Teacher Feature

Danielle Buono has been teaching for 11 years, and has experience in preschool as well as early elementary. This year, at the GLC school she has been given the unique challenge of a First Grade ESL class. Eighteen of Ms. Buono’s twenty-two students are language learners. Most speak Portuguese at home and are at various stages of language acquisition. While this scenario presents certain challenges, Ms. Buono goes above and beyond to make sure that all of her students are successful, no matter what their background. She can often be heard using Spanish or Italian to get a point across. She regularly uses data to see where her students need improvement and adjusts her lessons to meet those needs. She identifies each student’s learning style and uses it to make the most of every minute. Ms. Buono says, “I have definitely become more flexible this year and am better at thinking outside the box. Seeing their progress is so rewarding.” Her students are definitely benefiting from her willingness to meet them where they are.