Yemeni American News – Hamtramck
The Board of Education does hereby approve the employment of Jaleelah Hassan Ahmed, as the EL Director for Hamtramck Public Schools.
Jaleelah Hassan Ahmed said to Yemeni American News about her Plan for this position :
It is an honor to be a part of the Hamtramck Public Schools District; it has been wonderful working with all stakeholders to develop a plan to support the English language learners. I work closely with the curriculum directors, Mrs. Strean, Ms. Lisiscki, the special education director, Mrs. Robie, the director of pupil services, Ms. St. Germaine, and the Title I Grant Data Specialist, Mr. Pitcoff on a variety of district initiatives.
The trend data indicates that there is continuous growth of ELLs possibly due to many refugees leaving war- torn countries. Based on the 2015-2016 school year, the ELL student population, there were 1,103 students that made up 37.05% of the district student population. This number has increased to 1,580 students during this school year and makes up 50% of the school district student population. Considering this huge number of ELLs in our district, there will be much support provided to students, staff, parents, and administration.
My mission in September began by collecting quantitative data and qualitative data. Soon after, all ELLs in the district were identified, their levels of support based on their proficiency levels was identified; the data was shared with the administrators and EL staff. Next, district goals to support the EL population were established.
Monthly half day professional development to support the EL staff based on best practices has become the norm in addition to the district professional development.
We are looking forward to establishing monthly Principal Forums to share information with the family and community members in hopes of building a bridge between home and school and creating partnerships within our community. Additionally, we are looking at restructuring the high school schedule to support the ELLs and to provide them with intensive support in ELA.
Mr. Niczay, the superintendent, and our board have been very supportive of the direction that the EL department is heading and in just the few months, the team and I have made significant improvements.
Superintendent Thomas Niczay is excited to have the skills, experience and knowledge of Mrs. Ahmed as part of the Hamtramck Public Schools administration team. Mrs. Ahmed will produce a plan that not only provides EL students the education necessary to be successful on the next leg of their education journey but also to be successful in the workplace. Also Mrs. Ahmed will embrace, invited and encourage every ethnic group in the community to be an active participant of the Hamtramck Public Schools community.
