Schools are still required under federal and state law to help students who don鈥檛 speak English to both learn the language and understand the content of their classes.

That鈥檚 the message California education leaders and advocates are sending to schools after the Trump administration rescinded guidelines about how schools should teach English learners.

A third of students in California public schools begin school as English learners, meaning they do not yet speak, read or write English fluently.

Some educators and advocates are worried that the rescission of the federal guidance could open the door for some school leaders and teachers to scale back instruction for English learners and stop providing translations to families.

鈥淭he danger is not in the law going away, but in districts thinking they can step back from their obligation,鈥� said Martha Hernandez, executive director of the nonprofit Californians Together. 鈥淭hat would be devastating for English learners.鈥�

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 50 years ago, in the 1974 case Lau v. Nichols, that students who do not speak and understand English fluently have the right to understand classroom lessons, and that schools must help them learn English and understand academic content alongside their English-speaking peers. These requirements were also codified in federal law in the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974.

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice, under former President Barack Obama, sent out a 40-page 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter to schools across the country, laying out legal precedents and federal requirements for serving English learners. The document included examples of how to identify English learners, how to give them adequate instruction in the English language and make sure they understand academic content, including the role of bilingual education or support in a student鈥檚 home language. It also provided examples of how school districts could be found to be out of compliance, such as not offering English language acquisition programs to students with disabilities, or not giving English learners access to the same grade-level curriculum or extracurricular activities as other students.

This summer, a message in red appeared at the top of the guidance: 鈥淭his document has been formally rescinded by the department and remains available on the web for historical purposes only.鈥� The only explanation the federal Department of Education provided for rescinding this guidance is to say that it is 鈥渘ot in line with Administration policy.鈥�

It is the latest in a long line of steps the Trump administration has taken to dismantle support for students who speak languages other than English. Previously, the Department of Education laid off almost all employees in its Office of English Language Acquisition and asked Congress to terminate federal funding for teaching English learners, immigrant students and the children of migrant farmworkers. President Donald Trump also issued an executive order declaring English the official language of the United States.

In the president鈥檚 budget request released May 2, he said, 鈥渢he misnamed English Language Acquisition program 鈥� actually deemphasizes English primacy by funding NGOs and States to encourage bilingualism.鈥�
California state law requires schools to provide instruction for students to learn English, known as designated English Language Development (ELD), and language support within every class, known as integrated ELD. The state also has its own guidance, such as the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework and the English Learner Roadmap. In addition, the state provides funding for English learners, and every district is required by state law to specify in their annual spending plans how they intend to use the money.

鈥淭he U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 action does not change any state laws regarding English learner programs or services,鈥� said Liz Sanders, director of communications at the California Department of Education. She said the department will continue to provide guidance for teaching English learners with resources on its website, like the English Language Development Standards, and a page about specialized programs for 鈥渕ultilingual learners.鈥�

鈥淐alifornia has been a leader,鈥� said Hernandez. 鈥淚n the absence of clarity at the federal level, California can and should model best practices for the rest of the country.鈥�

Still, Hernandez said not all California districts have consistently provided the English Language Development instruction required by law. She is worried that without federal guidance, more districts will stop providing instruction or support for English learners and their families.

鈥淭hat will lead to an increase in long-term English learners, it will lead to a stalling of reclassification, it will lead to higher dropout rates, and it will leave English learners behind,鈥� said Hernandez.

Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo published a statement criticizing the rescission of the federal guidance, saying it 鈥渃reates uncertainty, weakens accountability and risks widening opportunity gaps, especially when resources are already stretched thin鈥� and declaring that the county will continue to ensure 鈥渢hat English learners have equitable access to education.鈥�

School district leaders in California said they frequently used the federal guidance in the 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter to clarify the legal obligations schools have to English learners.

鈥淲e quote it all over our own documents to just make very clear what our obligations are. When there is any wavering or questioning around, 鈥楧o we have to provide ELD courses?鈥� or 鈥楧o we have to provide professional learning?鈥�, we have leaned on that guidance quite a bit,鈥� said Nicole Knight, executive director of the English Language Learner and Multilingual Achievement department in the Oakland Unified School District.

Norma Carvajal Camacho, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Azusa Unified School District in Los Angeles County, said that when the federal guidance came out, there was still a lot of misunderstanding about how to best teach English learners. So the district used the federal document to help train teachers and administrators.

鈥淢any of our teachers still lived in the space of, 鈥業f I鈥檓 teaching in English, that鈥檚 sufficient,鈥欌�� Carvajal Camacho said. 鈥淪o it was used initially to lay the groundwork for providing support for teachers in English language development, understanding language acquisition and being able to support students intentionally who are learning English as an additional language.鈥�

After the Department of Education rescinded the guidance, Azusa Unified sent a memo to all school administrators asserting that schools must still provide daily instruction on language development and language support in all classes and make sure English learners have access to all courses, including college preparation, honors and AP classes, among other requirements.

鈥淥ur obligations under Title VI and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act remain in effect,鈥� the memo reads. 鈥淎s a District, we remain steadfast in ensuring every English Learner has meaningful access to high-quality instruction that supports both language development and academic achievement.鈥�

Some parents of English learners across the state are concerned that without federal guidance, some schools will stop giving children the help they need to learn the language.

鈥淚f our children who are English learners don鈥檛 get reading, writing, listening and speaking help, it will be fatal,鈥� said Martha Rivera, parent and president of the District English Learner Advisory Committee in the Riverside Unified School District. 鈥淏ecause a child who does not have reading comprehension is a child who will not advance in school.鈥�

Teodora Mendoza, a mother from San Jose, said her daughter did not speak English when the family came to the U.S. from Mexico more than 10 years ago, but the language support she received in school helped her become fluent, and she is now in college. She said the translation the school provided for parents also helped.

鈥淚t helped me communicate with the teacher and ask how my daughter was doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t reassured me about sending my daughter to school.鈥�

She thinks that without federal guidance, some schools may stop offering translation for parents.

鈥淚t truly worries me,鈥� she said.

This was originally published on .

That鈥檚 a question Duolingo is grappling with this spring after an published in April to the job posting site LinkedIn revealed that the Pittsburgh-based company will become 鈥淎I-first,鈥� largely doing away with the human contractors who develop courses. In the meantime, it鈥檒l focus on using AI to run basic functions of its app, such as a new chatbot that engages users in live conversations in hundreds of languages. 

It鈥檚 perhaps the most extensive shift into AI to date for an education provider, representing a huge bet on the reliability of large language models that publicly debuted less than three years ago 鈥� and which remain notorious for .

Founded in 2011 at Carnegie Mellon University, Duolingo is now worth . Last year it boasted more than monthly active users. Its largest U.S. user group is under 18, but users span all ages. In 2016, Duolingo launched a free app .

Developers needed 12 years to develop the first 100 courses for its massively popular mobile phone app, known by its ubiquitous . Using AI, they created in just the past year, founder and CEO Luis von Ahn said in the email. Just as developing a mobile app in 2012 helped the company grow exponentially, he predicted the shift toward AI will prove equally significant.

鈥淭o teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn鈥檛 scale,鈥� von Ahn said in the email. Expanding without AI would take decades. 鈥淲e owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP.鈥�

To do so, Duolingo will gradually stop using human contractors 鈥渢o do work that AI can handle.鈥�

While turning to AI may well accelerate course development, the move is angering veteran users who predict that replacing humans with bots will weaken the app with inaccurate, lower-quality content. In protest, many have threatened to delete it from their phones.

On Blue Sky, one user , 鈥淛ust dropped a 1 star review, f*** Duolingo for doing this.鈥�

On X, a user wrote simply, 鈥淒uo joins the dark side.鈥�

Duolingo did not immediately respond to a request from 蜜桃影视 for comment. In a May 2 with Bloomberg News, von Ahn attributed the blowup among users to a 鈥渕isunderstanding,鈥� but his explanation for the move confirmed that the company will largely replace human course developers with AI, as users fear. 

鈥淲hat we said is that whenever there is some job that can be done by AI, and it can be done really well, then we’re unlikely to hire contractors to do that job,鈥� he said.

The announced policy won鈥檛 affect full-time employees, he said. 

Duolingo employs about 900 people and continues to grow as the company adds offerings in math, music and other subjects, , Duolingo鈥檚 vice president of learning, noted recently. 

But AI is forcing the company to ask essential questions, she said during a talk at the 2025 in April. 鈥淲e’re going to continue hiring people, but we’re going to be a little bit more intentional-thinking about what roles really are going to impact our business.鈥�

So the company will focus on 鈥減eople who are very versatile鈥� and who are comfortable and 鈥渆xcited鈥� about AI, she said.

Cem Kansu, Duolingo鈥檚 head of product, last November that AI has been 鈥渢ransformational,鈥� helping the company quickly create new content and build interactive features.

