The goal for the WIDA blog has always been to give educators
a way to look at things from the perspective of a peer who has an understanding
of what educators face on a regular basis, and to offer new ideas or strategies. That is why Tammy King was our blogger
instead of WIDA staff. WIDA has an
amazing group of talented professionals who could contribute to the blog, but much like the goal of the WIDA National Conference,
the intent of the blog is not to be about WIDA.
Rather, WIDA is the conduit for what is presented, so that it can be applicable to educators everywhere, regardless of Consortium membership.
Taking that goal in mind, we have reached out to several
people to blog for us. We believe they will offer readers the
information, understanding, and ideas that will create opportunities to enrich their
practice, as well as a forum for thoughtful, informed discussion.
In the first of a series of introductions to our new
bloggers, we are pleased to introduce Heather Jung.
Hello WIDA Community Members!
My name is Heather Jung and I
am honored to have been asked by WIDA to share some of my experiences with you
on their blog.
So who am I?
I have worked for 15 years
with high needs students in public schools in Maryland and Virginia in the
diverse melting pot of the Washington D.C. Metro area. I have worked as a classroom teacher, a
reading recovery teacher, and an ELL resource teacher. I presented at the 2013 WIDA National Conference
last October in Milwaukee and at the National Reading Recovery and K-6
Classroom Literacy Conferences in 2012, 2013 and 2014. I currently serve as the first and second
grade ELL Resource teacher.
My school is in Alexandria,
Virginia (a suburb of Washington, D.C. bordering the Potomac River). We have
approximately 650 students in grade PreK through Grade 6. We are a Title 1 school and nearly 50% of our
students live below the poverty line. One
third of our students are ELLs. They
come from a wide range of areas including: South America, the Middle East, and
North Africa. We have 22% mobility and
a staff of over 100 people.
We are housed in a 55 year
old one-story brick building with adjacent trailers, picnic tables and chairs
or rocks for sitting. We have a very
active gardening program with more than 14,000 square feet of gardens. Students, staff, and families in our
community work together in the garden growing produce, plants, and trees
indigenous to the state of Virginia. We
put on an International Day each year where the students and their families get
to display their unique cultures with each other. Staff members also go on a "Welcome
Walk" to visit each student's home during the week before the each school
year begins to welcome them back to school.
My personal life is also integrated in multicultural
community. My husband emigrated here with his family from South Korea at the
age of 4. We have friends from diverse backgrounds including, El Salvador,
Peru, Cambodia, and Pakistan. Some came as children and some came as adults.
All of them had to learn to communicate when they arrived. They have shared
their stories and struggles with me. I will bring this knowledge and some of
their stories toy blog as well as those from the children and families that I
work with professionally.
As I begin this new journey
as a blogger I want to start by saying that, behind every good teacher there is a great
teacher that they collaborate with. I
have been very blessed to have had
the support of phenomenal co-teachers,
colleagues, and friends throughout my career!
It is my sincere hope that my blog posts will provide me with an
opportunity to share their brilliance,
creativity, and dedication with a larger community.
Welcome photo by Keith Tyler via Creative Commons.
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