Focus on: Fatima

Fatima is a third grade student who has been enrolled in her current district since kindergarten. Fatima receives special education services for hearing and vision impairments. Fatima has been prescribed several medical interventions, including glasses and hearing aids. However, her interventions are not used consistently and may not be optimally effective.

Although Fatima’s home language is Arabic, she does not have reading or writing skills in the language. Fatima has attained a moderate level of English speaking and listening proficiency in the classroom after three years in U.S. schools. However, she scored at a basic level in all four areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) on the state assessment of academic English proficiency. Fatima has very delayed skills in all content areas according to grade-level standards.