鈥淭he whole machine of content creation at Duolingo has gained insane speed in the past two years.鈥�

鈥楪uess I鈥檒l find different ways to learn鈥�

In a last month with the tech podcast No Priors, von Ahn said Duolingo originally created a lot of content 鈥渉alf by hand, half automatically,鈥� making for a slow process.

AI, von Ahn said in the April memo, would help employees 鈥渇ocus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks.鈥�

The explanation may be too little too late for many users, who said the move to largely get rid of contractors who create courses was prompting them to stop using Duolingo, in many cases sacrificing valuable 鈥渟treaks鈥� of hundreds or thousands of consecutive days spent using the app. 

One , 鈥淲ell I just ended my family plan subscription & killed my 530 day streak. Guess I鈥檒l find different ways to learn.鈥� He added a waving hand emoji.

Another , 鈥淚n my opinion it is now complete rubbish 鈥� I have let go of my nearly 900 day streak and unsubscribed 鈥� bring back humans.鈥�

The company its contractor workforce in January using AI, when it 鈥渙ffboarded鈥� 10% of them, a company spokesman told Bloomberg. 鈥淲e just no longer need as many people to do the type of work some of these contractors were doing.鈥�

, an AI education specialist and language course designer based in Spain, said language teachers may rightly worry about the loss of nuance when AI is generating lessons. 鈥淟anguage isn鈥檛 only structure 鈥� it鈥檚 emotion, culture and tone,鈥� she wrote in a letter to her students that she shared with 蜜桃影视. 鈥淎I doesn鈥檛 always grasp that.鈥�

But the move, Lucchesi said, offers a clear boost for access: 鈥淎 student in rural India can now learn English with support in Hindi, without waiting for a local instructor or textbook.鈥� 

And while the benefits to 鈥渆ndless conversation practice鈥� and pronunciation feedback are clear, she said, that may only go so far. 鈥淟earning a language is social, emotional, and cultural. Motivation often comes from connection 鈥� a teacher who encourages you, a classmate who laughs with you, a shared context that makes words meaningful. AI can support that, but it can鈥檛 replace it.鈥�

Benjamin Riley, a well-known AI-in-education skeptic, said it makes sense that generative AI would be incorporated by a language app, since Google engineers developed the breakthrough technology underlying it, known as , while working on translating human language.

鈥淚t’s a natural fit,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut the bigger question might be this: In a world where AI might 鈥� emphasis on might 鈥� be able to simultaneously translate between any two human languages, why would people bother to become bilingual at all?鈥�

He invoked the science-fiction fantasy of the , a universal translator featured in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which now seems 鈥渨ithin reach,鈥� he said, given current AI developments.

鈥淭he optimist might see this as reducing cross-cultural friction because we can all talk to one another. The pessimist might worry about languages dying because they aren’t prevalent enough to be fed into AI training models, and that something important will be lost if humans are monolingual.鈥�

Kansu, Duolingo鈥檚 head of product, said he鈥檚 not worried about AI making language learning obsolete, since even with the best translation service, workers must still wait for it to process speaking. 鈥淲ould you want to work with someone that has a 15-second lag in every interaction? I don’t think humans want that today.鈥�

Chatting with Lily

At the ASU+GSV summit, Pajak, Duolingo鈥檚 vice president of learning, told an interviewer that large language models, or LLMs, made possible a new feature that allows users to converse in many languages with a . 鈥淚’m very excited about it. I use it almost every day to practice my Italian,鈥� she said.

A former language teacher, Pajak said that back-and-forth is key to learning a language. 鈥淵ou want to actually be able to speak鈥� to improve. 

User enthusiasm for the chats with Lily helped drive a 50% rise in subscriptions, the company said recently, noting that the bot is included in Duolingo鈥檚 most expensive tier.

, a nonresident senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute who specializes in AI, said Duolingo鈥檚 move seems smart. 鈥淟eaning into 鈥楢I-first鈥� is just an acknowledgement that these capabilities are only going to get better and cheaper over time,鈥� he said.

In the interview last month, von Ahn predicted that education systems will change over the next few years to offer better, more reliable feedback to students. AI, he said, will scale good teaching.

鈥淭here are extremely good teachers for sure, but there’s not very many of them 鈥� and certainly most everybody in the world doesn’t have access to a good one.鈥�

But educators said they are determined to help these students learn, even through this difficult time. Diana Herrera, who teaches in California鈥檚 Central Valley but who declined to name her school, vowed to protect her students as if they were her own children. Even with her sensitivity to their plight, she said, attendance has dropped 鈥� including among those born in the United States. 

鈥淭hey are concerned for their family members,鈥� Herrera said, through tears, adding her school has not given teachers any directives on how to address or quell their concerns. 鈥淚f I can鈥檛 give them the right answer or if I can鈥檛 make them feel better, they are not going to continue coming.鈥� 

Trump recently removed barriers that once kept immigration agents away from . Conservative forces 鈥� who have urged undocumented residents to consider 鈥� have also, , been strategizing to undo , the landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling that a child cannot be denied a public education based on immigration status. 

Amid these challenges, Cheruba Chavez, who is an English language and special education teacher in New Orleans, pledged to keep her students safe and engaged: Those who miss school will get follow-up calls encouraging them to return, and those who transfer will receive all the help they need to avoid gaps in their learning.

鈥淭hey are coming to school for something that no one can take away from them: an education,鈥� she said. 

Despite the anxiety around immigration and deportation, Hector Villagra, vice president of policy advocacy and community education at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he believes campus raids are unlikely. 

But he said staff members should understand their legal obligation: Villagra, an attorney, said schools typically do not have to honor what he called 鈥渁dministrative warrants鈥� from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Most are mere forms issued through the Department of Homeland Security or ICE and are not judicial warrants signed by a judge or magistrate, he said. 

鈥淭hese documents do not give ICE agents any authority to enter school premises without permission,鈥� he said. 

Dan McNeil, general counsel for the American Federation of Teachers, echoed his remarks at the teachers union’s virtual town hall Thursday night. He said ICE agents on campus should be referred to the school’s administration. As for teachers, they can remain mum. “You have the right to remain silent,” he said. “You should not disclose the immigration status of your student 鈥� or even let them know if a student that they ask about is on campus.” 

ICE did not immediately respond to questions about its authority. 

Alejandra Vazquez Baur, cofounder of the National Newcomers Network, said attorneys, not front office workers, should be the ones to decipher which warrants must be acted upon.

She added that Trump鈥檚 tactics, which she characterized as 鈥渁n attack鈥� on immigrant families, are designed to make them believe they do not belong in public spaces. 鈥淔amilies fear to send their kids to school,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is about exclusion, racism and power. The cruelty is the point.鈥�

But Vazquez Baur added that immigrant advocates are using this moment to organize, unite, share ideas and push back, when possible, against the president鈥檚 directives. 

Even so, tensions remain high on the ground and some schools are cancelling in-person events for parents who are worried about coming to campus, said Nancy Rosas, senior director of schools for the Internationals Network. 鈥淥verall that fear makes people behave like they want to hide in the shadows,鈥� she said. 

Viri Carrizales, president of ImmSchools, founded in 2018 to support educators in creating a welcoming environment for immigrant students, said the consternation around immigration has left some educators worried about addressing the matter head on. 

Carrizales, who was undocumented in her K-12 and college journey, said some school staff are prohibiting the distribution of 鈥渒now-your-rights鈥� cards to students for fear of drawing attention to their schools: She said, too, their silence on these critical issues makes immigrant families feel unsupported. Some are withdrawing their children entirely.聽

蜜桃影视 also reached out to multilingual learner teachers on Facebook. While some said attendance held steady, others, like Tammy Ingraham Baggett, who teaches multilingual learners in Harris County, Texas, said numbers declined noticeably in the past week.

She said two students told her they were going to miss school because of possible immigration raids: One child, whose mother was concerned for her safety at school, asked to work on her assignments at home for the rest of the week because of ICE. 

鈥淚s your mom scared?鈥� Ingraham Baggett recalled asking the ninth grader. 鈥淪he said emphatically, 鈥榊es.鈥� I asked if she was scared. She shrugged, eyes downcast, and nodded yes.鈥�

Ariel Taylor Smith, senior director of the National Parents Union Policy & Action Center, whose organization has taken a strong stance in favor of immigrant communities, said she is worried about students in Republican states and about those living in the suburbs or in rural areas. 

鈥淚 think a lot of our kids in our urban cities are in districts that have the infrastructure to provide regular communication with parents in multiple languages,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat’s muscle they’ve already built 鈥� and it鈥檚 one everyone should have.鈥�

Some suburban and rural districts might not have that same capacity, she said.

From strategic defiance to more open compliance, school districts across the country are gearing up in very different ways for how to respond if 鈥� or when 鈥� immigration agents arrive on campus.聽

Their deliberations are occurring as Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and as President Donald J. Trump鈥檚 new administration placing schools, hospitals and churches off-limits to such enforcement actions. 

