ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages)

Students at Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind reflect the population of the state of Florida with its many languages and cultural influences.

The goals of ESOL services center on students. Students will receive comprehensible instruction and will learn English, American Sign Language, or English Braille as soon as possible. We foster cross-cultural understanding, helping students to maintain pride in their own culture while learning American culture.

The ESOL program at FSDB serves eligible students in all departments by:

  • Giving an initial assessment in English, native language, and American Sign Language.
  • Hiring language facilitators if the eligible student’s language is other than Spanish. Currently, we serve students from Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Latvia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, United States and Venezuela.
  • Translating documents for families who are not English-speaking.
  • Working directly with students who qualify for services: for deaf students we provide trilingual staff members; for blind students, bilingual staff.
  • Providing ESOL training as needed to all certified staff.

FSDB’s complete district Limited English Proficiency Plan is available here for download. LEP placement and staffing forms are also available here in English and Spanish.

TRES

A Federal Title VII Bilingual Enhancement grant enabled FSDB to develop and disseminate a Trilingual Receptive and Screening Assessment (TRES). The assessment was field-tested at FSDB, and shared with every district in Florida. This assessment is one tool used to determine eligibility for the ESOL program.

The TRES is available in its entirety and is available for download. A TRES DVD is available upon request at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We welcome comments or suggestions for this document.

ESOL Staff

Betsy Sotillo-Gaura – Director
Maria Hernandez – ESOL Teacher for the Deaf
Kathy McManus – ESOL Teacher for the Blind
Gislena Kiernan – Interpreter/Translator