Ann Streeter
Bilingual Education
Contact Information
amstreeter@seattleschools.org
(206)252-5550
Personal and Professional History
Welcome to the Sacajawea Bilingual Department! My name is Ms. Ann Streeter, and I'm the Bilingual teacher here. My background is eleven years teaching English and studying Mandarin in China, plus teaching ESL at various colleges and universities in the Puget Sound area. I just got my second MA in Elementary Ed. with an ESL endorsement so I could work with children. I believe the earlier we can reach children learning English as new arrivals to this country, the better chance they have to succeed in life.
Program Philosophy and Structure
There are three more of us in our department! Anh Trinh is our Vietnamese / Cantonese I.A. who has many years experience at the school and has been very successful helping students of all language groups. Barbara Langland is our Spanish I.A., also with years of experience who works with our Spanish speaking population. Most recently we have gained Hussein Shegow, our gifted Somali I.A. who in addition speaks many other dialects and languages. Together we are a team working to serve all our bilingual students and families at Sacajawea. We are located in the "Sky House", the portable with clouds and blue sky painted on it, on the lower level next to the primary classrooms.
How does a student become eligible for bilingual services? If a student is believed to need bilingual services, a Home Language Survey goes home to the family. If the family's home language is noted as not being English, a tester from the Bilingual Family Center (BFC) comes to the school to test the student. Families can also go directly to the BFC for language testing. The test is called the Washington Language Proficiency Test (WLPT). Depending on the student's score, the student becomes eligible for our bilingual services. This test is also given every spring to see if they need to continue with our services, or have such a high score, they have tested out and no longer need our services. We keep clear records of each student's progress and WLPT scores in "green" files, which follow them even if they change schools. This way services can continue to be provided when needed wherever they go. Once a student has exited services, their file is pulled and kept in the main office. They have advanced to our goal of no longer needing our services and being able work well in the classroom without additional English help!
How are we serving bilingual students? Each of us has a schedule of students we serve weekly according to our language specialty. Currently we have about 45 students. Anh works daily mornings only. Barbara and Hussein work Tuesdays, Fridays, and alternate Wednesdays with their specific language groups. As they are all half-time, they are at other schools or jobs the other half-time. I work with the priority need students Tuesday through Friday, as a .8 teacher. We are also available to translate during parent-teacher conferences or at other times of family concerns. According to the student's need, part of the time we are in the classroom working with the teacher on skills the students are having the most difficulty in. Other times we pull individuals or groups to work on those same skills. Depending on the students' level, our time may be spent working on the alphabet, phonics / decoding skills, sight words, beginning reading, or for older students, reading comprehension, science, social studies projects or even math. Our goal is to help our students succeed, no matter what level of English they start out with!
I hope this short introduction gives you a better understanding of the Sacajawea Bilingual Department, who we are, and how we are serving our bilingual students!