I teach both Visual ARTs, and English Language Development classes in the ESL program.     

                                                                     The Role of the Art Teacher

• Teach knowledge and skills in art, including drawing, painting, and art history within the context prescribed by the MA Visual Arts Standards;
• Provide instruction by which students develop aesthetic concepts and appreciations and the ability to make qualitative judgments about art;
• Demonstrate techniques in activities such as drawing, painting, and 3-dimensional expression;
• Teach students to use and apply the elements of design and principles of art within different media and techniques;
• Provide individual and small-group instruction to adapt the curriculum to the needs of students with varying intellectual and artistic abilities, and to accommodate a variety of instructional activities;
• Instruct students in proper care and use of tools and equipment;
• Evaluate each student’s performance and growth in knowledge and aesthetic understandings;
• Plan and present art displays and exhibitions (actual as well as virtual) designed to exhibit students’ work for the school and the community;
• Provide a creative and stress-free environment in which the Social and Emotional wellbeing of the student is of paramount importance.  

The Role of the ESL Instructor

• The responsibility of the ESL instructor is to improve the English language proficiency levels of students of diverse primary languages and cultural backgrounds in grades 9 – 12.
• Instructional emphasis is placed on the domains of: reading, writing, listening,and speaking.
• Lessons are aligned to the W.I.D.A. standards as well as the MA Curriculum Framework(s) (primarily the ELA Framework, and others when applicable to the focus of lesson content).
• The ESL instructor at WHS, Coní Moore, has developed a unique curriculum that takes a global approach to English study, and focuses on various aspects/skills: which include linguistic and literacy skills, life skills and cultural acclimation.
• Class work can consist of rote pronunciation techniques, basic grammar, quizzes, use of abridged works of literature, informational text, videos, project-based assignments, computer lessons on interactive websites, etc.
• Often basic studies are combined with real-life interactions involving language use in different situations, such as shopping, schooling, job hunting or interacting with English-speaking peers.
• Appropriately differentiates instruction so as to meet all students’ learning styles with an appreciation for students’ learning differences.
• Provides feedback on materials, courses, and lessons to colleagues as requested.
• Assesses, tracks, and provides relevant and timely feedback on achievement (performance and growth) and developmental needs to students, and shares student needs and progress with colleagues. EL students receive four (school wide) quarterly progress reports and report cards, as well as three ESL progress reports throughout the academic year.
• Maintains federally and state mandated paperwork and EL files for current EL students as well as for FELs, or students who have been reclassified for the required period of four years (or until graduation).
• Designs, administers, and evaluates a range of formative and summative assessments as appropriate (proctors the ACCESS and MCAS testing for ELs).
• Provides EL students with academic advice, educational guidance, and advisory support.
• Maintains contact with parents, and out-reach to parents.
• Attends academic, departmental, and school wide meetings of ESL teachers when required, and attends/delivers professional development sessions as directed.
• Encourages students to participate in sports and social activities.
• Addresses, translates, and responds to student issues/emergencies as needed.

LANGUAGES:  Spanish, fluent speaker, with academic literacy skills (native speaker calibration per CA State Assessment); working knowledge of Serbo-Croatian, Portuguese, and French; she also studied Latin, Catalán, and German for translation and research purposes; and has had additional academic exposure to Italian and Arabic.