Sonja H. Trainor, executive director of the National School Attorneys Association, told 蜜桃影视 on Monday that her members are already reporting a significant decrease in student attendance 鈥� and tremendous concern among parents about Trump鈥檚 latest orders.  

And while many education leaders have pledged to keep ICE at bay 鈥� Georgia鈥檚 Gwinnett County Public Schools instructed staff to make a copy of agents鈥� identification cards and to 鈥渘ot offer any information鈥� 鈥� others are advising greater degrees of cooperation. One extreme outlier: Oklahoma鈥檚 Republican state Superintendent Ryan Walters, who said he welcomes . 

鈥淪chools haven鈥檛 been working with law enforcement on this,鈥� he . 鈥淗owever President Trump decides to carry out the actions around his immigration policy, we are going to absolutely work with him on that.鈥�

Trainor said her organization will be offering their members information and support on how they can counsel districts in responding to ICE, including a webinar presented by an immigration attorney, in the coming weeks.

Most school protocols for visits from law enforcement agencies, including immigration agents, she said, call for a school official to greet the officer; ask for credentials and any order, subpoena, or warrant; and to get a specific administrator to interact with them.

鈥淭he administrator may also want to consult legal counsel based on the circumstances,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ach scenario may be fact specific and require schools to be neutral and objective looking at state/federal law for release of student information.鈥�

The United States is home to some and as of 2018, roughly lived with at least one family member, often a parent, who was undocumented, according to the American Immigration Council.

Tom Homan, Trump鈥檚 border czar, told ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� that he鈥檚 willing to execute raids in K-12 schools, saying it will help solve another problem:  

鈥淗ow many MS-13 members are the age 14 to 17? Many of them,鈥� Homan said Sunday, referring to a  

Longtime Oklahoma science teacher Jenny Bobo said students and families in her school community are filled with dread. 

鈥淧eople are terrified,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲e, as educators, fear for our students. We are terrified that, in order to advance political careers, entire buildings full of children will be traumatized.鈥�

in Oklahoma have already begun, as students and adults plead to keep families together.

Bobo’s 14-year-old son, Preston Lee Bobo, was among a group of protestors who attended the state Board of Education meeting Tuesday morning in Oklahoma City. The board Walters’ proposal requiring that families provide information on their immigration or citizenship status when enrolling their kids. The move is seen as possibly violating Plyler v. Doe, the landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling that a child cannot be denied a public education based on immigration status, and could potentially create a trove of data making undocumented students in Oklahoma more vulnerable to ICE enforcement.

Preston said he wanted to call attention to what he believes is unfair treatment of undocumented children. The teen was not permitted to speak as the public comments portion of these events has been greatly curtailed: . If given the chance, Preston said he was ready to be heard.

鈥淚 think that they should be treated like any other student,鈥� the teen said of his undocumented peers. 鈥淎gents coming in and looking for undocumented children is inappropriate. If they find them, then they will presumably try to get them deported and I don’t support that. I also don鈥檛 really want a bunch of cops in my school. We already have SROs (school resource officers).鈥�

John Seidlitz, a long-time educator, immigrant advocate and founder of the California-based Seidlitz Education, said he鈥檚 concerned about the stress raids could place on children. 

鈥淎s educators, we have spent years learning about the effects of trauma on educational outcomes,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he threat of ICE presence in schools will have a serious negative impact not only on undocumented students, but on all students attending public schools.鈥� 

about ICE agents on or near school grounds continue to spread through social media. But it鈥檚 unclear whether immigration agents will actually come to campus. Some school officials have been told their districts are not targets.  

Christopher Cram, a spokesperson for Maryland鈥檚 Montgomery County Public Schools, said the school system was led to believe through a virtual call on Friday with immigration officials that campuses are still safe. 

鈥淒espite the Department of Homeland Security’s recent statement that ICE agents no longer have to 鈥榟onor鈥� the 鈥榮ensitive locations鈥� guidance, recent comments by ICE officials to Maryland superintendents indicate that there are no plans to visit or take action near schools,鈥� he said. 

But the atmosphere remains tense. The Chicago Public Schools reported last week that ICE agents visited one of its campuses only to later realize this : It was the Secret Service on an unrelated matter. But immigration raids were conducted within the past few days and also in among a host of other early locations, including the area and  

people in Arizona and New Mexico were caught up in the sweeps. Citing a senior Trump official, Tuesday that immigration authorities made close to 1,200 arrests in just one day, roughly 245 more than initially claimed. Nearly half of those detained don鈥檛 have criminal records, it reported, which Trump had said .

In an effort to prepare for any outcome, and local education agencies have provided school personnel 鈥� and, in some cases, parents 鈥� varying directives. Many reflect the fine line between protecting students鈥� rights and violating federal law. 

• The state superintendent of schools in Maryland said in a memo that 鈥渟chool personnel should not argue or debate with immigration enforcement officials but should direct them to the local superintendent or designated administrator for further action.鈥�

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina said its administrators must, when told by agents they want to speak to a particular child, attempt to contact their parents and remain with the student during a law enforcement interview. The directive said they 鈥渟hould not interfere with any ICE enforcement action, which may include service or execution of warrants, interviews, searches, or arrests,鈥� but that students have a right against self-incrimination and may not be required to provide information that would establish residency status.

• Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia provided staff with a script, advising them to welcome the agents and say, 鈥淲e will cooperate within the boundaries of the law, but to ensure minimal disruption, please have a seat until the principal arrives.鈥� They鈥檙e further instructed to make copies of any warrants, not allow agents access beyond the vestibule until their identity is confirmed and to document the agent鈥檚 name, badge number, agency affiliation, time, date, and details of the request.

• The School District of Philadelphia asked parents Friday to make sure that all emergency contact information is updated for their children.  

• Chicago Public Schools , in English and Spanish, to support immigrant students and their families, saying at a press conference last week: 鈥淩egardless of this policy change, our protocols will remain in place. There is complete alignment here between our state, our city and our district 鈥� CPS does not ask for a family鈥檚 immigration status. CPS will not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE. CPS does not share student records with ICE except in the rare case where there鈥檚 a court order or consent from a parent or guardian.鈥�

• Orange County Public Schools in Florida was advised by one of its attorneys to contact students鈥� parents whenever possible to ask for their permission for an ICE agent to interview their child. But, it notes, that if an administrator informs the parent of an interview after being told not to by law enforcement, refuses to leave the room when directed or interferes with a student鈥檚 arrest, they 鈥渕ay be subject to arrest on charges of tampering with a law enforcement investigation or obstructing a law enforcement official.鈥�

• Clark County School District in Las Vegas told staff that if there is a concern with the identity of the officer or agent 鈥� or the reason for their visit 鈥� they should call the Clark County School District Police Department. 

When 19-year-old Aleysha Ortiz told Hartford City Council members in May that the public school system stole her education, she had to memorize her speech.

Ortiz, who was a senior at Hartford Public High School at the time, wrote the speech using the talk-to-text function on her phone. She listened to it repeatedly to memorize it.

That鈥檚 because she was never taught to read or write 鈥� despite attending schools in Hartford since she was 6.

Ortiz, who came to Hartford from Puerto Rico with her family when she was young, struggled with language and other challenges along the way. But a confluence of circumstances, apparent apathy and institutional inertia pushed her haphazardly through the school system, according to Ortiz, her attorney and district officials.

Those officials, in statements that her attorney says display 鈥渟hocking鈥� educational neglect, have acknowledged that Ortiz never received instruction in reading.

Despite this, she received her diploma this spring after improving her grades in high school 鈥� with help from the speech-to-text function 鈥� and getting on the honor roll. She began her studies at the University of Connecticut this summer.

Ortiz can鈥檛 read even most one-syllable words. The words she can read were memorized during karaoke or from subtitles at the bottom of TV screens and associating the words she saw with what she heard, she said.

鈥淚 was pushed through. I was moved from class to class not being taught anything,鈥� Ortiz told The Connecticut Mirror during a series of interviews. 鈥淭hey stole something from me 鈥� I wanted to do more, and I didn鈥檛 have the chance to do that.鈥�

Ortiz was diagnosed with a speech impediment and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in early childhood and has been classified as a student with a disability for 鈥渁s long as I can remember,鈥� she said.

Ortiz also wasn鈥檛 taught how to tell time or how to count money. She can barely hold a pencil because of unaddressed issues with hand fatigue and disputes about school-based occupational therapy, she and her attorney said. She learned basic math, like addition, but has no other math skills.

Accommodations in her Individualized Education Plan, which spell out what services students will receive that school year, allowed her to audio-record classes and meetings with school leadership because of her inability to read or write in high school.

