CATapult helps some Dalton Public Schools students with English

Jul. 28—Last summer's CATapult Academy was one of the first in-person learning experiences in Dalton Public Schools after school buildings were closed to students and staff for the final two months of the 2019-20 academic year due to COVID-19, and "the biggest difference this summer is students are interacting more with each other," according to Chris Harton.

"They seem so happy to be together and talk with their friends," said Harton, an English Language Learners (ELL) instructional specialist for Dalton Public Schools who oversees CATapult. "Having them face to face in the building is such a blessing" for teachers, too, as "it's so hard virtually, because you lose so much."

CATapult Academy is available to rising second- through sixth-graders who qualify for English Language Learners services, as well as rising sixth- through eighth-graders who qualify for migrant student services. CATapult debuted in Dalton Public Schools in 2018, with the summer edition added in 2019, and the summer 2021 edition has 45 students, up modestly from 2020.

CATapult students come to City Park School for this camp and "build a support network" they carry on throughout their time in Dalton Public Schools, said Rigo Gonzalez, a first-grade ELL teacher at City Park who has taught at the summer CATapult Academy for three years. The camp "forces them to practice their English with one another, and as long as they're speaking, practicing and trying, that's the best thing."

Kevin Garcia is more confident and comfortable speaking English because of the camp, said the rising sixth-grader at Hammond Creek Middle School. "I'll talk more" in class.

"You get to practice your English," said Osciel Fierros, also a rising sixth-grader at Hammond Creek. That "helps us do a lot more."

"We focus on the four domains of reading, writing, listening and speaking," Harton said. CATapult "sets the foundation for them so they can be more confident (and active) in the classroom."

"I learned more, a lot of things I need to know" for future grades, Garcia said. School may be "more fun" for him because of that increased knowledge.

Students also learned through projects, such as crafting pottery, creating the phases of the moon from Oreo cookies and building kites.

"Project-based learning is better for almost all students, but we try to hit all kinds of (instruction techniques), because not everybody learns the same," said Megan Guzman, one of the CATapult instructors. "They can take everything in, and it's been really good."

CATapult emphasizes a particular subject each summer, with science at the forefront last year and again this summer, Harton said. Courses were taught by eight Dalton Public Schools teachers with ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) endorsements.

"Science is good for hands-on experimentation," Harton said. "We can incorporate math and writing with it, too."

CATapult was "fun, and we got to do a lot," said Ashley Segura, a rising sixth-grader at Hammond Creek. "It's a great camp."

Last summer, due to COVID-19, masks were mandatory, as were other safety protocols and procedures, which "took a lot of time from the day, especially on a half-day schedule," Harton said. This summer, CATapult was a full-day, week-long camp, instead of a two-week camp of half days.

This year, "they get the full experience with a longer day," Gonzalez said. Last summer's edition "felt rushed."

Guzman concurred, noting, "I like the full day, because you can get in more stuff, and it's structured like a school day."

Students were also able to take field trips this summer, including to the Creative Arts Guild, the Whitfield County Courthouse and Haig Mill Lake Park, Harton said.

"A lot of our new-to-country students don't know about these places."

CATapult "took us to a lot of places we wouldn't get to go," Garcia said. His favorite was the Creative Arts Guild, which was "really fun."

Fierros "really liked the sculptures."

The Robert T. Webb Sculpture Garden, which includes more than 50 pieces by artists from around the world, is open from dawn to dusk with no admission fee as part of the Guild's commitment to making the arts accessible to everyone. In 2017, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution rated it as one of the six best places in the South to see outdoor sculpture.

While most students at CATapult speak Spanish, this summer's edition also hosted a rising sixth-grader from Japan, Haruto Miyake, who was welcomed "with open arms" by his classmates, said Guzman, who taught ESOL at Blue Ridge School last year and will move to Dalton High School this year.

"They want to include him in everything they're learning, and they've been very aware and inclusive, which has been really cool to see."