Amarillo ISD Bilingual/ESL

Next Saturday!

Huge shoutout to our incredible Amarillo ISD Dual Language teachers! 💙❤️

Thank you for dedicating part of your summer to growing, learning, and strengthening your biliteracy practices so you can better serve our students. Your commitment to continuous learning and excellence does not go unnoticed.

A special thank you to TABE and Region 16 ESC for providing such meaningful professional learning during Summer Biliteracy Days. Opportunities like these help us continue building strong Dual Language and ESL programs.

I love seeing how we continue to grow together each year. We are excited to keep learning, collaborating, and strengthening our programs so we can provide the very best for our students, families, and the Amarillo community.

Summer newsletter is here, and so are great resources for you and your child! In this edition of the Title III Parents and Families Newsletter, you’ll find ideas and activities to support your child. This break is a wonderful opportunity to grow your child's language skills. Click on the link below and select "translate" to choose your language.

https://app.smore.com/n/mct05-parents-and-families-newsletter

¡Ya está aquí el boletín de verano, junto con excelentes recursos para usted y su hijo! En esta edición del boletín del Título III para padres y familias, encontrará ideas y actividades para apoyar a su hijo. Este periodo de descanso es una oportunidad para fomentar el desarrollo de las habilidades lingüísticas de su hijo. Haga clic en el enlace de abajo y seleccione "traducir" para elegir su idioma.

Parents and Families Newsletter Parents and Families Newsletter

Shoutout to our May Amarillo ISD Dual Language Teacher winners! 🎉✨
Your dedication, passion, and commitment to our students shine through every single day. Thank you for the impact you make in and out of the classroom. We’re so proud of you! 🧡🥳👩🏻‍🏫

The summer meal program (June 1st - June 26th) provides free, healthy meals.

El programa de comidas de verano (del 1 de junio al 26 de junio) ofrece comidas nutritivas sin costo.

Join us today at 5:30pm at the Amarillo Downtown Public Library (413 SE 4th). Come register for a library card, learn about online tools and sign up for ESL (English as a Second Language) summer classes. We hope to see you there!

For Library Card you will need: Drivers license with current address or any photo ID with proof of residence.

Acompáñanos hoy a las 5:30 pm en la Biblioteca Pública del Centro de Amarillo (413 SE 4th). Venga a registrarse para obtener su tarjeta de la biblioteca, conoceherramientas digitales y regístrate para las clases de inglés (ESL) de verano. ¡Esperamos verte allí!

Para obtener la tarjeta de la biblioteca necesitará: Licencia de conducir con dirección actual o cualquier identificación con foto y comprobante de domicilio.

Zainabu Mwamini graduates from Palo Duro High School this month, just three years after she arrived in America. For Zainabu and most children in Uganda, education was merely a dream. It’s not free in Uganda, and many children work to help support their families.

She remembers one particularly harrowing evening after a long day working at the family’s farm. Zainabu’s parents had stayed behind to keep working, and she began the two-hour walk home, her little brother on her back and her younger sister holding her hand. When it began storming, they huddled under a tree and used banana leaves to shield themselves from the downpour.

“That’s what we used as an umbrella. When I saw my sister shivering and my brother crying, I also got mad, because I’m just a kid myself. I would look up at the sky and ask what we did to deserve such a life,” says Zainabu.

Life changed when Zainabu, her mom and four younger siblings emigrated to America from Uganda with the help of UNICEF. Her father had to stay behind. Without hesitation, she recalls the day she arrived in America. “It was March 15, 2023. And then I was able to start school.”

Fast forward three years, and Zainabu has quickly caught up with her peers and leaves high school with a list of academic accolades, scholarships and more than 20 college credit hours. Swahili is Zainabu’s first language, but she can understand or speak 11 languages.

Today, she’s planning to start college at AC, with dreams of becoming a cardiologist.

“My father believes in the power of women going to school. I want to show the people in my country that we girls can also become something.”

It’s a future filled with possibilities. Zainabu, who believes the sacrifices her parents made and the opportunities given to her must be honored with hard work and achievement, is also working on letting herself be happy and enjoy life.

“I used to feel like happiness was a soup, and I was a fork. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hold enough,” says Zainabu. “I’ve come to understand that my story has power and to start using it as my power by not hiding in the shadows of it.”