Whitewater High School’s English Language Learners visit campus

October 29, 2009

Students whose first language is not English face many academic challenges. Whitewater High School has teamed up with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to provide support to students who struggle with English.

Nearly 40 Whitewater High School students recently visited UW- Whitewater's science department as part of a program at the high school called English Language Learners.

"When English is not students' first language it’s important to provide those students with specialized assistance," said Lanora Heim, assistant principal of Whitewater High School and director of the English Language Learners program for the Whitewater Unified School District. The program is designed to help provide support and needs to these students.

Heim and the English Language Learners program collaborated with UW- Whitewater's Liesl Hohenshell, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction and collaborator with Project SWEETT, and Nelia Olivencia, director of Latino Student Programs.

SWEETT stands for Southeastern Wisconsin Excellence in Education through Teacher Training. It is a federally funded program to provide improvement in education for English Language Learners.

It was during a recent meeting with Heim, Hohenshell and Olivencia that the idea for the UW-Whitewater campus visit emerged. "I don't remember who initially proposed the idea, but it was so magnetic, we all wanted to help make it happen," said Hohenshell.

Biology and physics were chosen because many students do not take enough math and science in middle school and high school to adequately prepare for college. Also, minorities are underrepresented in the science careers.

"Having a diverse representation is particularly important in science for two key reasons," said Hohenshell. "New perspectives can lead to more fruitful interpretations of phenomenon and when scientists from a variety of backgrounds agree, credibility is strengthened."

Miguel Aranda, internal secretary of Latinos Unidos, is a freshman at UW-Whitewater and a Whitewater High School graduate. Aranda, along with sophomore Tiffany Lozoya, also a member of Latinos Unidos, helped to make this event successful by guiding students around campus.

"Since I knew most of them, I wanted them to know I could be used as a link to connect them to people and that I would be willing to assist them in any form possible for them to gain a better education," said Aranda.

"I enjoyed helping them to realize that they can go to college and be successful, no matter where they come from, what language they speak or how much money they have in their pockets," said Lozoya.

The students did fun experiments in physics and biology, including making a radio speaker out of cups and wires. "I can't believe a cup actually works as a speaker," said Marissa Aranda, a Whitewater High School junior. "It was weird and cool."

"My favorite part was learning about the stars,” said junior Ana Karen Rodriquez. Every student got a large poster of the Milky Way galaxy.

"It was also wonderful to hear these students' career aspirations and to see their engagement in the activities while working with the scientists," said Hohenshell.

The event was a collaboration made possible by many people and departments. "That we provide high quality opportunities and we care about our students were clear messages in every presentation," said Hohenshell. "I left the day, quite frankly, overwhelmed with pride to be working among UW-Whitewater faculty and students of this caliber."

"While we trialed this event by focusing on a group that is underrepresented in the sciences, we hope to expand it to encourage a variety of students to consider careers in science and mathematics," she said.

"I am trilled there is a tight connection between the high school and the university," Heim said.

For more information on this event contact Liesl Hohenshell at 262-472-1190 or hohenshl@uww.edu.