Elida Zaldivar—2016 Fellow
Year: Class of 2018
Majors: Political Science and International Studies
Organization: Minneapolis Public Schools, Multilingual Department
This summer, I partnered with Minneapolis Public Schools in their Multilingual Department. The Department’s mission is to empower educators and leaders to develop language-rich learning environments that raise the achievement of English Learners. They strive to have every English Learner (EL) be bilingual and biliterate, college and career ready. Their department is considered to be one of leaders in English as A Second Language (ESL) throughout the state of Minnesota.
As a former EL in Minnesota, I was intrigued by the curriculum and teaching methods of Minneapolis Public Schools. I was interested in how the curriculum was created and the effect that it had on the students. So for my project, I was given the opportunity to researched and built curriculum at a district-wide level while also teaching ESL at Longfellow High School. Being at Longfellow was much more than just providing instruction. At Longfellow, I was able to connect with students at personal level and witness their their language acquisition alongside their growth as individuals. Their resilience is admirable. I am grateful that I was able to forge these relationships. My project has taught so many things- from how to build curriculum to dealing with challenging class dynamics, I’m truly thankful for experience and hope that I can continue this work into the future.