In recordings shared with the CT Mirror, made from March through June of this year, district officials acknowledged that in 12 years, Ortiz never received reading instruction or intervention. The CT Mirror also reviewed Ortiz鈥檚 educational records, including her recent IEPs and other documents.

鈥淚n my review of Aleysha鈥檚 IEP, she was never provided reading instruction,鈥� Noreen Trenchard, a special education administrator for the district, said at a May 29 Planning and Placement Team (PPT) meeting. 鈥淲hat is most concerning to me, honestly, at this time, is 鈥� with all of that information prior to today, no direct reading instruction was provided for her, and no PPT was requested to add that to an IEP. 鈥� That鈥檚 very concerning, very, very concerning.鈥�

Trenchard did not respond to a request for comment.

Ortiz said her mother鈥檚 ability to advocate for her was limited because of language barriers, insufficient translation services, and because the family didn鈥檛 know their legal rights to challenge district decisions.

Ortiz filed for 鈥渄ue process鈥� against the district in late June, which is a legal procedure in special education that鈥檚 triggered when families feel their rights were violated.

Ortiz鈥檚 lawyer, , said the young woman鈥檚 story may be one of the 鈥渕ost shocking cases鈥� of educational neglect she has seen in 24 years.

鈥淚t is really shocking, and it should never have happened and shouldn鈥檛 be happening,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淗er whole future is going to be impacted.鈥�

Ortiz repeatedly described her special education experience with one word: traumatic.

She said she was unlawfully restrained, spent months in classrooms without a special education teacher or paraeducators, and was ridiculed by untrained staff who would laugh at her.

Her time in Hartford Public Schools was defined by feelings of isolation and loneliness as she sat in the back of classrooms for years and wished she would be able to do what the other kids were doing, she said.

While other students made friends and learned basic math and reading skills, Ortiz said she was stuck tracing letter worksheets on her own from first grade well into her middle school years.

Since first grade, she said, teachers, school leaders and district administrators failed her.

In a recording of a June 6 meeting with Trenchard, the district鈥檚 special education administrator, Ortiz can be heard saying she was denied the right to a fair education when teachers didn鈥檛 teach her how to write, when disability testing wasn鈥檛 done accurately and when she felt shamed by educators after she brought up how her IEP wasn鈥檛 being followed correctly.

鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 forget about me 鈥� no 鈥� people chose not to [educate me]. People chose not to [change] my IEP. People chose not to do this and that and this and that,鈥� Ortiz said at the meeting. 鈥淚鈥檓 the one paying the consequences, while those people are still getting their checks.鈥�

Ortiz tried to teach herself and make up for the areas her formal education lacked, but through those efforts, the 19-year-old said, she also lost the chance to just be a kid.

鈥淏asically [in high school], I would go to class. I would record and try to memorize everything the teacher said and what I wanted to write. Then, when I went home, I would stay and hear the recordings. I basically went to school two times in one day,鈥� Ortiz said.

鈥淚 wanted to join clubs, but I couldn鈥檛 do that because I didn鈥檛 have the time. 鈥� To this day, I鈥檝e never been out to the movie theater with friends, ever,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have time to have fun. It was either enjoy myself or fail my classes, and maybe if I was more ahead in reading or writing, I would鈥檝e had time [to make friends].鈥�

Ortiz鈥檚 story can鈥檛 be defined as a student who fell through the cracks 鈥� several people knew how her education was being neglected and did nothing, Spencer said.

鈥淪he鈥檚 had so many teachers. I don鈥檛 know how everybody failed her,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how the district could have passed her through. I don鈥檛 understand how this happened. It鈥檚 negligence, in my opinion.鈥�

The district declined to 鈥渟peak specifically to student matters,鈥� because of 鈥渟tate and federal legal obligations,鈥� after requests for comment by the CT Mirror, particularly in regards to why it took so long to find a problem with Ortiz鈥檚 academic progress and whether officials were aware of similar situations happening with other students in Hartford.

But in a meeting on June 6, Trenchard acknowledged that educators may have violated Ortiz鈥檚 IEP, which is a legally binding document under the  and outlines the services and accommodations that will make a student with a disability successful in a classroom.

鈥淎nd truthfully, from what I鈥檝e seen, I see that you didn鈥檛 even have an appropriate IEP,鈥� Trenchard said.

鈥淧eople got to you too late, which has been the story of your life here,鈥� a Hartford Public High School administrator can be heard telling Ortiz in the recording from the meeting on June 6, despite Ortiz saying she had raised concerns for several years and they were never formally addressed.

Ortiz was able to graduate because she had met all her credit requirements, but she says she was only able to 鈥渟urvive鈥� high school through the use of speech-to-text applications and a calculator.

And though limited, the accommodations helped Ortiz become an honor-roll student and led to her acceptance to several colleges, including the University of Connecticut-Hartford, which she began attending part-time in August.

Ortiz鈥檚 success may be unique, but her challenges in the district are not, several current and former staff members from the school district told the CT Mirror.

鈥淚 think this happens a lot through Hartford schools,鈥� said a Hartford paraeducator who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think a lot of kids in Hartford get their services. She鈥檚 not the only one. 鈥� Any school [in the district], you鈥檒l find kids, even that are not in special ed, that don鈥檛 even know how to read and write 鈥� they just pass them over.鈥�

鈥淯nfortunately, the way the district runs, it鈥檚 short-staffed. It鈥檚 fast-paced,鈥� said a social worker who worked with Ortiz in high school and also requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. 鈥淲hile Aleysha is a very sad and touching story, it is one of many in the district that get overlooked.鈥�

Ortiz and her attorney think so too.

鈥淥ne of the reasons I didn鈥檛 drop out was from anger 鈥� and knowing that I might not be the only one, but you don鈥檛 hear it around,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淲ith me, people knew about it and didn鈥檛 want to do their job, and knowing this 鈥� it must be happening in other places.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 happening all the time, and it鈥檚 not just Hartford,鈥� Spencer said.

Aleysha鈥檚 story

At the age of 32, Carmen Cruz decided to migrate from Puerto Rico to the South End of Hartford with three of her four children, including Ortiz, who was 5 at the time, the second-youngest.

Ortiz鈥檚 mother declined interview requests, but Ortiz said her family came to the United States because services for students with disabilities were limited in Puerto Rico.

鈥淲e heard Connecticut had the best education and things like that, which is one of the reasons we came to Hartford,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淲e came to get better opportunities.”

In testimony to state lawmakers for more school funding earlier this year, Ortiz described preparing for her first day of first grade at Burr School, when the school educated grades K-8. That day was full of nerves but also tinges of excitement.

Ortiz only spoke Spanish, and learning English with a speech disability would be challenging. But Ortiz said her mother thought she would get the proper services and support to make sure she was successful.

鈥淭he first day of school, I was holding my mom鈥檚 hand and didn鈥檛 want to let go,鈥� she said in the testimony. 鈥淚 finally did, and I believe it was the biggest mistake of my life. 鈥� From the first day, I struggled so much.鈥�

Despite bringing a signed document from the Puerto Rico Department of Education outlining the need for occupational therapy, the service was never provided to Ortiz in Hartford Public Schools, according to her IEP and audio recordings.

For many of her primary school years, Ortiz admits, she struggled with behavioral issues, including throwing things in a classroom, screaming and running away. As she鈥檚 grown older, Ortiz said, she realized those behaviors were rooted in anger that manifested from an inability to communicate.

Throughout elementary school, Ortiz was often isolated from classmates and engaged in activities that didn鈥檛 pertain to learning, including organizing books, sweeping, resting her head on the desk and drawing pictures in the back of the room, she said. Through fifth grade, the only school work she was assigned was tracing letters on worksheets.

鈥淚nstead of teaching me, they would tell me 鈥楬ere, you go play games over there.鈥� And I鈥檇 see the other kids and would get angry,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淚 would just look and stare at the other kids doing their work. 鈥� It got to a point where I was the bad kid, and it felt good 鈥� because even though I was not like the other kids, at least I was something. And that, for me, was what mattered. I was something to someone [even if it meant getting in trouble].鈥�

Ortiz described several instances where she was removed by security guards by force, including a prone restraint practice where she would be forced onto her stomach and a knee was put on her back to the point that, she said, she couldn鈥檛 breathe.

Harford Public Schools did not comment on Ortiz鈥檚 allegations, but said, in general, 鈥減hysical intervention and seclusion are only used as a last resort and emergency intervention, by certified personnel, for students, after other verbal and nonverbal strategies have been attempted and only when the student presents immediate or imminent injury to the student or to others.鈥�

Ortiz said that wasn鈥檛 her experience.

鈥淚nstead of the security guards trying to have a conversation with me, they would literally just remove me by force,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淚 remember the principal came in, and she was like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 not how you do it! That鈥檚 not how you do it! Check if she has marks.鈥� 鈥� I was traumatized. 鈥� and I was [thinking] 鈥榃ow, this is how America is?’鈥�

When Ortiz began to learn more English skills in third grade, she said, she developed a relationship with a homeroom teacher, but her communication efforts were shut down after hearing educators discuss how they couldn鈥檛 understand her.

