English Language Learner (ELL) students are "the fastest-growing student population in the country, growing 60% in the last decade, as compared with 7% growth of the general student population" (Grantmakers for Education, 2013; National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). Approximately 1 in 5 people ages 5 and up in the United States speak another language other than English at home (U.S. Census, 2010). As Iowa becomes more diverse in the languages and cultures that are present in our state, programs such as Grinnell-Newburg Community School District's English Language Learners Program will continue to grow with providing services to the English Language Learners in our community. We welcome this growth and our ELL students and families in the district!

The goals of Grinnell's ELL program are:

To help ELL learners have equal access to the same quality curriculum as all students regardless of primary language.
To foster and value the school environment as well as the home environment as arenas of constant learning and growth for ELL students and promote family and community involvement in the learning process.
To encourage pride in students’ cultural and linguistic identities, preserve and value cultural heritage, and prepare students to actively participate and share their diversity within American society.

Our ELL program works to meet the diverse needs of our community's growing ELL population. Our Director of Special Programs, Mr. Brandon Sharp, and ELL teacher, Beth Glasnapp, work to support students and their families, while challenging the district's ELL students to improve upon their English reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Ms. Glasnapp has extensive experience instructing ELL students and we welcomed her to our district in the 2022-23 school year as a full-time ELL teacher serving all five school buildings.

For more information about ELL services in our district, please contact:

Brandon Sharp, Director of Special Programs: brandon.sharp@grinnell-k12.org (641-236-2656)

Rita Mertens, ELL Teacher: rita.mertens@grinnell-k12.org

Lisha Marsh, ELL Teacher: lisha.marsh@grinnell-k12.org

To view our current K-12 District Lau Plan for Serving English Language Learners (ELLs), click here.