Over the past few weeks, the IRC has asked members of our community to nominate Illinois teachers working with multicultural, multilingual students who are going above and beyond, and now, we’re celebrating them and highlighting their work. Keep an eye out for these features in the coming months – and if you’d like to nominate someone, email leanet@cntrmail.org. Next up is Janet Keyworth, a Bilingual Coordinator at Sadlowski Elementary School in Chicago.
Says Emily Gasca, who nominated her: “I am nominating Ms. Keyworth because her passion and dedication to our community, school and students surpasses any expectations. She has not stopped advocating, equipping and providing resources at the school administrative level as well as for teachers. She is an intricate part of our school community to ensure our student’s are on the path to becoming bilingual. She serves as a board member to organizations that empower our Latino and bilingual students. She shows her dedication inside & outside the school. A true example for our students, Que Si Se Puede!”
For Janet Keyworth, a bilingual coordinator in Chicago Public Schools, building a strong, empowered community to support multilingual students is key to their success. For the past four years, she has served on a citywide multilingual parent council, alongside representatives from the CPS Office of Language and Cultural Education, parents that serve on their Bilingual Parents Advisory Council (BPAC), and other educators stakeholders.
To keep her local school community informed, she brings the information back to the school and local parents, stakeholders, students and teachers, to ensure that the policies developed by this council are being implemented. “I want to make sure our school is actually empowering the parents, and providing the parents the resources, tools and knowledge so they can continue their advocacy,” she says.
Mrs. Keyworth says a key component of that advocacy is keeping parents informed about what services are available for English Learners. Sadlowski Elementary is a relatively new school, and when it first opened, there were no bilingual coordinators. Mrs. Keyworth stepped into the role and began providing trainings for the parents so they could understand the policies. The parents began to advocate and hold the school accountable to ensure more bilingual-endorsed teachers were being hired, and that the school was bringing in resources for EL students.
“We’re bringing parents into the school as partners,” she says. “They’re working closely with teachers and staff, and building those close partnerships. We are also implementing ESL and bilingual strategies in the classroom through my delivery of ongoing teacher professional development- teachers are implementing best practices to ensure student success in the classroom.”
In addition to the policy breakdowns and advocacy meetings, Mrs. Keyworth also seeks to empower students and their parents to showcase their cultures, stories, and talents for the school community. BAC parents have come in to read aloud to students in their native languages, and the school even hosted cultural performances, and a cultural talent show to celebrate the students’ many heritages.
Mrs. Keyworth advises educators to build partnerships with parents in their community, host opportunities to collaborate and ensure the parents are informed about the mission and vision of the school committees. It truly takes a village, and building partnerships so everyone works together will lead to student success.
She says it’s essential to ask the parents about their needs and challenges and what they think would be beneficial from the beginning of the year. “The ultimate goal is for our students to grow and achieve, so providing parents with strategies, trainings, and resources will help their children grow and achieve,” she says. “We’re helping them to become partners, letting them have a voice, and creating a welcoming environment.”
