Burnsville-Eagan-Savage: Adult immigrants being trained to help students learn English

This seems like a program every community should have; the "teachers" will understand all the problems, first hand.   - - Donna Poisl

By Christopher Magan

Anisa Amin moved to the U.S. from Somalia a decade ago, so she knows the challenges immigrants face. And she wants to help.

That's why the Bloomington resident enrolled in a class offered by the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district that trains people like her to become teaching assistants. The three-month adult education course is designed to help bilingual adults obtain state certification to become teaching assistants, also called paraprofessionals.

"I like working with kids," said Amin, who hopes to one day be a teacher. "I want to help other immigrants. I want to help children improve their language and learning."

Burnsville developed the training program out of necessity after the district struggled to find bilingual employees to help teachers with the growing number of English language learners in their classrooms. Nearly a quarter of the district's elementary students have limited English proficiency.
Click on the HEADLINE above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.