Helping Hispanic children succeed in the Green Bay Area Public School District

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) As our communities in Northeast Wisconsin grow more diverse – so too do our schools. Local 5 has more on what educators in the Green Bay Area Public School District are is doing – to help Hispanic children succeed.

In the Green Bay Area Public School District – the demographics of the student body are changing.

“When it comes to our Spanish speaking English learners, our numbers have increased tremendously,” said Gina Cornu-Zacharias who heads bilingual education for the district.

And that is a good thing – according to district officials.

“Everybody brings something to the table and we all are unique in our needs and our skills,” said Equity Coordinator Katie Sulzer.

Who say they are committed to help Hispanic students succeed – by offering services specifically for them.

“We are always looking for bilingual teachers,” Zacharias said.

It’s estimated  28% of students enrolled in district’s schools like here at Eisenhower are Hispanic.  And the associate director of bilingual education says over 1,200 of those Spanish speaking  students are also learning English at seven area schools.

“They are able to walk away graduating from high school saying they are literate in both languages –  English and Spanish,” Zacharias said.

it is a long commitment – 4k through 7th grade. And to help students – but particularly their parents through the journey – the district has hired family engagement coordinators.

“So when they have a question they know they can always turn to someone in the district they can trust,” Zacharias said.

Staff supervised by Equity Coordinator Sulzer –  who also help teachers foster better relationships with parents .

“Really kind of build the capacity to understand the importance of parent, partnerships,” Silzer said

“In our schools we want to make sure our parents feel comfortable and we don’t want language to be a barrier to communicate with us,” said Zacharias.

Because Zacharias says these children have dreams and the school district wants them all to come true.

“Our students are the future of our community and we really want to prefer them and set them up for success so they can achieve their goals,” she said.