Hillsboro, Missouri, is hardly an international mecca. The population of this small city in the mid-west hovers around 2,000. Yet over the past few years, Hillsboro schools have seen influx of students whose first language isn’t English. Every grade has at least one ESL student, and first grade has five, Ellynne Wiebe, English-as-a-second-language (ESL) coordinator, told the board of education recently.
Since the district’s Parents as Teachers affiliate feeds area children into the school system, it’s often the first to see trends like this. Indeed, last year Parents as Teachers affiliates across the country served almost 30,000 families who speak Spanish as their primary language and more than 20,000 families with at least one parent who is foreign-born.
Immigrant and refugee cultures have a unique impact on parenting. Parents as Teachers provides resources to help professionals support all families as their children learn, grow and develop to realize their full potential.
