Since the 2004 release of the FOCUS St. Louis report, New Americans: Building the Future of the St. Louis Region, a dedicated group of community member have been working to implement the recommendations made in the report. One of those recommendations involved increasing community support for school districts, the idea being that some districts have seen such a sudden and large increase in foreign born students that they are overwhelmed, not to mention under funded, and trying to provide the best education possible for these students. Through this effort five school districts, St. Louis Public, Hancock Place, Bayless, Affton, and Mehlville, have been at the table working with each other and representatives from the community and various community organizations to improve the educational outcomes for these students.

At our meetings, the staff from the five districts are often sharing with each other what they have done lately that has been helpful, what new translations they have made available, curriculum ideas, ways to involve parents, etc. Staff from these districts have excellent ideas and are using creative and innovative techniques in working with English language learners in their schools.

They, along with other education professionals and others working with immigrant students are invited to share their best practices here.

You can view the full report and executive summary, including translations in Spanish and Bosnian, at http://www.focus-stl.org/prog/initiatives/edu-natf.cfm.