduation, and each student who serves as a mentor also earns half a credit towards graduation.

Schmidlkofer says that the program does a great job of building relationships among the students. Because not many of the students' families have strong educational backgrounds, "kids have to support each other," she says. The majority of Kaukauna's ELL students go on to college after graduation, so developing relationships and understanding the education process from an early age is vital.

Today the Kaukauna Area School District enrolls approximately 3,800 students; 125 of these are ELLs, mostly Hmong, with an increasing Hispanic population. "This year," Schmidlkofer says, "there was a total of fourteen students in the ELL Summer Transition program: seven eighth-graders and seven mentors from the high school."

Vue's panel discussion is just one of many activities and presentations featured during the three-week, sixty-hour program. John Moore, Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Coordinator of Summer Programs for the Kaukauna Area School District, explains that students also take a tour of the high school, spend time in the ELL resource room and the library, talk with mentors about cocurricular activities in which they'd like to participate, discuss and compare study strategies, and much more, all the while practicing and improving their English skills.

This year, one panel featured three freshmen and one senior from various state universities who had graduated from Kaukauna High. Another panel featured three former Kaukauna students who were attending private colleges (Carlton College, Lawrence University, and St. Olaf College). The panel of students at private colleges was designed to expose ELLs to the possibility of a private-school education. "Most of these families [of ELL students] are socioeconomically disadvantaged," says Schmidlkofer, "and therefore have access to scholarship and grant money."

We know that native language support is not always possible in ESL classrooms: The teacher may not know the native language of the students, or there may be students from many different native languages in the classroom. When native language support is possible, it can often be difficult to use the native language in appropriate ways with each student.

One of the most successful panels this year featured two Hmong former students who had dropped out of Kaukauna High School at eighteen to join gangs. Now twenty, both are experiencing serious problems in their lives. They bravely returned to talk about their troubles with the ELL students, and the students were able to witness how these young men have struggled without an education. Although the discussion had been scheduled to last for one hour, instead it lasted for two and a half hours.

Schmidlkofer also brings in a number of speakers, including the high school principal and the police liaison for the high school.

One of the projects students most enjoy is the required PowerPoint presentation about themselves. Schmidlkofer presents them with a list of four to five areas they must address, which includes goals, interests, and family background; the rest is up to them. "The kids love this project," Schmidlkofer says, laughing. "The self is always a strong area of interest." While the students explore their own goals and background and make connections between their lives and their futures, they are also actively strengthening their technical skills. By the time the program is over, Schmidlkofer says that all are very adept at PowerPoint.

Perhaps the highlight of the program is the production of a five-minute video. During the last week of the program, the students are divided into groups and each group is required to make a video that somehow incorporates their culture with high school life. In the past, students have explored gang life, a history of their homelands, and other topics.

"This year, a group of students documented an escape from Laos," Schmidlkofer says. "We used the forest behind the school as the hills of Laos. Some of the students brought in young cousins to act as children. We even had Thai soldiers."

In the film, a Hmong grandfather has gathered his grandchildren and tells the story of his escape many years after, when his family has successfully settled in the United States. While the grandfather speaks, the film goes into a flashback, showing the escape itself. It was a great success.

Although the ELL Summer Transition program was not in place when Vue was in eighth grade, he believes it's a vital part of each ELL student's continued success. "The program allows the students to see someone similar to them who is doing well for one reason or another. Someone who has made good choices. They learn that along the way there will be bumps. But they also learn that they can ask for help."