Matthew

Matthew just turned 6 years old.  He is in Kindergarten at an urban elementary school in a large Midwest city. Matthew’s mother is from Uruguay and his father is from El Salvador. They met and married in the United States over 10 years ago. Matthew has a 3-year-old brother and a 9-year-old sister.

Matthew’s mother went to college in Uruguay, speaks English at an advanced level, and works as a secretary. His father can speak some English, and works in construction. Spanish is the dominant language of the home. Matthew loves going to school and is an eager participant in all classroom activities. He especially likes working on the classroom computer and using mobile tablets.

At school Matthew receives sheltered English content-area instruction in his classroom and receives 30 minutes of daily ESL instruction through a pull-out program with a certified ESL teacher. His classroom teacher has also recently completed licensure in working with ELL students. Matthew’s official English language proficiency level is 5 (WIDA).

At home Matthew loves spending time with his baby brother who is really playful and loves to laugh and eat. His favorite movies are Star Wars, Power Rangers, and Jurassic Park, and his favorite TV show is Justin Time.