Support Program for Multilingual Students Struggles to Meet Need
When the Town Council cut the Board of Education budget back in May, it left the Multilingual Learner program, which serves students who are not native English speakers, without an additional staff member that they had been expecting.
For a staff comprised of three teachers, five full-time tutors, one part-time tutor and one administrator across 12 schools, an extra staff member would have been a significant help, said Simone Crouch, Southington High School Assistant Principal and former Multilingual Learning department coordinator.
“Our staff is basically stretched to capacity at this point. We have very high caseloads per person. It's very difficult to do the job that we're doing,” said Crouch. “We have very incredible people and incredibly dedicated people who are working with these kids, but to be honest, we should be able to cover more than this.”
For the 266 students across the district who are not native English speakers, the Multilingual Learning department is the program that teaches and facilitates the learning of the English language. Current department leader Patricia Pettit said that while the staff she oversees is incredibly dedicated to helping all the students in their care, the extra teacher could have helped the staff who have to balance multiple students in multiple schools.
“You're trying to meet the immediate needs of the kids, but you're also trying to oversee what's happening in these other buildings and make sure that you're providing the instructional guidance to the tutors in those buildings. It's really hard, and it's been a challenge,” said Pettit.
The need, Pettit said, does not match the funding. The number of children in the program has increased substantially in recent years, which is what prompted Superintendent Madancy to propose an additional teacher for this year’s budget.
The Board of Education voted in favor of the increased funding as well, but the town council cut made new hires essentially impossible.
“Every year it has consistently grown,” Pettit said of the number of multilingual students in the district. “Some years it has leapt, and some years simply increased. It’s gone up 70% in the past five to six years, 93% in six years. Depending on how far back you go, the leap is really remarkable, and that's really why we're in this position where we went before the board and said we do need more staffing. The Board of Education was very much in favor of it and did approve us to have an additional staff member, but then the budget was cut.”
Despite the budget cut, the department is still larger and more capable than in previous years. After reorganizing and evaluating how the services are best used, Crouch said that the department, while still in need of more assistance, has grown.
“Our department has had a lot of growth. It's amazing to look back and see that we have three certified teachers. That's amazing for our department. So now we have certified teachers that are able to really work with our tutors and our students at the elementary level,” said Crouch.
Regardless, offering adequate coverage to all the schools in the district is still a pressing challenge, Pettit said. That challenge also includes adapting to the needs of the children in the program, which vary widely. Some of the students are new arrivals to the United States with no knowledge of English, while others grew up in bilingual homes and have a better understanding of the language.
When a student arrives in the country or enters the district, the first step is an evaluation that determines what level of support is needed.
“When the child comes in, a very important part of our process is sitting down with that child before they start the schooling process and getting to know where they're at. We’re meeting them where they're at and figuring out what does this kid need,” said Pettit.
The teachers and tutors work with students in a variety of ways to help them get closer to fluency. Some younger children benefit from one-on-one instruction in the classroom or in private tutoring sessions, while older children may only need occasional assistance with exams or larger preparatory classes.
“I've worked with kids who have come here from languages that have nothing in common with English. Then I'm working on trying to help them understand the basics of our alphabet sounds. That type of basic level phonics instruction can be so hard,” said Pettit.
One student who has directly benefitted from the program is Andrii Boichuk, a senior at Southington High School. A native of Ukraine, Boichuk arrived in the United States three years ago with limited English. Now he’s applying to colleges and is nearly fluent in English, which is his fourth language.
Boichuk said instructors from the Multilingual Learning program have assisted him with interpreting exams, understanding instructors, communicating with peers and preparing for his next educational steps.
"If we are stuck in some of our classes, like with quizzes, they help us to understand the words we don't understand," said Boichuk.
Sometimes, the assistance children need is not just learning vocab but increasing their confidence.
Pettit said that when anyone, but particularly children, learn a new language, the anxiety or fear of making a mistake can actually hinder the process of building new skills. If a child feels embarrassed or fears they will face punishment for their mistakes, they may shut down completely.
Pettit holds regular training sessions for all teachers in the district, where she emphasizes the need to make multilingual students feel comfortable if they make a mistake. That can make all the difference, especially in middle and high school students who are already in one of the most emotional times in their lives.
“Sometimes it's simply just being positive when things seem a little bit confusing to them. There are a lot of the strategies we use to relax, providing a culturally responsive classroom, a classroom where they feel safe. It's really critical that they feel safe in that classroom, that they're not going to be embarrassed in front of their friends. That's really the big fear when anyone comes here, especially in the high school setting,” said Pettit.
Mohammad Youssef was 13 when he arrived in the United States with his family. A native Kurdish speaker from Turkey, he’s also fluent in Turkish and Arabic, but had to learn English through the multilingual program.
He said that the instruction given in the multilingual class, which is held during first period for high school students, has increased his confidence and knowledge. While he receives more assistance in English and science, he feels more self-assured in history classes, and is working his way toward fluency.
"The easiest is history, because the same things happen all around the world. We've seen all of this back in our countries, so it's easy to understand. But the hardest, I'd say, is English or science, because they have more vocab," said Youssef.
Many of the students also get practice outside of school in the Southington community. They often translate for their parents, who are less fluent, and accompany them to appointments or to public outings.
"It's hard sometimes, but it's good for us because we can learn English better," said Boichuk. "If we go to an appointment, we can learn some medical words and vocabulary."
No matter where or how they learn the language outside of school, for many students it is the Multilingual Learning program that is the first place they gain confidence and advanced vocabulary in their new language.
While the program is still stretched, it is still operating and helping over 260 children district-wide. For students like Youssef and Boichuk, that help has been instrumental.
"Learning English is like a puzzle," said Youssef. "After you get the idea, you can learn it easily."