When another teacher asked the homeroom teacher if they knew what Ortiz was saying, the homeroom teacher responded, 鈥極h, I don鈥檛 understand what she鈥檚 saying, I just say yes to whatever she says,鈥� Ortiz said.

鈥淛ust because I鈥檓 a special education student doesn鈥檛 mean I鈥檓 deaf 鈥� it鈥檚 why I stopped talking,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淭hose things made me feel trapped, insecure and everything. I thought I could talk to someone, then that happened.鈥�

In fifth grade, intervention efforts were short-lived because there wasn鈥檛 enough extra staff support, Ortiz said, adding that she didn鈥檛 receive her first paraeducator until sixth grade and, even then, she spent most of her middle school career without a special education teacher.

By seventh grade, Ortiz recalled that principals said they 鈥渟hared custody鈥� of her because she spent more time in the front office than a classroom.

鈥淚nstead of sending her to class, the principal had her with her all the time,鈥� the paraeducator told the CT Mirror.

That year, Ortiz was in a classroom 鈥渘ot a lot, maybe four times,鈥� she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit at the end of Ortiz鈥檚 eighth-grade year.

Throughout the summer, preparing for high school, Ortiz went to local libraries and tried to use picture books to teach herself how to read. When she wasn鈥檛 successful, she got through online learning during her freshman year with Google Translate, which can scan a photo and read the text out loud.

鈥淭he way I did assignments was very difficult. When I was given something to read or write, I would use Google,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淚f the teacher said 鈥楢leysha, can you read this aloud?鈥� 鈥� I would turn my computer off and pretend like it died, so I didn鈥檛 have to read it. 鈥� Or with the camera off, I would repeat [what the translate app said]. That鈥檚 literally how I survived ninth grade.鈥�

Sophomore year changed everything.

It was Ortiz鈥檚 鈥渇irst time doing the same work as everybody else,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 love learning because I never had the opportunity to learn. People be like, 鈥楢leysha, why do you like to go to school all the time?鈥� And it鈥檚 because it鈥檚 something new 鈥� the amount of times I did the same thing over and over, it鈥檚 crazy,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淪ometimes I do complain, because we learn something new every day and it鈥檚 hard to get it, but it鈥檚 better than doing the same thing every day.鈥�

Small wins in the classroom built her confidence enough that it allowed her to open up to trusted adults in positions she once felt betrayed by in elementary school. As more people learned her story, a team of staff members gathered behind her and pushed for more services, intervention and support her junior and senior year.

But by then, she was always told any intervention was 鈥渢oo late.鈥�

鈥淪ince [my junior year], I told my case manager, I want to learn how to write, and she鈥檇 tell me, 鈥業n college, they don鈥檛 do that. They go in there, record and leave, they do the same thing you do,’鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淚鈥檇 say 鈥榊eah, but I still want to know how to write. It鈥檚 my right. I wanted to learn,鈥� but [I was told] there wasn鈥檛 time, and there weren鈥檛 teachers to sit down and teach me.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of students, and unfortunately, there鈥檚 situations like Aleysha, where she has a village behind her, advocating, pushing 鈥� and [proper services] still [were] not happening,鈥� the social worker said.

A district鈥檚 failure

Ortiz has recorded more than 700 audio files on her phone.

In her last four months in the public school system, more than a dozen of those audio recordings were either PPT meetings, requests for disability testing or administrators reviewing the results of Ortiz鈥檚 academic progress with her.

The conversations were often riddled with , with several instances of people speaking over one another or Ortiz leaving the room in tears.

鈥淭here was a lot of pushback stating that [the district doesn鈥檛] provide that at the high school level, that they would need to get creative in how they could provide these services to her, and there was always kind of a lingering talk of something would be done, but there was never anything proactive being done,鈥� the social worker said.

Meetings particularly ramped up as Ortiz got closer to graduation and as she was trying to navigate her transition into higher education.

But it always felt like there wasn鈥檛 enough time for intervention.

鈥淚 feel like right now people are like, 鈥榃ell, she鈥檚 graduating,鈥� and they just move on. They just forget about [what鈥檚 happening to me],鈥� Ortiz said in a PPT meeting on May 29. 鈥淚鈥檝e been asking, I鈥檝e been doing everything for years and years. I sat here for 12 years. And right now it鈥檚 like 鈥榃ell 鈥� we should have done this 鈥� but we didn鈥檛.’鈥�

One point of contention centered around school-based occupational therapy.

For years, Ortiz had complained of pain in her hand and an inability to hold a pencil for longer than a few minutes. In March, Ortiz鈥檚 case manager agreed to consult with an occupational therapist to see what recommendations they had.

But by May 29, district officials declined to have a formal occupational therapy evaluation.

In an emailed statement to the CT Mirror, a spokesperson from Hartford Public Schools said, 鈥淚f there is no relevant data to support a request for an evaluation, a PPT can determine that a particular type of evaluation is not appropriate at that time.鈥�

鈥淭he purpose is to be able to function in a school environment, which Aleysha has been able to do,鈥� a district official said at the May 29 PPT, despite protests from teachers and school staff that Ortiz is only able to perform in a school environment with 鈥渋ncredible difficulty.鈥�

At the meeting, district officials recommended that Ortiz type assignments on a computer going forward.

鈥淧eople expect me to use a computer for the rest of my life,鈥� Ortiz said.

The underlying concern in all the meetings, in addition to her inability to write, was also the lack of progress in her reading ability.

Ortiz and other staff members repeatedly requested dyslexia testing with the notion that, if she couldn鈥檛 receive intervention, then at least having the diagnosis could open the door to more resources after high school.

Those requests were declined by administrators, who instead reviewed previous data, then completed a series of comprehensive testing to 鈥渒now exactly where we鈥檙e at in instruction,鈥� Trenchard said at a meeting on June 13.

In May, Trenchard, the district鈥檚 special education administrator, began to review Ortiz鈥檚 case. When she went over reading results that were conducted earlier in the school year, she called them 鈥渟urprising.鈥�

鈥淸The scores] are low low, like they were surprising to me. It would make sense that reading is hard for you, but it looks like things pretty much across the board are hard,鈥� Trenchard said at a meeting on May 20. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know how to [read, write or do math] because nobody ever taught you. 鈥� I wish we met each other earlier 鈥� because it bothers me to hear about it and to just see that for years what was missing.鈥�

Trenchard, at a meeting on May 29, said Ortiz鈥檚 difficulties in , which are the processes of using letter/sound knowledge to write and read words in a text, could be 鈥渟ymptomatic of dyslexia鈥� but could also be 鈥渟ymptomatic of not having received instruction.鈥�

鈥淎nd in my review of Aleysha鈥檚 IEPs, she was never provided reading instruction,鈥� Trenchard said, adding that she didn鈥檛 believe Ortiz was dyslexic because 鈥渢here are many missing pieces toward even leaning toward that diagnosis.鈥�

Spencer, however, argues that the district violated its legal obligation to provide dyslexia testing because there was a reasonable belief that it could have been an issue.

鈥淚f she was showing no reading issues, and all the testing showed she was fine, and she was on grade level, and she just wanted to get the testing 鈥� then they could have an argument,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淏ut, when it鈥檚 a suspected area, it must be tested. 鈥� There鈥檚 no way a reasonable person would have overlooked this.鈥�

Ortiz received a comprehensive reading evaluation on June 6 and scored 鈥渧ery poor鈥� in every category. Ortiz needed to be taught every reading and spelling skill, according to the test results.

And beyond failing to provide basic education, the district may have also failed to provide an appropriate IEP, and with the limited accommodations that were written, they were not consistently implemented or provided, Trenchard said in one of the recordings.

At Ortiz鈥檚 last PPT meeting on June 14, just two days before graduation, district officials recommended that she defer her diploma and take 100 hours of reading intervention over the summer at the district鈥檚 central office.

Without speaking to Ortiz鈥檚 case, Hartford Public Schools told the CT Mirror that recommendations are made 鈥渙n an individualized basis by the student鈥檚 PPT,鈥� and that a student鈥檚 exit criteria could be reviewed or revised 鈥渦p to and including the day of graduation if necessary.鈥�

Ortiz and several of her teachers shared a hesitancy about the deferment plan, especially in regards to uncertainty from the district about who would provide direct instruction to Ortiz if she stayed back amid millions of dollars of budget cuts in the upcoming school year.

