Mission Statement
Our ELL program’s mission is to honor and support our students’ home languages and cultures, to ensure students’ academic success, to support English language acquisition, and to incorporate our students and their families into the fabric of the Shaker community.
Philosophy
Our multilingual students and their families enrich our school, community and the IB curriculum.
The English Language Learner (ELL) Department in Shaker Heights City School District provides English language instruction to students whose primary home language language is not English. The program includes students from all over the world including the United States. Some of the most common languages represented in Shaker include Arabic, Amharic, Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Hausa, Patois, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil and Turkish.
If you need assistance understanding any information provided at Shaker Heights City Schools in another language, you may request language assistance services without charge by contacting the Department of Exceptional Children at 216-295-1400 or email Director Elizabeth Kimmel.
The ELL program provides a nurturing and supportive environment for all language learners to develop and practice their language skills. Every building in our district provides English language instruction to our English learners. The services provided depend on the language proficiency of the students and include “pull-out” services for Pre-K to grade 6 students. Middle school and high school EL students are scheduled for a specific class period during the school day for instruction in English and support in the content area courses.
Shaker has six qualified English language educators who have been properly trained and are fully certified to work with English learners.
Our goal is to support the continued English language learning of our students and encourage continued learning in all of the languages students speak and understand. Shaker’s ELL teachers would be happy to talk with you and answer any question you have about our ELL program:
Kara Fagan - Woodbury School/Onaway School
Natasha Tremblay - Middle School/Mercer
Monica Triozzi - Boulevard School (216) 295-4951
Jill Damore - Boulevard School (216) 295-4951
D. Michael Wells - Lomond / Fernway Schools (216) 295-6382
ELL students are taught using a variety of research-based methods and strategies; instruction focuses on the four domains of language including speaking, reading, writing, and listening.
We currently have families from over 40 countries including the United States represented in Shaker Schools. We celebrate our diverse community and invite you to join us at our International Families events.