We offer special programs to help meet the needs of our Emergent Bilingual families. The goal of our family support programming is to increase the capacity of families to work with schools. When our schools and families work together, we are supporting Emergent Bilinguals mastery of the English language and high level academic achievement.

Our services are supplemental. We use surveys, consultations, and the guidelines provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to consistently improve our work. We use research based practices to engage with families, schools, teachers, and the greater communities of Garland, Rowlett, and Sachse. Our services are part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that was reauthorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Support programs

We strive to strengthen the knowledge, skills, networks, and confidence of our families so that they can work closely with our schools. Our programs help us do that by giving access to free English as a Second Language (ESL) for adults, GED and Citizenship preparation classes. We also offer opportunities to attend conferences, provide educational field trips, and technology skills that can be transferred to the workplace and community.

The Evening Study Center

Our Evening Study Center provides educational classes for parents who would like to improve their oral and written skills in English. We offer six levels of ESL taught by Garland ISD certified teachers. Our teachers build relationships with families and provide help with school matters as well.

Spanish GED classes

Our study center can also help those who want to earn a high school diploma equivalency and better career opportunities. Through our partnership with Dallas College Eastfield, families can work with us to prepare for the Spanish GED test.

Parent workshops

We offer workshops to help our families become familiar with our school system and more. Our workshops topics include:

• The 3 main roles of parental engagement
• Helping your child with homework
• Getting ready for parent-teacher conferences
• Understanding if your child is making progress in learning English
• Knowing if your child is making academic progress
• Asking the right questions to schools
• Skyward basics
• Creating a Canvas parent account

For information on available classes, visit our parent workshop calendar.

Field trips

Together with our community partners, our Emergent Bilingual families are able to participate in field trips that allow them to experience the opportunities that are available to their children. Through our field trips, families can visit places such as:

• The Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center
• The Perot Museum of Science
• The College Preparation Camp

Social work services for Emergent Bilingual families

We offer support by licensed mental health providers to students, families and school staff. See the Emergent Bilingual Social Work page for information on getting in contact with our dedicated Emergent Bilingual Social Worker.