Professional development: Rainforest Safari Camp for English learners

Last week, 27 PYLUSD teachers, 18 recently credentialed California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), students, and 18 high school students participated in a professional development opportunity designed to prepare them for providing the Rainforest Safari Camp for English learner students in third through fifth grade at Melrose, Rio Vista and Topaz elementary schools. Camp began on Monday, July 11, and runs Monday through Thursday until Thursday, July 28. Students will engage in integrated arts, science and English language development (ELD) designed to increase student engagement. The program covered integrated arts, journal work, a review of the Rainforest Safari curriculum, engineering and science standards work, integrated ELD, and much more. The training was designed and provided by CSUF professors Ginger Geftakys and Andrea Guillaume, with contributions from Segerstrom Center for the Arts specialist Jennifer Bassage Bonfil, and PYLUSD teachers Jenner Rasic and Ricky Castro. The Rainforest Safari Camp is provided to PYLUSD English learners through a partnership between PYLUSD, CSUF, Segerstrom Center for the Arts and SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union.

Click here for our Facebook album of the “Professional Development: ELD Rainforest Safari Camp.”