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In the Spotlight: Marisa Foyle

on Thursday, 09 February 2012.

Recently, we asked Marisa Foyle, ACE Teaching Fellows (STT) graduate and now a second grade teacher in the ACE English as a New Language (ENL) program, what difference these experiences have made in her life. Here is what she told us:

My ACE experiences over the past few years have truly blessed my life. I look forward to the challenges and the exciting discoveries I share with my students and colleagues each day in the classroom. I appreciate that I continue to learn more about myself and the world around me than I could have ever imagined. And I cherish the relationships I have built. Some of my ACE classmates have become my closest friends, and I readily turn to these people with my prayer requests, challenges, and success stories.

So far in my teaching career, I have worked primarily with students who are English Language Learners. This has sparked in me a deep desire to teach them well: to implement "best practices," to read the latest legislation, and to learn teaching strategies that serve my students better. This desire was the driving force behind my application to the ACE ENL program.

Through the program I am learning strategies and implementing assessments that I've found are beneficial not only to my ENL students, but to all of my students. In a sense, all of my students are English Language Learners because they are still learning the rules that govern our complicated language.

Through the program I am also collaborating with and learning from many other dedicated teachers throughout the country. As a result, this semester I will be forming a professional development plan to bring this information to more of the teachers at my school.

I am truly grateful to be a teacher, and I owe much of my thanks to ACE, which has given me the tools I need to refine my teaching practices and to continue to learn from and with my students each day. My students never cease to amaze me, with their eagerness to learn and explore. When I see their faces light up with smiles at their "aha!" moments, when I witness them praying, sharing, and laughing with each other, my heart fills with joy.

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