The Unspoken Problem: ELLs in Knox Countyby Kendall Shanks Speaking English is something Americ
The Unspoken Problem: ELLs in Knox Countyby Kendall Shanks Speaking English is something Americans take for granted. The American public education system, which is tailored to native speakers, is a prime example of this, though one in five students in the United States speaks a foreign language at home. Of the 59,516 students in Knox County, 3,080 of them are English-language learners (ELLs). Thirty-eight of Hardin Valley Academy’s 2,089 students are ELLs. Throughout the county, these students represent 60 countries and nearly 80 languages, the most common at Hardin Valley being Spanish. The 65 full-time ELL teachers in Knox County do not have the resources to deal with the increase of students and the variety of languages. Hardin Valley Academy has one certified ELL teacher, Sandee Harris, who is not fluent in Spanish and is on the Hardin Valley campus for half of the day and Karns for the afternoon. Two Honduran refugees, Miguel Aviles Calix and José Aviles Ordoñez, both 17, do not speak English, but are expected to be comfortable and succeed in a regular classroom without an ELL teacher. The teachers and ELL students themselves acknowledge the barriers to success. “It’s not easy teaching someone that doesn’t know a word of English,” said Aviles Ordoñez. “It’s like they have some kids that know nothing as if they were little kids. They have a lot of patience and they support us.” The Department of Education outlines two main strategies for ELL programs: immersion and submersion. In an immersion program “teachers have specialized training in meeting the needs of ELL students, possessing either a bilingual education or ESL teaching credentials.” A submersion program “places ELL students in a regular English-only program with little or no support services.” Tennessee was declared an English-only state by Title 4-1-404 in 2014, which states: “English is hereby established as the official and legal language of Tennessee. Instruction in public schools and colleges shall be conducted in English unless the nature of the course would require otherwise.” The ELL courses at Hardin Valley are taught entirely in English because the school believes submersion into a language is the most effective way of teaching a foreign language, and the county has not provided a teacher that can communicate, understand and teach students in their native language. Central High School, the school in Knox County with the highest percentage of ELL students, has instituted an immersion program for ELL students, with a full-time ELL teacher. BLPA Counselor Diego Contreras was tasked with organizing the ELL program at Hardin Valley Academy. “It’s been a big challenge trying to figure out what’s best for these kids, but we have a great team of people who have taken on this challenge,” said Contreras. The teachers are doing all they can for these students with the resources they are granted. The shortage of teachers is where the problem lies. The Tennessee Department of Education has offered scholarships for students pursuing ELL teaching careers in the state of Tennessee due to the cited deficit of ELL teachers statewide since 2005. ELLs at Hardin Valley are not given the same opportunity as native speakers. “There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education,” the Supreme Court concluded in its ruling in Lau v. Nichols in 1974. ELL students at Hardin Valley are given the same English textbooks, worksheets, and lectures as native English speakers. Students who are 17 years old and cannot read or write their native language, much less English, are not kept in high school until they are proficient English speakers. Proficiency in English is determined by “the students’ ability to keep up with their non-ELL peers in the regular education program and their ability to participate successfully without the use of adapted or simplified English materials,” as stated by the Federal Department of Education. The Hawkeye has contacted pro-bono lawyers and non-profit organizations including the ACLU to challenge Title 4-1-404. Representative Roger Kane of District 89 denied requests for a statement. Former Tennessee Representative nominee, Heather C, Hensley said, “I am the granddaughter of Polish immigrants, Disenfranchising and marginalizing individuals is not okay.” Hensley and Gloria Johnson, another former Tennessee Representative nominee, are working with reporters to retain a lawyer and litigate Title 4-1-404. Knox County’s program for English-language learners lacks the funding and organization needed to provide all students with an equal opportunity to succeed. Hardin Valley was not declared an ELL school until this year, and some of the challenges the school is facing are growing pains as the school learns how to deal with the influx of new students. Hardin Valley Academy needs a comprehensive program for English-language learners that provides them with an equitable education and the path to success that all other students are granted. Providing ELLs with an education allows them to be successful after graduation and prevents tax dollars from going to government assistance programs to pay for citizens that cannot secure a job because of a language barrier. These barriers can and must be overcome in order to ensure a prosperous future for all students, native English speaking or not. The Statue of Liberty calls for “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” America was founded on immigrants searching for freedom, hoping to fulfill the American Dream. These ELL students’ chance of success is limited; without a change in law and practice, these students will never have their Sueño Americano. -- source link