What is ESOL?

English Students of Other Languages, or ESOL, is a specialty program in Prince William County Public Sschools for students whose primary language at home is something other than English. After parents register their child(ren) in a Prince William County school, students who speak languages other than English at home are automatically rerouted to the Global Welcome Center for an English assessment to determine the student(s) eligibility to receive ESOL services.

At Pennington, due to the small population of ESOL students, students are either pulled from their regular classroom to receive services or they receive them within the class by a certified ESOL teacher. Whether a student receives pull-out, or push-in services is based on the students' grade and ESOL levels.

In ESOL classes, there are four domains of focus in English: Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking.  Each Spring, ESOL students in Levels 1-4, take a yearly assessment, called the WIDA, to test their proficiencies in these areas. Students who earn an overall score of 4.4 or higher exit the program but remain on monitor status for two years. Other students will continue to receive services until they test out or parents opt them out of the program.

Meet our ESOL Team!

Ms. Huret

This Ms. Huret's second year teaching ESOL. She provides services to students in grades 3-8. Prior to teaching ESOL, Ms. Huret taught 4th grade at Pennington for 8 years, and 5th grade for 3 years before that. She began her teaching career in 2000 teaching language arts for middle schoolers in California. She really enjoys teaching ESOL students in a small group setting.

Mrs. Whitt 

This is Mrs. Witt's first year teaching ESOL. She provides services to students in 1st and 2nd grade. Previously, she spent 4 years teaching 2nd grade at Pennington. She is married and has a 21-month-old daughter and is excited to be expecting her first son in the winter of 2024.