As a 3rd generation Sicilian, I grew mesmerized by the second language learners in my family.  My great-grandparents struggled with learning English, in fact, my great-grandmother spoke very broken English, & after living in the US for over 70 years she still never learned how to read or write English. My great-grandfather learned English from the elementary kids he was a custodian for until he began building homes in River Oaks and The Heights in Houston, Texas. I am proud to say our family's name can be found on the wall at Ellis Island where they came through, and as the first generation college graduate I've always felt compelled to make a difference in honor of them. 

 

Being an English teacher and ESL Instructional Specialist for 25 years, I take great pride in all the opportunities ExcELLing offers emerging bilinguals. So many times the sub-population of ELL students and even adults are not provided the differentiation needed for growing and learning. With ExcELLing - an English Language Learning Consultant, I offer virtual professional development for educators, lesson planning support and on site Professional Development as well as modeling lessons. There is also the Social Emotional aspect. ExcELLing provides opportunities to support emerging bilingual needs in addition to the language acquisition.