Cross Duo Seeks To Repair Disrupted Educations

Wilbur Cross High School English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher Kristin Bengtson Mendoza and school counselor Mia Comulada Breuler crossed their fingers while sharing their hopes for a ​“normal” school year post-Covid — where much of their work will be focused on helping students get back on track after facing such challenges as pandemic-era remote learning and international migration.

Comulada Breuler, a Cross guidance counselor for six years, and Bengtson Mendoza, a Cross ESL teacher for seven years, discussed what this year’s preparation work looks like at the city’s biggest high school in an interview last week. They spoke with the Independent in the runup to the first day of classes on Aug. 31.

In Bengtson Mendoza’s new second-floor classroom, the duo shared about how this year’s prep for a new school year differs from the past decade-plus that they have worked in New Haven and, in Bengtson Mendoza’s case, in New York too. 

Bengtson Mendoza, who is a lead teacher for Cross’ International Academy and a new teacher mentor, prepared her shared classroom Thursday morning for the three classes she will teach this year. She will teach a dual enrollment ESL Gateway class for upperclassmen and a reading seminar for ESL students who’ve had an interrupted education. 

This year Bengtson Mendoza had to move to a new classroom. It’s a shared classroom, which has become the norm for most Cross classrooms to meet the rapidly increasing student population and as a result of class offerings at the school. 

For the final summer break days leading up to the first day of school, Bengtson Mendoza’s check list includes a lot including the simpler of tasks like finishing up organizing her classroom and decorating it with her personal touch of live plants and posters. 

Cross’ International Academy has eight new teachers, Bengtson Mendoza reported. The school hosted a new teacher orientation for Cross’ new teachers last Tuesday to introduce them to current staffers. Three of those ​“new teachers” include some who have returned to New Haven after previously leaving to work in a different school district. 

Over the past weeks, she has been working on tweaking student schedules due to staffing changes and requests.

Monday was the official first day back for school staff, though many have started before then, like Comulada Breuler and Bengtson Mendoza. ​“It’s not a job that you just walk in and start,” Comulada Breuler said. 

“It’s impossible to not give extra days in summer,” she added. 

At the start of the year and leading up to it, Comulada Breuler’s work includes searching for newcomer students’ transcripts or academic records from previous school districts, which are often from schools in different countries thanks to Cross’s ever-growing population of immigrant students.

She said this work is hard because she must make dozens of calls to international schools to get students’ records. This then helps her to figure out what courses to place the students in to finish out high school at Cross. If the school is not able to get any transcript records for the students, they often have to ​“start from scratch” based on their age.

The two agreed that their hopes are high for this coming school year to be the most ​“normal” schooling has been since the Covid pandemic. 

Staff and students hoped that last school year would be close to normal for Cross until its principal John Tarka left his role five weeks after the start of the school year. The unexpected departure led to the school dealing with interim leadership for four months then the hiring of current principal Matt Brown who stepped into the role at the end of January 2023. 

“I’m hoping Cross will start in a better position this year,” Comulada Breuler said. ​“We’re more stable now.”

Comulada Breuler described this year’s return as students and staff’s ​“first hurrah back.” 

Bengtson Mendoza said that while working with immigrant students post-Covid she’s learned that many have academic gaps that were exacerbated by some attending remote school during the pandemic and others stopping schooling to work. 

Comulada Breuler added that many students who stepped away from school to work during the pandemic continued to learn academic skills while doing jobs like roofing, cooking, and sewing, though the mathematical and scientific skills attained untraditionally during these jobs are often not recognized by the state Department of Education. 

The duo described the lead up to the new school year as a ​“stressful and exciting time.” 

“There’s a lot of optimism around here,” Comulada Breuler said. 

This year Comulada Breuler expects to have a high caseload of 230 to 250 students, as she has had in the past. 

Much of her work at the start of the year also includes working with students when possible to make schedule changes and talk through their needed credits. She also must track who passed summer school to update student transcripts. 

This summer Bengtson Mendoza attended a RISE network conference with a team of Hillhouse and Cross educators to learn about the ninth grade transition process and how to connect with students to keep them on track for their first year. 

This is another vulnerable population of students who struggle with adjusting to school academically and socially and often intersects with the immigrant student population. 

“We have to build relationships with students, if not it’s going to be uphill,” Comulada Breuler said. 

For the first weeks of the school year Bengtson Mendoza spends her time walking new teachers through curriculums and helps them to understand their schedules, get IDs, and log into their emails. 

As one of three union building stewards, Comulada Breuler too works to establish relationships with new educators by informing them of their rights in their contracts. She makes sure to inform educators that their classroom capacity should be 27 students, and 24 in science classes. She also makes sure to inform them that their high school teacher caseload can not go over 125 total students. 

“I wish teachers could have 15 max, we could do miracles,” Comulada Breuler said. 

As a lead teacher of her academy, Bengtson Mendoza works with other lead teachers throughout the year to work to improve instruction and build stronger departments and grade teams. 

The two added that another part of the first month back is spent finding ways to take care of themselves and their colleagues through relationship building with all school staff. This happens through arranged happy hours, lunches, and potlucks for school staff. 

The duo also reflected on being in education during the Covid pandemic, and what impacts it left on them until this day. 

Comulada Breuler described counseling during the pandemic as ​“horrifying” because ​“the uncertainty made it daunting.” 

Being at home all the time required a huge learning curve, she added. 

She also said sitting at her home desk all the time affected her physically. ​“I’m still hurting from it,” she said. 

Bengtson Mendoza added that her two children spent their kindergarten and first-grade years in the pandemic. 

She described the recent Covid-plagued years as stressful and anxious. ​“Being remote was the hardest thing I’ve done in my professional life,” Bengtson Mendoza said. 

The two agreed that ​“teaching is people work.” 

“This year feels much better,” Comulada Breuler said. 

“It feels very human,” Bengtson Mendoza added. 

While last year was in-person, the duo said the instability of the school’s leadership caused it to be less comfortable and unsettling. It was particularly hard after the school had its long-term principal Edith Johnson in place for nearly a decade. 

Cross is in a better place than last year, Bengtson Mendoza said. 

Last year the school dealt with a mass exit of several teachers mid-year in November. 

This year Cross added one ESL teacher from its previous five. It’s now grown to six due to the growing population of newcomers to the city.

Comulada Breuler said working in education keeps her youthful while learning from students and seeing positive changes like the affirming of LGBTQ+ youth and the increasing inclusiveness of race in classes. 

“I feel blessed that I’m in a school and city where we are about it,” she said.

Bengtson Mendoza said she has found her voice while teaching in New Haven and Cross has empowered her to continue developing professionally. A year ago she recommended bringing the reading seminar curriculum to ESL students and was approved to teach the course. ​“I feel heard and validated at Cross,” she said. 

“What is good for teachers can also be good for kids,” Bengtson Mendoza said. ​“It’s not in competition, we want to move toward what’s good for everybody.”