Welcome to the Multi Language Learners page (formerly ELL or ESL)! Our MLL teachers and educational assistants serve students from Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Central America. There are more than 26 languages spoken by students and their families at Global Arts Plus. Many of our students have fluency in two, three and even four languages. We are proud our diverse community of language learners!

What is the goal of the MLL program at Global Arts Plus?

The mission of both the Saint Paul Public Schools MLL department and Global Arts Plus is to provide an education for language learners. Our goals include to achieve for language proficiency, strong foundations, community engagement, and collaborative success. The aim is for all students to become bilingual, bi-literate, and culturally proficient in both the majority and partner cultures. 

We want all students to be:

• Proficient in at least two languages, with a strong foundation in academic knowledge, communication skills and cultural understanding.
• Proud of their own cultural heritage, appreciation for the many cultures which compose the richness of our community.
• Challenged, supported and inspired to graduate on time. 

How do we work toward this goal?

MLL teachers support and instruct MLL students using the following models and programs at Global Arts Plus:

• Language Academy: Students in grades 1-8 who are new to the country and need intensive English Language Development qualify for the Language Academy program. ELL students in the Language Academy class are integrated into the school and larger community, giving them daily interaction with their native-English-speaking peers to build language skills both academically and socially. The Language Academy class is taught collaboratively by the mainstream grade level teacher and the ELL teacher. Both teachers plan lessons in a collaboration, thereby providing differentiated instruction targeted to the specific needs of newcomer students. This intensive collaborative program helps students rapidly develop the English language skills necessary for academic success.

• Language support through content: Many ELL students receive English language instruction during reader’s workshop, writer’s workshop, science rotation, and/or math. ELL teachers create and teach lessons that target content level standards as well as English language objectives during content area instruction. ELL teachers work collaboratively with classroom teachers to provide small group support and instruction to ELL learners.

• Bilingual Educational Assistant Support: Many ELL students receive direct service from an educational assistant during math workshop. Our bilingual EAs provide instruction in Spanish, Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya, Arabic and Karen. Students who speak these home languages receive native language support on a rotational schedule during the math block.

Middle School Language Support

Our middle school offers a safe and supportive environment for English learners as they simultaneously learn the English language and academic content. We provide English Language Development classes (featuring the Inside USA and English Now! curriculums) which equip students with the building blocks of English. We further support our English learners through the practice of co-teaching English Language Arts (ELA) classes with the mainstream ELA teachers. In this way we are able to assist our students with both language and academics throughout the day.

MLL Teaching Staff (for more information regarding a particular teacher, click on their name on the right-hand side of this page):

Ann Becker Peterson (Lower Campus)

Kelly Baumgartner (Lower Campus)

Jessica Rooney (Lower Campus)

Amy Dailey (Upper Campus)

Sarah Ludwiczak (Upper Campus)

Charlotte Young (Upper Campus)

Educational Assistants (EAs) (for more information regarding a particular EA, click ontheir name on the right-hand side of this page):

Our  ELL Bilingual EAs rotate between the Global Arts Plus Upper and Lower campuses:

Linvy Thein (Karen)

Elfinesh Beshah (Arabic, Amharic, Oromo, and Tigrigna)