Being a land of immigrants, America is filled with people speaking a variety of languages. Unfortunately, however, children of these new Americans aren’t nearly as proficient in the English language as they need to be. So one state is doing something about it.
California’s initiative to define and identify “long-term English learners” is the first of its kind and comes in the form of a state law and programs by school districts.
The reason for this move? Data from a California study reported that 350,000 students in grades 6 to 12 that have been enrolled in California schools for at least seven years still aren’t fluent English speakers, according to Governing.
Of that group, 90,000 have been identified as long-term learners. To be labeled as such means that the student hasn’t progressed on California’s English proficiency exam for two consecutive years and scores below grade-level on English standardized tests.
According to a 2010 study by the nonprofit Californians Together, there are three main reasons why English language learning students are performing so poorly: (1) schools aren’t effectively monitoring student progress, (2) the curriculum isn’t suitable and (3) teachers need to be re-trained.
Governing reports that California school district LA United has taken a few steps to reverse their current situation: a third of their 600,000 students are still learning English and after five years, about 35,000 still aren’t at grade level. The district has added two new classes to its curriculum aimed at language skills, and it’s revamped its teacher training program. Additionally, since a relationship between teachers, parents and students is required, all three parties are involved in each student’s progress.
“These kids need to be visible,” Shelly Spiegel-Coleman of Californians Together tells Governing. “In many instances, these students are sitting in mainstream classes and are not getting any specialized help.”
Dasha Cifuentes is one such student. Currently enrolled at Fairfax High in Los Angeles, Cifuentes is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, but a native-born American. She has been in California public schools for 11 years, but is still not proficient.
“I should be more confident in English because I was born here, but I’m embarrassed that I haven’t improved myself,” Cifuentes says. “Now, I’m regretting my life not developing myself into a better person, and that hurts me the most,” Cifuentes tells Governing. “I’m more motivated, like a turtle coming out of its shell.”
MORE: This City Gives Dropouts a Realistic Way to Earn Their Diplomas
Tag: English Language Learners
Where Mentoring, Not Donations, Makes a Difference for Immigrant Families
In diverse Stamford, Conn., 40 percent of the residents were born in another country — and as is typical of first-generation immigrants, many work in the service industry or manual labor jobs. But in this area with a very high cost-of-living index — 141.3 compared to the U.S. average of 100, according to City-Data.com — money earned from a low-paying job doesn’t go very far.
But several Latino families that have managed to climb to the top are helping out newcomers any way they can.
Maria Isabel and Oscar Sandoval moved to Stamford 20 years ago and started a restaurant and a landscaping business. After years of hard work, they now employ 60 people. More importantly, they mentor immigrants seeking to start their own businesses. “It wasn’t easy,” Sandoval tells Alexandra Campbell Howe of NBC News. “I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I mentor others who are starting out, and let them know about my experience and help as many people as I can.”
Oscar Sandoval advised Ecuadorian immigrant Alex Pipantasi when he was starting his automotive repair shop. “He gave me valuable advice on how to treat clients and employees,” Pipantasi says.
The Sandovals also donate money to Neighbors Link, a center that helps immigrants adjust to life in America, learn English, educate their children and themselves, find jobs and connect to others.
Catalina Semper Horak, a Colombian immigrant who co-founded the center and serves as its executive director, says that the stark income differences visible in Stamford inspired the organization’s creation. “It’s an issue where there is a very direct connection between the haves and the have nots,” she says. “So supporting this segment of the population, making sure they have a place where they feel comfortable….was an idea that resonated with a lot of people.”
Sarita Hanley, a co-founder of Neighbors Link, emphasizes that while donations help immigrants settle in, the kind of mentoring that the Sandovals provide is invaluable. “Money is always necessary, but rolling up your sleeves is as important, sometimes even more.”
MORE: Neighborhood Centers Provide Immigrants an Instant Community
For More Than 100 Years, This House Has Been Welcoming New Americans
Neighborhood House in west St. Paul, Minn. has come a long way since Russian immigrants in the area built a simple wooden structure in 1897. First opened to give newcomers the support and information they needed to make their way in this country, Neighborhood House now has a bigger and fancier home and the immigrants it serves come from different countries than they did 117 years ago. But the nonprofit’s mission remains the same.
Neighborhood House supports immigrants of every kind — from struggling newcomers who rely on its food pantry, family crisis center and refugee resettlement services, to people striving to become educated and advance their careers. It also offers a free preschool for the children of immigrants and an after-school program for teens that teaches them about health, education and careers and encourages them to engage in community service. But that’s not all. The center also provides health programs, gang-prevention activities, English language classes and GED prep courses.
