Celebrating GrapeSEED Success

As educators, one of the most rewarding feelings that we can experience comes from witnessing our students as they encounter a sense of joy and safety in our classrooms. This feeling of security is especially important for children who have recently arrived in the United States, leaving everything familiar behind. GrapeSEED, an English language acquisition program designed for non-native English speakers, has been making waves in ESL classrooms across the country! The program is designed to be just right for newcomers, offering a challenging yet accessible curriculum that provides students with the tools they need to succeed academically and socially. Today, we’re sharing just a few of the many success stories of our GrapeSEED students, who have gone from shy and scared newcomers to confident and engaged learners.

One of the most important things GrapeSEED does for students is to help them develop a strong foundation in English vocabulary, language expressions and phonics, which, of course, are the sounds that make up the language. For Monique, a student who had recently arrived from Haiti, learning to sound out words was a major breakthrough. Monique struggled with English at first but, with the help of her GrapeSEED teacher, she quickly picked up on the program’s unique and powerful approach to phonics. Now, Monique is reading and speaking English with confidence, and her academic and social skills have flourished.

Another student, Juan, arrived in the United States from Mexico with very little knowledge of English. Juan was shy and hesitant to speak in class, but with the repetition of songs, stories, action activities, the student app and more, Juan’s confidence was built, and he acquired the tools he needed to communicate. Soon, Juan was participating in classroom conversations, sharing his thoughts and ideas with his classmates, and making friends like never before. His teacher was amazed at the transformation she saw in Juan over just a few short months.

The GrapeSEED program is designed not only to help students develop their English language skills, but also to help them build strong relationships and connections with their peers and teachers. For newcomer students, this sense of belonging can be crucial to their academic and emotional well-being. In one GrapeSEED classroom, a group of students who had recently arrived from China formed a tight-knit support group. They helped each other with language challenges, shared cultural traditions, and even took on class projects together. Their teacher watched as these students became more confident and engaged with each passing lesson, and both she and her building principal are thrilled.

Ready for one more? It comes from a seasoned teacher who was just on the brink of burnout before being trained to use GrapeSEED just this school year. After months of using the program, she is not only over-the-moon with the ease of use of the curriculum and significant improvements in the growth of her students, but she also has a renewed zeal for teaching. “I have again become a teacher that I am proud to be!” What could be better than that?

At the end of the day, there are countless success stories to be shared from GrapeSEED classrooms across the country. Teachers and school personnel are witnessing first-hand the academic and social growth in their students, as they learn, grow, and build lasting connections with their peers and teachers. GrapeSEED’s engaging and effective curriculum, combined with the hard work and dedication of educators, is helping to create a brighter and more promising future for newcomer students across the United States.

If YOU’RE ready to learn more about GrapeSEED and to create your own stories of success, just click here!