鈥淭he bigger question is who is doing this? 鈥� As of right now, we are working with very minimal staffing, and our special ed staff is doing everything they can, but there鈥檚 no one here,鈥� a teacher at the PPT meeting said.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 require me not to take my diploma and expect me to go along with whatever you say, knowing damn well we don鈥檛 have the people here,鈥� Ortiz said at the meeting. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e saying we have the teachers training, we have the people here 鈥� where are they? If they are here, and they are training, where are they?鈥�

Ortiz was also set to begin a mandatory transition to college program at UConn that ran from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout the summer. The district did not provide any further accommodations or compromise for reading intervention, according to the audio recording of the meeting.

Ortiz ultimately decided to accept her diploma. By the time she had graduated from Hartford Public Schools, she hadn鈥檛 been tested for dyslexia and had never received reading intervention.

Systemic shortfalls

At the same time that Ortiz, her advocates and district leaders met about additional accommodations and intervention services, the district also announced a looming  for the upcoming school year.

 200 special education teachers, 360 paraeducators and 150 counselors, social workers and school psychologists were employed across the district鈥檚 schools in 2022-23.

At Hartford Public High School, which Ortiz attended, there were 21 special education teachers, 19 paras and about 15 social workers, counselors and school psychologists in . With over 109 students with disabilities enrolled at the school, social workers could be assigned dozens of cases.

鈥淎t the end of the 2022-23 school year, we were short-staffed multiple social workers in the building. Myself, alone, was required to service 50 or more students,鈥� said Ortiz鈥檚 former social worker, who added that she ultimately left the district because of the workload.

鈥淸A big part of why I left] comes down to not being able to fully provide children with what they need, and becoming a part of the failure,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was part of that team of service providers who didn鈥檛 always meet Aleysha where she needed perfectly every month. 鈥� There were times I wouldn鈥檛 see her for two weeks. 鈥� It wasn鈥檛 fair to her, but due to the system of the school and the district, we did the best we could, but that鈥檚 not the answer we should be giving, especially for students like Aleysha.鈥�

Ortiz was assigned a handful of different social workers during her time at Hartford Public High School because of staffing turnover, the social worker said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of students who are kind of slipping through the cracks,鈥� she added.

When asked about student-teacher ratios in special education, Hartford Public Schools said 鈥渃aseloads are specific to each school,鈥� and depends on 鈥渆ach PPT according to each student鈥檚 individualized needs.鈥�

With the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds in September, the district cut school staff by 8% by eliminating 229 roles, a majority of which were temporary or non-certified employees like social workers, paraeducators, resource teachers, student engagement specialists and family community school support providers who were hired during the pandemic.

Hartford Public Schools, after its final budget passed in July, lost a total of about 30 counselors, psychologists and social workers.

A spokesperson from the district said that paraeducator staffing has increased from 457 in 2023-24 to 460 in 2024-25, with an increase of 44 special education para positions and a decrease of 41 in all other para positions.

Despite the increase, school staff and education stakeholders say they still anticipate drawbacks in the classroom, including a growing difficulty to provide individualized services and larger classroom sizes for already struggling teachers.

Staffing levels at schools are 鈥渄isconcerting,鈥� Spencer said.

鈥淭hey were bad before COVID, but they are really bad right now,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淪chools are not implementing IEPs, are not identifying children, they鈥檙e not providing the staff that are required, and it is a real crisis.鈥�

A spokesperson from Hartford Public Schools said that 鈥渟taff turnover for any position causes a ripple effect for schools, not just special education.鈥�

鈥淗artford Public Schools is actively working to fill special education vacancies via targeted approaches such as building partnerships with universities, cultivating internal pathways for paraeducators interested in becoming teachers, utilizing social media and attending job fairs,鈥� the spokesperson said.

A  from the state Department of Education showed the problem is not just in Hartford but that school staffing shortages are occurring across the state.

Ortiz was front and center in funding advocacy her senior year through letters to the city council, , state Department of Education and a senior capstone project titled 鈥淪pecial Education: A systemic failure.鈥�

鈥淚 should have had the help of a special education teacher, a paraprofessional, lessons designed to meet me where I was and challenge me, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. I felt like [no one] cared about my future, because I didn鈥檛 receive those supports. I now realize that this was due to a lack of funding and the inability to keep good teachers and staff,鈥� Ortiz wrote to state legislators.

Ortiz told the CT Mirror that she shared her story so her experience doesn鈥檛 repeat in other children.

鈥淚t鈥檚 knowing that more kids are falling through the cracks of the system, and we are still making it seem like everything鈥檚 great, that we鈥檙e doing better for the next generation, and I always ask 鈥榃hen?’鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淭he amount of times I would try to look for stories that can relate to me, so I could be like 鈥極K, I鈥檓 not the only one.鈥� I would try to do that, I would Google people that went to college and did not know how to read. I couldn鈥檛 find anyone. 鈥� So maybe if I am the first, and I know I鈥檓 not, maybe people can be like, 鈥楾hat person made it.’ 鈥�

But when she saw that her K-8 school district in rural Appalachia was quietly becoming a refuge for families from Mexico, Central America and Asia, she shifted gears and became an English as a second language teacher, pushing to smooth her students鈥� 鈥� and their families鈥� 鈥� transition to life in the U.S.

Her students鈥� English acquisition is key because many become their family鈥檚 translators, not just in school but elsewhere. 鈥淪o their exposure to the language and their learning the language actually opens up doors and possibilities for their families,鈥� she said in an interview.

Testerman on Wednesday was named the by the Council of Chief State School Officers.

As Teacher of the Year, she鈥檒l spend a year traveling the U.S. as an ambassador to the teaching profession, telling The74 that she鈥檒l urge other teachers to become advocates for their students 鈥� and for their fellow educators.

Testerman was selected from a field of three other finalists for the award: Alaska鈥檚 Catherine Walker, a high school science and career and technical education teacher; Georgia鈥檚 Christy Todd, a middle school music technology teacher; and New Jersey鈥檚 Joe Nappi, a high school history teacher who writes a blog on teaching about the Holocaust.鈥�  

All of the finalists, as well as the other state-level teachers of the year, on Wednesday learned from First Lady Jill Biden that when they visit the White House later this year, as is customary, they’ll also be the guests of honor at a , the first time that diplomatic nicety will be reserved for a group of educators, the Associated Press reported. Typically state dinners are used to woo foreign heads of state. 

Testerman, who earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in elementary education and a Master of Arts in reading education from East Tennessee State University, teaches in , a K-8 school in a small farming town of about 4,500, located 250 miles east of Nashville. And she serves as the Rogersville district’s ESL specialist and ESL program director. She also coordinates the system鈥檚 summer programs and is a mentor teacher and member of the teacher leadership team.

She鈥檚 not the first ESL teacher to capture the top-teacher honor 鈥� in 2004, it went to Rhode Island鈥檚 , who designed the ESL program for the North Kingstown, R.I., school district. And in 2018, the recipient was , a Washington state ELA teacher who worked at a 鈥渘ewcomer school鈥� for new immigrants. Other recipients have also worked with English language learners, even if the designation wasn鈥檛 in their formal title.

Here are five things to know about Testerman:

1. She has taught her entire career in a single school in rural east Tennessee.

The 53-year-old Testerman is a lifelong teacher, having put in 33 years in the classroom, all of it Rogersville. 

鈥淚t’s a beautiful place,鈥� she said in an interview. 鈥淚t looks like it’s a Hallmark postcard.鈥�

She admits that her long career is 鈥渒ind of unusual 鈥� teachers, as you know, tend to leave the field as soon as they’re able to do so. But I still find a lot of joy in teaching, and I feel like I’m as energized to keep teaching as I was years ago.鈥�

2. Before working in ESL, she had a long career as a classroom teacher. 

Testerman spent most of her career, about 30 years, working as a first- and second-grade teacher before enrolling in Tennessee鈥檚 program and adding an English as a second language (ESL) endorsement to her resume. She has said she wanted to ensure that immigrant students and families in Rogersville had an advocate. 

鈥淚 try to make sure that my children and their families are assimilated here, that they鈥檙e participating in sports and everything, because if they assimilate, people will accept them more easily,鈥� Testerman told when she was named a finalist.

3. While Rogersville is isolated and rural, her students are from all over the world.

Testerman has a full-time case load of 21 students, a mix of Spanish, Arabic and Chinese speakers, as well as a few who speak Gujarati, a language from the western Indian state of Gujarat. It accounts for a of Indian immigrants to the U.S. 

鈥淚t’s a pretty interesting breakup of situations and languages,鈥� she said. 

Her students are divided between first-generation Americans born here to immigrant parents, and newcomers 鈥� many of whom have arrived in the U.S. 鈥渨ithin the past year or so,鈥� she said.

