English as a Second Language

To provide support for English Language Learners in the development of spoken and applied English, while building self-confidence and cultural awareness that is essential for success in school and society.

Kathy Dougan

          Kathy Dougan, ESL teacher at Ruth Hale Barker Middle School, passed away in her sleep December 20, 2008 with her beloved poodle Shelly at her side. For more than eight years, she had taught ESL at Elm Tree, Spring Hill, Old High and Barker schools where she was loved by faculty, staff and students alike.  Her warm smile and friendly greeting brightened the day of everyone she met.  In her kind and gentle presence, everyone became kinder and gentler.

          She had taught twenty-one years in the regular classroom in Fort Smith, Phoenix, and Rogers, but she really felt that she had come into her own when she became an ESL teacher.  She was able to use all of the skills of a reading teacher and all of the compassionate skills of a counselor in her ESL classroom.  Her students, both present and past, talk of how much they learned about English and life from Miss Dougan.  They were totally accepted and loved in her classroom.

          Some of her fondest memories were of assisting her veterinarian father, Doc Dougan, in his animal practice.  She loved all animals, but especially dogs.  In her memory, her family, friends, and students will be helping the Bella Vista Animal Shelter to get animals ready for adoption.  We hope to establish a dog run in Kathy’s name. She would have been delighted to see them running free in a safe place.