English speaking skills go unnoticed in the majority of high school classes. However, it doesn’t come so easy for some. Aimee Norcross is the new English Language Development (ELD) teacher at Nixa High School and Nixa Junior High. Norcross pursued her certification because of her love of other languages and cultures.
“I spent 15 years at Glendale High School as a special education teacher,” Norcross said. “A few years ago — it’s just kind of an ironic thing — I was having lunch with a bunch of math teachers. Our [English language] person came in, mentioning that there was a free grant program to pursue your Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages [TESOL] certification. I was thinking, ‘… free [training], languages, culture, what’s not good about this?’ So I filled out an application, [and] went through the interview process. I was [then] selected for the program, completed the program, and [I] received my TESOL certification.”
Norcross said she appreciates working with older students more so than elementary grades.
“[Receiving my certification] was two years ago,” Norcross said. “I looked for a job that year and [I found] nothing that was going to be right for me. I looked again this year and was fortunate that not only was I able to get the ELD position at Nixa but able to get the high school [and] junior high position.”
High school counselor Carrie Stormzand said it is important to have an ELD teacher to help at NHS.
“We have a lot of students that move into the district [where] English is their second language,” Stormzand said. “Having a teacher that supports them and is able to help them with not only English but also a sense of community [is crucial].”
Curriculum Director for the ELD Department in Missouri, Cammy Goucher, said the ELD Department helps schools in a variety of ways.
“ELD instruction is designed specifically to advance English learners’ knowledge and use of English in increasingly sophisticated ways,” Goucher said. “In the context of a larger effort to help English learners succeed in school, … preparation for academic studies taught in English remains the top priority because of its relevance to school and career success.”
Norcross focuses on this crucial life skill.
“I always encourage my students to read,” Norcross said. “Whether you are reading a cereal box, you’re reading nutritional information, you’re reading magazine articles, fiction, nonfiction. Reading improves everything. Reading is such an important, functional life skill. The stronger the reader you become, the higher your levels of comprehension, the easier the rest of these tasks in the rest of your life are going to be.”
Norcross credits her love of teaching to being exposed to multiple languages and cultures growing up, her father being a root of those experiences.
“My father is French –– he was born and raised in France before he immigrated to the United States,” Norcross said. “I’ve loved cultures and languages from an early age because I was exposed to different countries, different customs and traditions, and there’s nothing wrong with [differences].”