Over the years, people from about 40 countries have benefitted from Neighborhood House’s services.
Nancy Brady, president of Neighborhood House, tells Angela Davis of CBS Minnesota, “Our mission at Neighborhood House is to help people gain the knowledge, the skills and the confidence that they need to overcome whatever the challenges are that they’re facing in their life — and move forward.”
The nonprofit’s three-year-old college access program is already changing lives — providing scholarships to adults of all ages who want to attend college. “Year one, nine people went to college,” Brady says. “Last year, 61 of our participants went to college. That’s how we measure success.”
Neighborhood House is funded through donations from its community, and for more than 100 years, residents in St. Paul have considered it a worthy investment. “We want to help people dream,” Brady says, “and then work to make their dreams come true, and to help all people see a positive future.”
MORE: From Field Hands to Farmers: This Program Helps Latino Immigrants Become Landowners
How Digging in the Dirt Improves the Health of Immigrants in America
As anyone who’s traveled to a foreign country can attest, food can vary greatly from land to land.
So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that when some immigrants move to America, their health declines because they don’t have access to the fresh produce that enriched their diets in their native country.
In rural western Colorado, a unique program is solving this problem by helping immigrants learn English while they grow healthy food for their families — and it’s giving the farmer who hosts them some new notions about what crops to grow, too.
In the town of Delta, immigrants from countries including Mexico and Myanmar who sign up for ESL classes learn about a program at the Thistle Whistle Farm, located near Hotchkiss, Colo., about 45 minutes away. The immigrants help out at the farm and in doing so, get tips on how to cultivate and grow their own food. Plus, they can practice their English writing skills while taking notes on gardening techniques.
Their ESL and farming teacher, Chrys Bailey, tells Laura Palmisano of KVNF, “A lot of what has brought them to the program is that they are noticing that their families and themselves are beginning to suffer from health issues that they had not suffered from before and they are making the connection that some of their food choices are not serving them.”
Some students bring their children to Thistle Whistle to help out, filling idle summer hours with a productive and fun activity. “My kids enjoy coming to the farm and they like it because they learn about plants and how to grow some vegetables,” Yadira Rivera tells Palmisano.
The participants then take their new found gardening skills back home, planting their own vegetables, even if the only space they have is a couple of pots.
The program, which has run for three years through a grant from the Colorado Health Foundation, needs funding to continue.
Meanwhile, Mark Waltermire, the owner of Thistle Whistle Farm, has benefitted from the program too. “They’ve suggested or requested I grow a lot of vegetables and herbs I haven’t heard or tried before and I’ve been introduced to all sorts of fun, new varieties and fun new vegetables that I would otherwise not have been exposed to. So it has changed my diet too. I eat all sorts of things that I previously never knew about.”
MORE: Bringing Bhutanese Village Life to Refugees in New Hampshire
One Unique Center Has Students Teaching Students. Here’s How It’s Paying Off
For some students, school can be nerve-wracking. But an ingenious school in Towson, Maryland, makes pupils feel at ease by having college students teach all the classes.
At Goucher College in Towson, M.D., immigrants come to the Futuro Latino Learning Center to learn English and computer skills. Most of the college students teaching at the center are Spanish-speaking or are Spanish majors; they are supported with work-study grants. These educators serve mostly Spanish-speaking immigrants, but the center also has some attendees from Iran, Brazil, and Syria (many of whom are parents).
Director Frances Ramos-Fontan, who was born in Puerto Rico, teaches Spanish at Goucher and runs the center. She told Carrie Wells of the Baltimore Sun, “You have participants who have never sat in front of a computer. We had one woman from Guatemala, her hands were frozen she was so afraid. It’s like learning another language from scratch, learning a computer.”
It’s not just the students at Futuro Latino Learning Center that receive an education–the college students benefit too. Fernando Parra, a freshman Spanish and international relations major at Goucher who teaches computer classes at the center, said, “It’s really great having the opportunity to teach them something that we take for granted.”
MORE: This Non-Profit Is Teaching Immigrants Much More Than Just Language
This Non-Profit Is Teaching Immigrants Much More Than Just Language
The Burmese Immigration Project is a nonprofit organization in Milwaukee that helps new arrivals from Myanmar learn English and settle in to their new lives. As volunteer coordinator Becca Schulz explains in this video, people fleeing ethnic conflict in Burma often end up in places they’d never imagined—like Wisconsin. The 35 volunteers in the Burmese Immigration Project use English immersion to teach immigrants the language, and provide kids with tutors twice a week to help with homework. Another part of their mission is introducing the kids to American culture—so the Burmese Immigration Project takes the kids to Brewers games and the zoo, and throws parties for their families to experience Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and Halloween.