3 Minutes With: Teaching English as a Second Language at YCSD

Youngstown City Schools has seen a surge in students whose primary language isn’t English. About 25 such new students enroll in the district each year, bringing this year’s total to around 440.

That’s where Ava Yeager, the district’s chief of school improvement, and Dennis Yommer, program coordinator, enter the picture. Among the district’s efforts to ensure all students are reaching their potential, the district conducts outreach and education as needed.

To help, the district has hired four additional TESOL – Teaches English to Speakers of Other Languages – educators to bring its total up to 15, with plans to hire more.

“Ultimately, our goal is to reduce that scaffold in their first language and build up their second language,” Yommer says. “So hopefully over time, that shift from the educational assistant to an [English language] teacher moves a little bit.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.