Great Hearts Arlington offers English as a Second Language (“ESL”) services at all appropriate grade levels for English language learners who are limited in their English proficiency. The program is designed to assist students identified as having limited English proficiency with their language development in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The goal of the ESL program is to provide additional English language assistance for grade-level curriculum using ESL strategies, enabling students to become academically successful in all classes.
Students are assessed with state- approved Oral Language Proficiency and Norm-Referenced Tests to qualify for placement in the program. If test results indicate either limited oral or limited cognitive academic English ability, the student (with parent approval) is provided additional English language support. The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) is also administered every spring to English language learners to monitor their learning and design new strategies for the following year.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ESL PROGRAM
Parent Resources
DOES MY CHILD QUALIFY FOR THE ESL PROGRAM?
HELPFUL WEBSITES FOR ESL LEARNING AT HOME
TEA Support for English Learners: https://www.txel.org/Parents-And-Families
Catholic Charities Fort Worth (CCFW) Immigration Services link: http://ccfwimmigration.com
Cooper street YMCA Adult ESL Classes: https://amaymca.org/locations/cooper-street-ymca/
Audible Bilingual Books: https://www.audible.com
Our ESL Team
ESL Coordinator
April Clark is our ESL Coordinator here at Great Hearts Arlington. She has a Bachelor’s degree from UT Tyler. She has taught for 13 years in public education. During this time, she taught Elementary/ESL , Special Education, and reading/math intervention. Ms. Clark is a proud mom of two girls ages 19 and 22. She enjoys just about anything outdoors. She is very excited to be working with the Great Hearts Arlington campus. She can be reached at April.Clark@GreatHeartsArlington.org
ESL Teacher
Caroline Gresham is a native Texan, and this is her second year at Great Hearts Arlington. She is very excited to work with our ESL scholars and is looking forward to helping them grow this sc
hool year.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Education from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s in Social Work from New Mexico Highlands University. She has experience working with a wide variety of vulnerable populations, including the special needs community, and has a young son with Autism as well. Caroline enjoys spending time in the great outdoors with her family, reading, traveling, and photography. She can be reached at Caroline.Gresham@GreatHeartsArlington.org
Heather Powell is an ESL Teacher at Great Hearts. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from University of North Texas. This is her 2nd year at GHA and 13th year in education. Over the years, she has taught middle school, 3rd grade, 4th grade, SPED, kindergarten and ESL. Mrs. Powell has 2 daughters, one who attends GHA, and has been married to her husband, John, for 19 years. She is very excited to be working with the ESL scholars at Great Hearts Arlington! She can be reached at heather.powell@greatheartsarlington.org.