Language programs growing

Student diversity spurring increase

The headlines have focused on the cutbacks and reductions, but in Newton and other suburban communities, there is an area of the public schools that is quietly growing: services for students who are learning to speak English.

Even as it laid off or released 25 teachers, this year Newton added 1.5 teacher positions and 2.5 aides to its English Language Learners program to address a surge in the population of students who are new to the language. The district had a 15 percent increase is the number of such students between 2006 and 2007, and will have at least a 6 percent increase this fall.

"It's a notable change that has really increased the diversity of Newton's schools," said Jody Klein, the district's director of language acquisition. "We are making every effort to address their needs without straining the system. . . . Our teachers and aides are also working with more students."

About 18 percent of Newton's 11,600-member student body is exposed to another language at home, Klein said. Those students are tested in English language proficiency, and anyone who doesn't meet the standards can participate in the English Language Learners program, which provides individual attention or classroom support for students to develop their reading, writing, and vocabulary skills.

About 674 students qualified for and accepted services this year, Klein said. There were 635 students in the program in 2007, 553 in 2006, and 466 in 1998 - which means the district has seen a 45 percent increase in 10 years, while experiencing a 4 percent increase in the total student population since 1998. The number of non-English speakers in the schools rose from 14 to 27 between 2007 and 2008.

Educators say increases in English language learners is a statewide trend that has spread increasingly to the suburbs in recent years, particularly in communities close to Boston, such as Newton, Brookline, and Cambridge.

In Newton, Klein said, some of the jump can be attributed to an increase in rental housing, immigrants relocating for temporary job assignments such as teaching at local universities, and parents from other cultures moving to the city for a few years so the whole family will be immersed in and learn English.

The trend is being seen "from as far as Ashburnham-Westminster to Acton-Boxborough," said Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. "In places like Cambridge and Brookline, administrators say there are 50 languages spoken in the school, which creates certain challenges."

Scott and Newton officials say the biggest challenge is providing classroom teachers with the training and resources they need to ensure English language learners get the support they need.

Newton is providing weeklong trainings in the fall and winter for teachers at all levels, with a focus on those in elementary schools, which house the bulk of the population.

Newton schools with smaller English language learner populations share teachers and aides. But a school like Countryside Elementary, where there are 58 English language learners, has two teachers and an aide specifically for its ELL program.

ELL students at the elementary schools are placed in regular classrooms, which means any teacher with ELL students receives training.

The training provides teachers with tips about using visual aids to assist learning, rate of speech, understanding cultural differences, and how to communicate with parents.

The approach, Scott said, has drawn concern from parents whose children are not in the ELL program.

"It's a legitimate concern: How much of a teacher's time and resources go to an ELL child, and what does it take away from everybody else?" Scott said.

"But I've seen firsthand that when children are put into a normal environment sooner, they acclimate and grow more rapidly in their language acquisition.

"And we need to acknowledge that it provides a richness to the classroom," he said. "Others see how these students take on the challenge of learning a new language and succeed, plus it brings cultural diversity to the learning environment."

Rachana Rathi can be reached at rrathi@globe.com.