A version of this conversation aired during Morning Edition on WVIA Radio.
The Hazleton Area School District has a record number of students for whom Spanish is their first language. While these students are learning English, some teachers are now learning Spanish, so they can be of greater help to their students.
WVIA Education reporter Sarah Hofius Hall discussed the classes with WVIA's Sarah Scinto.
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SS: So Sarah, let's talk about why these teachers are learning Spanish, and how do they think it will help their students to learn English?
SHH: So last week, I attended two Spanish classes within the school district. The two classes had a combined 50 students or so, all of them staff members in the school district who really want to find a way to connect with their students. More and more students in the school district come to Hazleton really not knowing any English at all, and while they're put in English language classes, they're also put in other classes where they really need some assistance, and these teachers just want to help provide that.
SS: And one of the teachers you spoke to in the story, they said that if their students can see them trying to learn a new language, they might try harder at learning English. Do you think that would bear out?
SHH: The teachers told me that their students feel really inspired and really love it when they're able to use a Spanish word or two. I mean, imagine starting in a starting school in a different country, not knowing any of the language and not even knowing where a bathroom is. So now, when some of these teachers hear the question, you know, "¿Dónde está el baño?" they know that means the student is asking where the bathroom is. And they can help direct that student in a way that they really hadn't been able to before.
SS: You also wrote that it's not only teachers who take these Spanish classes, or have taken these Spanish classes, right?
SHH: Yeah, so the district started this about three years ago, these Spanish classes, and they've had cafeteria staff, they've had social workers, you know, pretty much all positions in the district decide to give up some of their time after school to learn these classes.
SS: So the Spanish speaking population in Hazleton, just in general, has been growing pretty consistently, right? You have in here that one in four students in the district are learning to speak English. So when did this start? And in what other ways has the Hazleton Area School District found themselves adapting to this student population?
SHH: Yeah, and that one in four, those are just the students who are still receiving English language services. So really, the number is actually much greater when it comes to students who are still kind of in that process. They may not qualify for the additional supports, but they still are learning it. About 20 years ago, the district started to see an influx in Spanish speaking students, and it's really only grown from there. So the district has about 13,700 students, which is an all time high, and that's up 500 students from just a year ago. So of those students, about 3,700 received that additional English support, which is up from 400 just a year ago. So in all, about 70% of the district students are Hispanic, and of those new students, about 70% are from the Dominican Republic.
So this story actually came about because in the spring, I went to Hazleton to visit their Newcomer Center. So the Newcomer Center just opened last year, and it's a school for students who, you know, come to the district without any English at all. So these are students who maybe need the most intense help. So they're put into the center where they can receive that help. So they have bilingual para-educators who are in there with the students helping translate. And it's really even a more intense program than what they would have in their school, their actual schools. So the goal is to get those students back to their home schools within a year after they receive that intense English support.
SS: Do you think Hazleton, just by virtue of the changes in its population, are they sort of leading the way in education for these Spanish speaking students, or are you seeing other unique efforts happening in other districts?
SHH: So in Northeast Pennsylvania and Central Pennsylvania, Hazleton really has more Spanish speaking students than any other school district. So I think that what they're doing can serve as a, you know, as a role model, as an example for what other districts can do to help support students who speak Spanish or another language.
SS: There may be a bit of a misconception when people hear about this program, right? They might think that these teachers are learning Spanish just to be able to speak to their students, and maybe the students aren't focusing on English as much. But you found that's not the case, correct?
SHH: Oh, definitely. So these students are still receiving intense English instruction, and. The teachers and the other staff members in Hazleton learning Spanish is just another way to support these students, you know, give them some confidence, make life maybe a little easier in the classroom. They're still learning English. The program is funded through federal Title III funds which are meant for instruction for these students.
