MONROE — The last time the Monroe school district hired an English language learner teacher for the middle and high school was in 2003, which District Administrator Rick Waski said should be addressed with action.
“I don’t think we’re supporting the students like we should,” Waski said during a recent school board meeting at Monroe Middle School.
The statement was prompted during the regular board meeting Jan. 14 after information was presented to the board with a request for a new instructor to meet state requirements by English Language Learner instructor Sara Ackerman and English as a Second Language teacher Candice Lenthe.
Ackerman provides support to students in both MMS and Monroe High School. Lenthe was recently hired as the newest language-based instructor for Parkside Elementary School. The ESL student population is largely made up of those who speak Spanish as a primary language.
The pair pointed to a growing population of English learner students as the reason for the information presented to the board. Ackerman said numbers change frequently, but that enrollment of students who speak English as a second language is roughly 145.
Ackerman said support for students has not increased since 2003, while steady growth of English learners took place from 2003 to 2009. Numbers fell from 2011 until about 2015, when student figures nearly doubled. In the 2015-16 school year, nearly 150 English learners were enrolled and the number has remained roughly the same in the last two years, according to information provided to the board.
Parkside has the staff to help students learn English and has since 2003, though the number of instructors has not increased in stride, Ackerman said. At MHS and MMS, Ackerman is the sole instructor, there is one full-time equivalent aide and a part-time aide. The instructors proposed hiring a new instructor to split time between Parkside Elementary and MMS.
While “Parkside has the full gamut” of proficiency levels when it comes to understanding the language, Lenthe said, a large number of students are at the lowest levels, and there are many.
“There’s just not enough time in the day to teach all of the kids at Parkside,” Lenthe, who oversees 57 students by herself, said. Ackerman has more than 30 as well.
Growth in the number of students who require support to learn English as a second language can be attributed to a number of causes, Lenthe said. From an influx of parent-less children who have been fleeing violence in central America since 2015 to more families moving to the area with the addition of a new large-scale dairy operation in rural Brodhead hiring men from Mexico as laborers.
Students at higher levels of understanding are generally older, and “because we’re kind of stressed with the resources for teaching, we get their social language, but … they don’t get as much support with their academics,” Ackerman said.
And while the school has had great success with the implemented program, most notably by consistently meeting state targets for English learners on mandated English proficiency tests, passing state audits and maintaining a high graduation rate, a better dispersed program throughout all of the elementary schools would benefit students greatly, Ackerman said. She added that there isn’t enough time for the ELL teachers to meet with students’ everyday teachers “to bridge those gaps.”
Waski noted previous discussion between members of the board of performance gaps identified by the state report card system.
“I think this is the single most important thing we can do to close gaps districtwide,” he said.
He proposed that the new hire could be made for the next school year in light of a recently announced retirement by a longtime teacher. A class of upcoming second-graders has not deviated in number. Waski said that class could be separated into seven sections instead of eight, allowing the district to hire an ELL teacher instead of replacing the instructor set to retire. He noted that the retirement allows the district an “opportunity to address staffing needs without putting someone out of a job.”
“This is an opportune moment to provide some planning in a position that’s pretty hard to staff,” Waski said.
Board member Mary Berger said the apparent need is “paramount” and that the goal of the district should be to address students they know need help and help them be better both as students and community members. This would directly benefit their families and their impact on the surrounding community as well, noting the district decision-makers “have an obligation” to improve the system.
The item was introduced during the meeting as informational only. Waski said during its meeting Jan. 28 the board will be able to vote on how to proceed.