Spring Hill celebrates ESOL Family Night

Spring Hill Elementary offered their community key resources and conversation on ESOL Family Night. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Family Night is designed to empower parents and guardians, regardless of their primary language, with the tools and knowledge to support their child’s learning at home. 

“At the heart of our school community is a shared goal: supporting every child’s success. We understand that the demands and rigor of elementary education can be challenging, especially when compounded by language barriers,” said Spring Hill ESOL teacher Kim Homan. 

The event brings together the school’s ESOL families to get to know one another over a shared meal and attend a brief parent workshop. Families are invited to bring a favorite appetizer, entree, or dessert. A buffet-style table encourages them to try dishes from their multi-cultural community and have conversation. 

“Parents are a child’s first teacher, and that role doesn’t end when a child walks through our school doors. Many of our families want to help but aren’t always sure how, especially when language differences come into play,” said Homan. “Family Night is about building that bridge, showing parents they can be active partners in education in any language.” 

After dinner, high school students took the kids to the playground so the adults can focus on the workshops. Each workshop group had a translator. 

One workshop visited the Title 1 Parent Resource Room where the school’s parent liaison, Cara Colson, shared the vast resources available for parents to check out and take home. These resources help parents make learning fun at home. 

The other group visited a How-To-Help station manned by two teachers. At this station, there was a math game that could be modified across the grade levels K-5. The teachers showed the parents how to play the game at home, building number awareness, addition, subtraction, and multiplication fluency. 

Parents received bookmarks with tips for good reading habits to help their child read at home. The bookmarks were translated into three primary languages in the ESOL program: Spanish, Chinese, and Urdu. 

There were also grade-specific resources for parents to take home, including heart word lists for K-1, fry words list for K-3, and an additional math game that aligned to the standards each grade level is currently working on. 

“Family night is more than just an event—it’s a commitment. A commitment to inclusivity, partnership, and the belief that when schools and families work together, students thrive,” said Homan. “We are here to help in any way we can, and we want every parent to feel supported, valued, and equipped to be a vital part of their child’s educational journey.”