April 16, 2024
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Minooka Community HS seeking parents for its Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee

Parents on the committee should have ‘the interests of bilingual students in mind’

By Denise M. Baran-Unland
Minooka Community High School central and south campuses took part in a national initiative to walkout on Wednesday in order to show support for the 17 people who lost their lives in the Parkland, Fla., shooting one month ago. MCHS students remained inside for the event which took place in the hallways of each school.

Minooka Community High School is expanding its Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee and is currently inviting parents to become involved. (Allison Selk)

Minooka Community High School is expanding its Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee and is currently inviting parents to become involved.

The committee focuses on issues related to the school’s multicultural families and students. Parents who wish to join should have a diverse multicultural background, according to a news release from the high school.

Having a student who speaks two languages is not a qualification for serving, but parents on the committee should have “the interests of bilingual students in mind,” the release said. Four parents from the high school community along with several staff members are currently serving.

Staff members include Jeff Easthon (MCHS department chair for world language, music, and art), Lena Gomez (MCHS English as a Second Language teacher), Kenny Lee (MCHS superintendent), Bryan Zwemke (MCHS building principal), Janel Grzetich (MCHS director of curriculum and instruction),

“We would like parents to take a leadership position, discuss with us how we could better serve students who speak English as a second language, look at our curriculum and find where it lacks cultural depth so that we can supplement or replace current units/lessons with a diverse perspective,” Easthon said in a news release from Minooka Community High School.

Topics discussed so far include the English Learner Program, ACCESS Testing, support for Emerging Bilingual Students, information about programs and services currently offered at the high school and ways the high school can improve its services to bilingual and multicultural students and families, the release said.

The high school started the Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee in December 2019 to help meet the needs of the school’s bilingual students. The committee meets several times a year.

For more information, contact Jeff Easthon at jeasthon@mchs.net, or 815-521-4001 ext. 5122.