The English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program is succeeding at Jackson-Reed by achieving its academic objectives in the classroom. However, some students feel there is still a need to initiate more interaction between English speakers and non-English speakers throughout the school.
The ESOL program at Jackson-Reed supports non-English proficient students based on their language necessities and individual backgrounds. Students new to English, take a newcomer program that focuses specifically on improving skills in language. Students that finish that program or have higher proficiency, start to take a variety of different classes called “sheltered classes,” which are taught by teachers dual-certified between content and ESOL teaching. The end goal of the program is to have students graduate by passing an English Language Proficiency Test called “Access for English Learners.” Once this happens, students attend classes outside the program, but teachers still check up on them up to four years after completion of the program.
Because of this structure, it is hard for students to get integrated into the general school population while learning English.
Junior Salome Torres was placed in a regular-level class with an ESOL teacher who aimed to provide language support and understanding. However, Torres shared that “[ESOL students] would be put in separate groups during the class, and [they] weren’t able to collaborate with other students.”
Junior ESOL student Juan Auala-Carcamo expressed a similar sentiment. He emphasized that the ESOL program should focus on “[giving] students the opportunity not just to have Spanish-speaking people in their classes,” but also “so that they can learn how to communicate in English with other [students].”
According to ESOL teacher and department chair, Jonathan Shea, it is hard for ESOL students to “cross that line,” into those social interactions.
When it comes to those classes that don’t have ESOL options such as art, P.E., health and other electives, ESOL kids struggle to connect and often end up feeling isolated from the rest of the class.
“Many ELS [English Second Language Students] in those sections then feel alone, and so we are always struggling with the balance of do we keep them amongst themselves so they don’t feel alone, or do we put them out there where they’re the one kid in the back of the room, and they don’t really know anyone or are finding it difficult to communicate with people,” Shea said.
He feels that sometimes there is no perfect answer to this issue, but they are looking for more opportunities for inclusion in the future. The program is currently developing a plan for academic integration next year in classes such as Geometry and Algebra 2. In order to make this happen, classes would have to have both an ESOL teacher and a mainstream math teacher.
After graduating the ESOL program, Torres feels comfortable in non-ESOL courses and no longer grapples with language barriers that previously impeded her educational progress. According to her, the ESOL program was able to effectively prepare her for regular-level classes. “The program classes do a good job of teaching the students English,” Torres said.
Similarly to Torres, Auala-Caracamo finds himself situated within a regular-level English course, where he describes his comfort with English proficiency and the dynamics of the class. He reports that the program has been very beneficial.
Shea also mentioned that there has been a significant increase in the number of students in the program over the last 4 to 5 years. “Before the pandemic the school was listed at about 150 [ELs]. We are currently budgeted for about 250 [ELs],” he said. There has been an increase in staffing and a goal to be able to accommodate more students.
