High School EB
Empowerment Summits
The Empowerment Summit program is one key initiative that is directly aligned with our KPI goals to increase our graduation rate and to reduce our drop out rate. We firmly believe this is a support system that greatly impacts Emergent Bilingual students academically , as well as helps them set goals and develop coping and self-advocacy skills to ensure they meet high school graduation requirements. We want our district to continue the cycle of improvement as it pertains to meeting the needs of our Emergent Bilinguals. We know the Empowerment Summits are aligned with the five principles of culturally, linguistically, and responsive practices that help our students overcome barriers and receive an equitable education. Equity ensures that they reach their goals in high school.
The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) was explained to the students. Students were provided their personalized TELPAS data to note their successful areas and determine areas needing further support in their language development.
Students were provided questions for reflection and set their own educational goals.
A motivational guest speaker was invited to share his experience on the positive impact education has had on his life. Students heard from Dr. Jose Luis Zelaya and were given opportunity to make connections and ask questions.
Counseling staff was included to present credit and graduation information. Students were provided copies of their transcripts to review course credits and graduation requirements.
Students were provided a variety of information to support their education, graduation, and next steps in both hard copy and digital resources.
We included an Emergent Bilingual student leader as a presenter. This allowed students to hear from one of their peers on how to navigate language and learning successfully while attending the same high school.