Auburn School District No. 408
915 4th Street Northeast, Auburn, WA  98002

 01/24/02

NEWS RELEASE
Auburn School Board of Directors Recognize
Auburn High School ESL Teacher

On Monday, January 28, the Auburn School Board of Directors will recognize Carolyn Cowan, Auburn High School English-as-a-Second-Language teacher, for her extraordinary commitment to her students.  Ms. Cowan has selflessly served the Auburn School District ESL students for eighteen years.

Before coming to Auburn School District, Ms. Cowan had worked in the Snohomish and Federal Way School Districts.  In 1984, Ms. Cowan began her career as an ESL teacher at AHS.  At that time, the ESL population was still almost completely Vietnamese immigrants.  Over the years, many different language groups such as Ukrainian and Hispanic have become the focus.  The ESL program continually adapts to serve the ever-changing needs of the ESL student population.  Ms. Cowan has been the cornerstone of the program, providing leadership, flexibility, and continuity.

For several years, Ms. Cowan taught at multiple schools during each school day.  “The serving of so many different schools gave me lots of opportunities to connect with wonderful school staff,” said Ms. Cowan.  For the third year in a row, Ms. Cowan has been teaching solely at Auburn High School.

A student recently wrote a thank you note to Ms. Cowan.  "I will graduate this year.  I want to thank you for helping me all the time.  I think your hard work has made a lot of ESL students feel comfortable.  They are not nervous anymore because of your help."

AHS principal, Randy Taylor, describes Ms. Cowan as “tremendous.”  “She has a profound commitment to students who have limited English-speaking capabilities!  Ms. Cowan goes beyond the call of duty to provide her students with not only a supportive classroom environment, but with strong support out in the community."