Testerman said her students occasionally face 鈥渟ome unpleasant situations鈥� around discrimination in the mostly white community of Rogersville, 鈥渂ut that’s basically the rarity. My school has embraced them, has embraced their families. I think that I have the luxury of being in the role to kind of be the ambassador, to make that happen.鈥�

She said most people in the area also embrace the newcomer families once they get to know them 鈥渂ecause they see that they’re just like every other family. They love their students. They want them to do well and achieve so that they can create a good future for themselves.鈥�

In her application for the award, Testerman wrote, 鈥淪imple gestures such as sitting with my students鈥� families at high school graduation or a school play goes a long way in helping them find acceptance in our rural area, since I have belonged to this community for decades and others trust my lead.鈥�

Former student Nadeen Aglan told AP that Testerman goes out of her way to develop close ties with the families of her students. 鈥淗er kindness shows. Her compassion is really deep.鈥�

4. She wants teachers to realize their own power 鈥� and fight for change.

Testerman said she is looking forward to advocating for teachers over the next year.

鈥淭here are 3.5 million dedicated teachers all over this country who invest time, energy and love into helping our students create the best possible future for themselves,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I want to empower teachers by getting them to understand that they are their best advocates and their students’ best advocates. Teachers are the experts.鈥�

Testerman said many times teachers must abide by policies that are 鈥渘ot made by people who spend a lot of time in classrooms. 鈥淚t’s time for teachers to let their voices be heard.鈥�

She wants teachers to advocate for students not just in their school building but, if needed, in their state legislature 鈥渨hen there is either an implemented policy or a suggested policy that you know is just not what’s best for kids.鈥�  

5. She plans to return to the classroom after her year away.

National Teacher of the Year winners often leverage the honor to pursue big dreams outside of the classroom, including and . , the 2016 honoree, is now a member of Congress representing Connecticut. 

Testerman on Wednesday said her plan after her year away from the classroom is to return. 鈥淚 still find so much joy in teaching,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can’t honestly imagine my life without being a teacher.鈥� That may change, she said, but at the moment she plans to return to the classroom.

Watching a child acquire another language is 鈥渁n amazing, magical transformation,鈥� Testerman . 鈥淭here鈥檚 a level of excitement in a learner when they realize they are able to understand the language they are hearing around them.鈥� 

A child who does not speak English is made to enroll in school online 鈥� in a language they don鈥檛 understand.

A young Ukrainian refugee is told district staff won鈥檛 translate records from home, delaying their start date.

A newcomer student sits idle for weeks because they were not assessed for placement.

Kristina Moon, senior attorney with the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, has fielded such reports from across the state 鈥� all tied to a recent wave of new arrivals. She and other immigrant advocates say it鈥檚 the type of discrimination that grows when these children come to the United States in numbers as they are now, with many speaking uncommon languages.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not fair that an English-speaking student can walk up to the local school and register in 30 minutes and someone who speaks another language is told to go across town or to another building or is given a web address to do something alone online,鈥� Moon said. 鈥淭hese barriers are the first contact they have with the school and make them feel unwelcome, like it will be an insurmountable challenge to even get into the school 鈥� let alone learn all of their classes in English.鈥�

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 2.4 million 鈥渆ncounters” at the southern border from October 2021 through September 2022, up from roughly 1.7 million in that same time period a year earlier. The more recent figure includes , all of whom are legally entitled to enroll in the nation鈥檚 public schools.

Their arrival has sparked controversy around the United States鈥� responsibility toward new immigrants, prompting some Republican lawmakers to use undocumented people as political pawns, flying and busing families, including those with small children, to other, more 鈥渓iberal鈥� parts of the country. 

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who has implemented some of the strictest anti-immigration policies in America, delivered hundreds of bewildered newcomers to in recent weeks. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew exhausted and confused new immigrants to tony in a stunt that has and landed him . Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to Washington, D.C. Together, they鈥檝e directed well more than 10,000 newcomers to northern states and face for the practice. 

President Joe Biden earlier this month implemented a new strategy to address at least some asylum seekers鈥� needs. It allows for to enter the country under humanitarian parole, apply in advance, have a U.S. sponsor, undergo screening and vetting and secure the proper vaccinations: A few have already arrived and , according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

But Venezuelans who cross the border seeking asylum outside this process are being entry under the same that served as a de facto immigration policy for years, angering immigrant advocates who seek a more permanent and humane solution. Biden鈥檚 new plan is similar to, but smaller and more restrictive, than earlier this year. Some say it鈥檚 not generous enough, with one advocacy group representing the immigrants shuttled to calling it 鈥減unitive to the point of cruelty.鈥� 

A state of emergency

Local and state leaders of both major parties say the federal government needs a far better, more comprehensive short- and long-term immigration plan. New York City Mayor Eric Adams earlier this month because of the influx: More than 鈥� including 鈥� have arrived in the five boroughs since April. 

The mayor is asking for federal help to defray the costs, which he estimates to be $1 billion this fiscal year alone. 

After noting the city鈥檚 shelter system, , was near capacity, he said late last week that the numbers of new arrivals since the Venezuelan plan was put in place. 

鈥淲e were seeing anywhere from nine to 10 buses in the city,鈥� filled with newcomers, . 鈥淲e saw two in the last few days.鈥�

But the recent slowdown does not diminish the challenges some newcomer children face. Many they endured prior to and during their journey to America and are far behind their peers academically. They and their families, many of them living in transitional housing, also need help with food and clothing. 

New York City schools, home to roughly 1 million children, employ some 1,600 certified bilingual Spanish-speaking teachers. The district served roughly school year, nearly 62% of whom spoke Spanish. More than half lived in Brooklyn and the Bronx. 

The school system has made some . Chancellor David Banks the city would expand transitional bilingual programs in schools that are seeing an uptick. The city is also creating new 鈥渂orough response teams鈥� to organize food and clothing drives to help these students and their families, whose needs echo those of the more than already in the system.

Tim Boals, founder and director of , an organization that provides resources to those who teach multilingual learners, said no matter their challenges, it is incumbent upon all schools to educate these children using translation services, pictures, graphics, simplified language and hand gestures, among many other tools. 

鈥淲hile knowing a student鈥檚 language is ideal, there are other methods that work,鈥� Boals said.

Adams, who鈥檚 for the way he鈥檚 managed the influx, including his decision to house some newcomers in , said the federal government must allow asylum seekers to legally work upon arrival, help spread them across different regions of the country and 鈥渄eliver long-awaited immigration reform, so we can offer people a safe and legal path to the American Dream.鈥�

DACA battle drags on

But this nation of immigrants has never come to clear, comprehensive terms with its latest newcomers. The prolonged fight over the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides deportation relief and work permits to undocumented residents brought here as children, continues to illustrate that uncertainty. 

On Oct. 14, a federal judge in Texas, who already ruled the program illegal, said he would for existing registrants only while he decides whether President Biden鈥檚 efforts to into federal regulation addresses its legality. If he rules against the administration, the case will likely head back to a conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also issued an earlier ruling agreeing that DACA was not implemented lawfully. Ultimately, the issue could end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, where a 5-4 majority on technical grounds in 2017 no longer exists.

Biden has pushed for for the roughly 600,000 so-called Dreamers, . But that measure would have to go through Congress where Republicans oppose him on immigration reform and continue to use the latest wave at the southern border as in the upcoming midterm elections. 

Jos茅 Mu帽oz, spokesman for United We Dream, an immigrant advocacy group founded in 2008, said those enrolled in DACA are 鈥渋n a game of ping pong鈥� between the federal courts deciding their fate.

鈥淲e are living our lives in two-year increments, not knowing when the court will strip us of our work permits and subject us to deportation,鈥� said Mu帽oz, 32 and a DACA recipient who arrived from Mexico when he was 3 months old. 

DACA has boosted high school attendance and graduation rates for young immigrants: More than 49,000 additional Hispanic students earned their diploma because of it. DACA also likely prompted a jump in college attendance within this group, researchers said. 

Yet the latest wave of newcomers continues to struggle with one of the most basic elements of their educational careers: enrollment. 

Even when students are able to register electronically, as some schools have required newcomers to do, their requests go unanswered for weeks, said Moon of the Education Law Center. And many fail to acknowledge a state law that allows children relocating from outside the country an additional 30 days to provide immunization records. 

鈥淲hen we hear that immigrant families continuously have these challenges 鈥� which are predictable, preventable and solvable 鈥� it鈥檚 really very frustrating,鈥� Moon said, adding that the schools and state departments of education should be better prepared. 

Young immigrants have been flocking to the United States for years, Moon said, and must be provided the language support to which they are legally entitled: Bilingual education programs must be based on sound educational theory, be implemented effectively with all of the necessary resources and evaluated regularly, according to federal guidelines established through . Moon was part of a legal team that won a landmark case against the partly on this premise. 

While the percentage of immigrants in the U.S. has never exceeded 14.8, a high reached in 1890, the numbers have exploded since then: living in the United States in 2019 were born outside the country, a figure that has doubled since 1990. 

