Congratulations to Mr. Ferlazzo…
Larry Ferlazzo is a fellow teacher of mine in Sacramento, Ca. He has a great site for resources for ESL and ELL students: Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites Of The Day For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL » Blog Archive » Favorite Sites and has been doing a fantastic job using technology to help teach students at Burbank High School. The school has had a recent influx of Hmong students from refugee camps in Thailand.
His good works have not gone unnoticed. He won a Presidential Award for Reading and Technology from the International Reading Association. I’d link to the story in our district paper but, well they haven’t updated the archives for all of 2007. I’m impressed. He is a prolific blogger, posting new websites/blogs/etc. for ELD instruction almost daily.
He has also spearheaded a program to bring computers and internet access to 200 students/families at his school. I was a little abrupt when he shared this with me here. Let me say now, I’m impressed with what he has done, I just think we need a more comprehensive approach to home access. It should not rely on individuals with initiative and drive like Mr. Ferlazzo, to make this happen, but thank god they’re here in the absence of a real plan to deal with equity in access issues.
Thanks for the kind words. And I’m with you on the need for a much more comprehensive approach towards equity for home computer/DSL access (and for access to a whole lot of other things as well!). You were right in your original comments earlier this month — our program is really just a drop in the bucket (my words, not yours).
I’m working with some local organizations to try to use Burbank’s success and leverage it into something much bigger. Even if we’re successful, though, it’ll still be far short of what’s needed.