Conversations about Inclusion: Connecting Mainstream and ESL

Abstract

In the past few years, inclusion or collaboration has become the English as a second Language (ESL) model used by several schools and districts, including the St. Paul Public Schools, which has increasingly closed the achievement gap for its ESL population. Though there are drawbacks and potential problems with this model, the author and her colleagues have found its application successful in their elementary school. Examples of how inclusion works in various elementary classroom settings end the report. The following is based on a presentation given by the author and her co-worker, Becky (Bonertz) Gibson, at the 2006 MinneTESOL Conference, as well as at a 2007 meeting for the University of Minnesota’s TEAM UP (Teaching English Language Learners Action Model to Unite Professionals) development program.