Welcome to Howard Kennedy Elementary.

I am Wendy Hess, the ESL Resource Teacher for our school. The ESL program provides language acquisition support for those students how are learning English as Second Language. Each new ESL student to the district, in administrated an assessment to determine their current English language acquisition. Students who qualify, are placed in the ESL Program. 

I travel between two buildings, Howard Kennedy Elementary and Druid Hill.  I am in the Howard Kennedy Elementary between 1:20 - 4:05.  To contact me, please call the building or e-mail me at .

At the beginning of the year, all ESL students are tested on their reading ability in English. Based on this information, students are given reading material at their instructional reading level. Throughout the year, students are administered running records to assess reading improvement and advancement in guided reading.
In April, ESL students are administered the ELDA (English Language Development Assessment) by the ESL Resource Teacher.

Our Student Body:
Howard Kennedy Elementary current includes students from Mexico, Honduras, and Sudan. Support for ESL students is provided in an inclusion classroom environment.

About me:
I am married to a wonderful man and have two beautiful children, Christine and Aidan. Also, I have a son, Scott, and two step-sons, Jim and Tim. A have two grandchildren, Xavier and Isabella. We live in a small community in rural Iowa.

Credentials:
In the State of Nebraska, I am a certified PK-12 Reading Specialist, K-12 Endorsed ESL teacher, and K-6 Elementary. I graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha for both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.

Great ESL Websites:

Read Write Think