English Language Learning Program
Pre-K-12 Programs main page | Family Welcome Center | English Language Learning Program | Summer Programs | Multicultural Resource Library | Parent Outreach
English Language Acquisition Program for English Language Learners (ELL)
The Multilingual and Multicultural Center offers support for students whose home language is other than English. Language minority students who are assessed as needing support in English are directed to a school with age- and grade-appropriate level instruction to prepare them for succeess in mainstream classrooms. For grades K-5, those schools are East End Community School, Hall Elementary, Presumpscot Elementary, Reiche Elementary, and Riverton Elementary; for grades 6-8, the schools are King Middle, Lincoln Middle and Moore Middle; and for grades 9-12 the schools are Portland High, Deering High, and Casco Bay High. Meet our program staff, listed by school.
Portland Public Schools’ English Language Acquisition program provides instruction in English at the appropriate level of a learner’s proficiency by state-certified, ESL-endorsed teachers. Although the tasks may vary, they all contain the following characteristics: content-focused (teaching English through social studies, science, math, etc.) meaning-centered (as opposed to meaningless repetition), constructive (i.e., students learn by doing), integrated (practice using any combination of listening, speaking, reading, and writing), interactive (i.e., learning with others), and cognitively demanding (i.e., challenging enough to ensure growth in language complexity).
How are Portland’s English language learners doing in school? View A Longitudinal Study (in PowerPoint format).
Intensive English Language Program for Newcomers
An influx of unschooled non-English speaking adolescents in Portland Public Schools has prompted the creation of an Intensive English Language Program for newcomers. This specially-designed program of instruction aims to address the extreme language and literacy needs of high school-age newly-arrived students who lack schooling and/or literacy in their native language. As students acquire sufficient fluency and literacy skills, they will transition to regular ESL support services offered at the high schools. The maximum length of stay in this program is one year.
Program Staff in Portland Schools
East End Elementary
Tambria Alexander, ESL Teacher
Rosa Barker, ESL Teacher
Amy Gookin, ESL Teacher
Cathy Jurgelevich, ESL Teacher
Kristen Reburn, ESL Teacher
Bulina Ahmed, Language Facilitator
Esther Bark, Language Facilitator
Hana Tallan, Language Facilitator
Sophal Volent, Language Facilitator
Hall Elementary
Annette Mager, ESL Teacher
Rebecca Norling, ESL Teacher
Cynthia Taylor, ESL Teacher
Veasna Kem, Language Facilitator
Longfellow Elementary
Linda Ward, ESL Teacher
Lyseth Elementary
Darcie McDuffie, ESL Teacher
Linda Stimpson, ESL Teacher
Presumpscot Elementary
Nancy Hess, ESL Teacher
Susan Hirshon, ESL Teacher
Theresa Lee, ESL Teacher
Reiche Elementary
Laurie Andreades, ESL Teacher
Carolyn Nedza, ESL teacher
Aweis Abdalla, Language Facilitator
Roberto Keith, Language Facilitator
Mary Otto, Language Facilitator
Riverton Elementary
Carol Dayn, ESL Teacher
Stacey O'Donoghue, ESL Teacher
Simone Bodlovick, Language Facilitator Lubijca Forkapic, Language Facilitator
Ibrahim Hirsi, Language Facilitator
Muoi Nguyen, Language Facilitator
Ocean Avenue Elementary
Brenda Gushee, ESL Teacher
Brenda Murphy, ESL Teacher
King Middle School
Amy LeVasseur, ESL Teacher
Elizabeth Moran, ESL Teacher
Pat Niles, ESL Teacher
Catherine Paul, ESL Teacher
Marcia Salem, ESL Teacher
Lincoln Middle School
Heidi Cameron, ESL Teacher
Jennifer Dorval, ESL Teacher
Sarah Martin, ESL Teacher
Catherine Siegel, ESL Teacher
Toh Hing, Language Facilitator
Edward Laboke, Language Facilitator
Mohamud Mohamed, Language Facilitator
Lyman Moore Middle School
Clara Jean Howard, ESL Teacher
Amy Reuter, ESL Teacher
James Siegel, ESL Teacher
Redemptus Malyata, ESL Ed Tech
Casco Bay High
Alison Perkins, ESL Teacher
Mark Ford, ESL Teacher
Deering High
Conni Daigle, ESL Teacher
Suzanne Dodson, ESL Teacher
Maureen Fox, ESL Teacher
Sheri Oliva, ESL Teacher
Bruno Yomoah, ESL Teacher
Abdullahi Jama, Language Facilitator
Portland High
Stephen Dyro, ESL Teacher
Zarmina Hanifi, ESL Teacher
Deborah Hutson, ESL Teacher
Christina Mitchell, ESL Teacher
Anne Murray, ESL Teacher
Marjorie Sampson, ESL Teacher
Thomas Talarico, ESL Teacher
Julie Wise, ESL Teacher
Sarah Shmitt, Read 180 Teacher
David Smith, Read 180 Teacher
Ismail Noor Ali, Language Facilitator
Lily Angelo, ESL Ed Tech