ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AT KING
T.S. King Middle School English Learner (EL) enrollment is 730 students as of December 1, 2008. English Learners represent 30% of our overall student population. The needs of English Learners or Limited English Proficient (LEP) students are different from those of Standard English Learner. Therefore, our school has focused in meeting the needs of LEP students to help them reclassify as fluent English proficient. English Learner students in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses are housed in Tracks B & C. These students followed High Point as the District’s recommended curriculum in a two-hour block schedule. English Learners must meet the state and District’s criteria before exiting the program successfully. So far this school year, 34 students have met the reclassification criteria, more will reclassify as the year progresses. They will join the 1,064 students who have reclassified in the past at their previous schools or at King M.S. in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade. The administrative and leadership team at our school continues to provide professional development opportunities for teachers to participate in EL workshops, conferences, strategies, and technology trainings. All certificated personnel are encouraged to obtain their English Learner’s Authorization to better serve our LEP population. Anyone interested in learning more about our El Program at King is asked to speak with our EL Coordinator, Conrad Lovo, at (323) 644-6743.
KING'S WINTER POETRY SLAM 2008
The Poetry Slam is a competitive poetry reading where King students get up on stage in front of an audience and a panel of student and teacher judges and read an original poem. The poet and poem are then judged and the highest score gets the trophy. The event is pretty beautiful because it’s all about the students and what is on their mind. It is inspiring to sit and listen to the energy and insight of the young writers. They speak with so much honesty.
On Friday, December 12, we had our most recent Poetry Slam (we do four per year) and it was a pretty big success. The topics in this year’s slam ranged from best friends who had moved on, boyfriends and broken hearts, to a variety of meditations on the human condition. Penelope Uribe-Abee took the first place trophy, while Saika Kibria and Kevin Kim came in second and third place. For those who don’t know, this is our fifth year doing this... As the host and organizer of this event, all I can say is that I am really happy that the students put so much effort into their work and performance.
Mr. Abee - Poetry Slam Host
COLLEGE AWARENESS
This school year the District is making an effort to have 8th grade students participate in college readiness assessments. It will pay for EXPLORE, a college readiness assessment for all 8th grade students. EXPLORE is based on 8th grade subject matter content and includes tests in English , math, reading and science, a career section that matches careers with student interests and asks questions about student plans for high school and beyond. The academic portion of this assessment takes 120 minutes and the student information section takes 45. A-track 8th graders have already been tested. B Track & C Track will take EXPLORE after the winter break in January. Additional information about EXPLORE is available at www.act.org/explore.