School Visits Reveal Multilingual Learners In Action

Three alders got a firsthand look at the classroom needs and experiences of students who enter school speaking a language other than English, as they joined district leaders on a three-stop tour to talk with multilingual learners and their teachers.

That tour took place last Friday.

According to New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) spokesperson Justin Harmon, Fair Haven Alders Claudia Herrera and Sarah Miller and Downtown/East Rock Alder Eli Sabin, who is also the chair of the alders’ Education Committee, visited classrooms at Clinton Avenue School, Wilbur Cross High School, and Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration (FAME).

They did so alongside NHPS Asst. Supt. Keisha Redd-Hannans, Director of Multilingual Services Pedro Mendia, and Supervisor of Multilingual Services Rosalyn Diaz-Ortiz.

“The purpose of the walkthrough was for the Alders to gain first-hand knowledge of the current experiences of multilingual learners in the classroom at each of the schools,” Redd-Hannans told the Independent in an email comment about last Friday’s tour.

The walkthroughs took place roughly a week after the aldermanic Education Committee held a public workshop on the growing number of NHPS students who speak a language other than English, and on the district’s request that New Haven double its number of ESOL teachers and add 18 more multilingual coaches.

“Clinton and F.A.M.E. focus on a 50/50 dual language model (Spanish and English) in which students learn in both languages to become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural,” Redd-Hannans said in an email comment. ​“At the high school level, multilingual learners who are in the country for less than 3 years receive sheltered content instruction to support their English language development and content area learning. The Alders were able to meet with school principals, observe teaching and learning in the classroom, and engage with students.”

Redd-Hannans continued: ​“The number of multilingual learners in the District increased from 3,767 in October 2021 to 3,987 in Feb 2023 and the enrollment continues to grow. There is a high demand of certified bilingual/ESOL teachers. In partnership with the Department of Human Resources, teachers have been recruited from the International Visiting Teachers Program and from Puerto Rico. The department of multilingual learners has been in contact with different universities in the state that offer the TESOL and bilingual certification to be able to recruit prospective teachers. Additionally, the ML department provides funding for teachers in the district to become cross-endorsed through the Alternate Route to Certification for Teachers of English Learners program through ACES to build capacity in the district.”

In a follow-up phone interview with the Independent Wednesday morning, Sabin said he joined the walkthrough for the Wilbur Cross stop only. He said they visited a few different classrooms across the school, and saw students working in small groups on identifying English vocabulary words they were unfamiliar with as teachers walked around the room trying to help.

“It’s amazing work, and it’s also really difficult work,” Sabin said about city schools’ efforts to welcome, help acclimate, and educate students who come to school speaking a language other than English.

“The main thing is that we need more resources for all of our students.” He recalled speaking with Cross’s new principal ​“about the impact of the teacher shortage on the school. … We’ve just got to make sure we have a certified teacher in every classroom. For our multi-language learners, they need more individualized support.”