Thread: Schools help ESOL students

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Schools help ESOL students


By DANIEL GILBERT
dgilbert@potomacnews.com
Friday, February 3, 2006



For more than two-thirds of the students in Mary Jane Boynton's class at Grace E. Metz Middle School in Manassas, the school year did not begin in September.

Boynton, ESOL department chair, teaches a special class for students new to the country.

Beginning with 15 students in September, the class has snowballed into 42, with 11 students from Latin America joining since December.

While the class size is unprecedented, the seasonal upturn is well-established, Boynton said.

"We usually see an increase just before and just after winter break, when the school year in many Latin American countries ends," she said.

Boynton said her class -- made up entirely of Spanish-speaking students -- is the largest in the school.

How does she teach 42 students with limited English proficiency and widely ranging academic backgrounds?

"Differential instruction," Boynton answers glibly. "I do 10 different things at the same time."

Boynton teaches English, math, social studies and science to students who range in age from 11 to 15. Within her class, students perform at five different ability levels for math and three levels for English.

Recognizing the growing challenge of ESOL, Metz has employed two full-time teaching assistants this school year to help Boynton reach out to students performing at disparate levels.

The newcomers class is Metz's answer to an ESOL population that has been growing by greater than 10 percent in recent years, according to Megan Carroll, ESOL coordinator for Manassas City.

Additionally, Carroll notes, the immigration is "bottom-heavy," meaning the bulk of ESOL students are Level 1 English speakers, who have the least knowledge of English. Citywide, ESOL students make up one third of students enrolled in the city's five schools.

For the ESOL students who lag furthest behind, Metz taps into all its available resources.

Two Spanish-speaking parent volunteers come in once a week to reinforce academic skills in Spanish, which may not have been developed in the students' country of origin. A math specialist comes in three times a week to work with eighth-grade students preparing for SOLs.

The staff has one full-time translator and a bilingual guidance counselor who performs an unofficial function as liaison to the Hispanic community. Every ESOL student receives a bilingual dictionary tailored to the language they speak, whether Spanish, Russian or Arabic.

And for those who can't get enough school, Metz offers language remediation classes every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Attendance on Saturdays hovers at about 50 students, said Principal Melissa Saunders, including every one of Boynton's newcomers.

"They are a phenomenal group of children," Saunders said. "They come here with a whole different work ethic, and they're eager to learn."

When asked about Saturday school, three new students registered blank looks.

Ruth Jiménez and Ruth Cabrera, ages 11 and 12, respectively, exchange glances. Jorge Alexander, age 12, looks doubtful. Each is from Latin America, and started school at Metz two weeks ago.

Jiménez pipes up. "I think my father said he was going to take me this Saturday," she says in Spanish.

"I think I also got something about it," Cabrera adds.

And while Jorge, who prefers to spend his Saturdays practicing soccer outside, may not be in love with the idea, he admits that learning English is a priority.

"It feels bad, not being able to answer in class. English is hard, but I want to learn," he said.

And for those who can't get enough school, Metz offers language remediation classes every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Attendance on Saturdays hovers at about 50 students, said Principal Melissa Saunders, including every one of Boynton's newcomers.

"They are a phenomenal group of children," Saunders said. "They come here with a whole different work ethic, and they're eager to learn."

When asked about Saturday school, three new students registered blank looks.

Ruth Jiménez and Ruth Cabrera, ages 11 and 12, respectively, exchange glances. Jorge Alexander, age 12, looks doubtful. Each is from Latin America, and started school at Metz two weeks ago.

Jiménez pipes up. "I think my father said he was going to take me this Saturday," she says in Spanish.

"I think I also got something about it," Cabrera adds.

And while Jorge, who prefers to spend his Saturdays practicing soccer outside, may not be in love with the idea, he admits that learning English is a priority.

"It feels bad, not being able to answer in class. English is hard, but I want to learn," he said.

This is the way things should be going. Only they need to be up to speed on English before they are enrolled in school. Jiménez and Cabrera may have a chance but poor Jorge is going to get "left behind".