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West Point board highlights student awards, hears English-learner classroom presentation
Summary
At its meeting, the West Point Public Schools board recognized students and staff of the month and heard first-grade English-learner teacher Casey Garcia describe classroom strategies and student growth, including use of language goals, ACCESS/WIDA-aligned supports and family engagement efforts.
The West Point Public Schools board opened the meeting with recognitions for students and staff and a classroom presentation about services for English-learner students.
Dr Frasier presented student- and staff-of-the-month honors, naming fifth-grader Juliana Moscow and other student awardees and thanking staff nominated by students, including Miss Leslie Foster and Mr Tyler sasy. The board applauded fall athletes and district observances such as STEM/STEAM Day and American Education Week.
Casey Garcia, an elementary teacher who identified herself as a first-grade teacher working with English learners, described classroom goals and demonstrated instructional practices her students used to develop oral language, writing and comprehension. She said the team sets individualized language goals, uses WIDA/ACCESS scores to guide supports, and employs strategies including Total Physical Response, graphic organizers and scaffolded writing tasks. Garcia said she also works with classroom teachers to pre-teach vocabulary and to prepare students for grade-level reading passages: "I current teach first grade at the elementary school and as well as I am an EL teacher," she told the board.
Garcia introduced students who have made measurable progress and showed examples of student work and multi-week projects (PowerPoint research assignments and collaborative writing). She described family engagement steps—sending bilingual newsletters and using translated flyers produced with district partners—to increase participation in school events.
The presentation emphasized monitoring students after they exit EL services and providing targeted supports when growth stalls. Administrators directed board members to the packet materials that include the annual student growth report and final assessment updates.
The board did not take separate action on the classroom presentation; the meeting proceeded to other agenda items.