Adam Strom, executive director for Re-Imagining Migration, a Boston-based organization which aims to help schools rethink the way they teach immigrants and other children, said newcomer students鈥� talents are too often ignored. 

Concerned about their educational experience, his group recently partnered with the Immigrant Initiative at Harvard University and Youth Truth to craft a national school climate survey around these issues. They are searching for participating districts now. 

鈥淭hey go through school untapped, bored,鈥� Strom said of many multilingual learners. 鈥淭he kids don鈥檛 feel challenged academically 鈥� or, on the other end of the spectrum, they don’t get the help they need to do the assignments.”

Teachers know far too little about the children they serve, he said. He was shocked, upon visiting a school in March, that one student鈥檚 teacher hadn鈥檛 yet discovered that the child, who hailed from Brazil, spoke Portuguese 鈥� not Spanish 鈥� as was presumed. So much of what had been said to that student was lost, Strom said. 

Under supported in school, educational outcomes are often worse for these students. Graduation rates for English learners lag in a vast majority of states: It was just for the 2017-18 school year compared to , according to the most recently available data from the U.S. Department of Education that captures both groups.

The rate was stunningly low in New York state at just 31% that year.

Detained

Of all the children who cross the nation鈥檚 southern border, unaccompanied minors, who come to the country without a guardian, are uniquely vulnerable. Most captured by Border Patrol must be transferred from one of its holding sites 鈥� its has been well documented 鈥� to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours. But they鈥檙e often held longer and their numbers have been rising for years. 

The Office of Refugee Resettlement received 13,625 unaccompanied minor referrals from DHS in the year ending Sept. 30, 2012 and . 

Once the children are in HHS care, the Office of Refugee Resettlement places them inside one of several shelters 鈥� they vary in quality 鈥� while staffers work to find a more permanent solution. All are expected to meet ORR standards 鈥� and include an educational component 鈥� and most must be licensed by the state as facilities housing children, though Texas and Florida no longer vet these sites, removing a critical layer of protection. 

There were 9,620 unaccompanied minors in government care on Oct. 25, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They spent an average of 28 days in federal care as of April, often in highly restrictive and punitive shelters where , according to immigrant advocates. 

It’s after this experience that these children enroll in school 鈥� and they鈥檙e not always welcomed. 

Laura Gardner, founder of Immigrant Connections, a consulting group that works with educators to understand the backgrounds, strengths, and needs of newcomer students, said the national battle around immigration often plays out in schools鈥� front offices when these children attempt to enroll. 

It’s there, she said, that district employees with little to no experience in education policy or knowledge of the law 鈥� and who may bring their own biases to the counter 鈥� can decide their fate. 

鈥淧rincipals need to recognize the importance of the climate of the front office and provide staff with training,鈥� Gardner said. 鈥淎 staff member who resists enrolling a child in school is ruining its climate.鈥�

These disparities became during the pandemic despite that are supposed to ensure English learners have equal access to education. Reversing these trends and improving educational outcomes for children who speak a language other than English at home involves attending to their individual learning through both effective instruction and accurate assessment. 

Effective instruction means employing approaches differentiated by the students’ languages, culture and social experiences to address these significant educational disparities. Accurate assessment means measuring students’ levels of ability in given academic areas to provide educators with predictive information about which are on track for proficiency and which are at risk.

But universal screening assessments are largely published and administered in English. Testing children in all the languages they speak would be ideal; however, more than are spoken in the U.S., and creating each exam and providing the tools and staff to administer them would not be easy. It would mean hiring educators capable of testing students in all languages and investing in the creation of each assessment 鈥� which requires researching the literacy and science of reading in each language as well as validating the assessment through field testing and item calibration. While not impossible, this is a costly endeavor that would take years to accomplish.

Since Spanish is the in the nation, and the first language for 75% to 80% of English learners, providing high-quality assessments in that language should be a priority.

Because language development does not necessarily happen at the same rate or in the same pattern in both languages, English-only approaches underestimate a child鈥檚 ability, generally providing more information about what students can’t do rather than capturing their actual skill set in their home language. This deficit-based approach may provide to guide instructional planning for these students. Assessing Spanish-speaking students in English only, without taking into consideration their English proficiency, can result in lower levels of performance, which may be . Therefore, accurate assessment is needed in both languages in order to truly understand a child’s language and literacy skills and to provide the appropriate level of instructional support. 

Learning to read is central to . Poor literacy can lead to low educational attainment, depressed wages and generational poverty. Reading scores as early as are highly predictive of life outcomes. 

Assessing bilingual students in both their home language and in English provides the of their overall ability. It is important for teachers to know what children are capable of in their home language, because they can leverage these skills during English and bilingual instruction to design effective educational experiences, including lessons, games, group work, that are tailored to the child鈥檚 ability levels in both languages. This is particularly true in the early elementary grades, when home language exposure has a much greater impact on proficiency than the language spoken in school.

Some experts in the field note that high-quality reading assessments for Spanish speakers should focus on the same critical early literacy skills as for English speakers. They should be efficient and easy to administer, and account for specific linguistic features of Spanish. For example, they should include letters that are particular to the Spanish alphabet, and passages should reflect that language’s syntactical, lexical and grammatical rules. 

As an alternative, teachers can support students by learning more about their home languages through parents or interpreters, and understanding which sounds English and the home language have in common. Sounds that are not present in both will be harder for a child to hear and say; knowing this will help a teacher better understand what will transfer between languages and what might present difficulty.

There is a critical need for educators to learn about and start using high-quality reading assessments with students in their home language, especially given the instructional loss that occurred during the pandemic, and particularly in literacy. It is a first necessary step toward identifying the right instruction to help English learners become successful readers.

Some of these children also struggled with a language barrier 鈥� as did their parents 鈥� making the switch to remote learning even tougher, according to UnidosUS, the nation鈥檚 largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, which released the study July 11 at its conference in San Antonio. 

鈥淭his report comes at a pivotal time as our schools and communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacted Latino students and their families,鈥� UnidosUS president and CEO Janet Murgu铆a says in the foreword. 鈥淲e cannot allow hard won educational gains to be reversed, yet we also know that the pre-pandemic status quo was not working as well as it should.鈥澛�

Latinos make up a formidable percentage of the K-12 population, growing from 9% in 1984 to 28% today. Some 94% of those under 18 are U.S.-born citizens and nearly three quarters are of Mexican descent. Despite stringent and sometimes hostile U.S. immigration policies, their numbers are increasing: Latinos are expected to hit 30% of the K-12 population by 2030. 

First Lady Jill Biden, who spoke at the conference Monday, said the White House stands in support of the Latino community. She touched upon the gun safety laws brought about by the tragic shootings in nearby Uvalde, the diversity of the Latino population as a whole and the goals that unite this group. 

鈥淵es, the Latino community is unique,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut what I鈥檝e heard from you again and again is that you want what all families want. Good schools. Good jobs. Safe neighborhoods. You want justice and equality鈥攖he opportunity to build a better life for your families. It鈥檚 not only what all families want; it鈥檚 what all families deserve.鈥�

Latino students have made substantial gains in recent decades on the education front, UnidosUS notes. Their on-time high school graduation rate increased from 71% in the 2010-11 school year to nearly 82% in 2018-19, an all-time high. Likewise, the number of Hispanic students enrolled in postsecondary programs jumped from 782,400 in 1990 to nearly 3.8 million in 2019, a 384% increase.

But both of these figures took a hit in recent years: The on-time Latino high school graduation rate dropped by .7% from 2020 to 2021, according to a data analysis from 25 states representing 57% of the student population. Even more troubling, Latino freshman enrollment in college shrunk by 7.8% in spring 2021 compared to the year before, marking the first such decline in a decade: The figure rebounded by 4% by the spring 2022 semester, UnidosUS found, but it remained below pre-pandemic levels. 

The trend is in keeping with that of the overall college population, which is down by more than 1.4 million undergraduates.

Not all academic indicators are available and many poor students were not tested during the height of COVID, but at least one critical test shows a lag: Latino students in 3rd through 8th grade saw greater declines than their non-Latino white peers on NWEA鈥檚 Measures of Academic Progress, an interim assessment administered in schools across the country.

But, UnidosUS writes in its report, the loss needs to be put in context. Latino students were more likely to attend high-poverty schools that participated in remote instruction for a longer period of time, often yielding a greater rate of learning loss for students, the organization found.

UnidosUS recommends improved data collection and analysis meant to identify academic weaknesses and improve results. It implores districts to honor student鈥檚 rights to their education 鈥� some schools have been sued for failing to enroll immigrant students whom they feel will not graduate on time 鈥� and include the voices of students and their families in shaping education policies and services. 

It also calls for a major increase in funding, a 鈥渂old and historical investment in Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,鈥� the federal formula grant program intended to support English learners by increasing funding from $831 million to $2 billion. 

鈥淪ince 2001, the population of English learners has increased by 35%,鈥� the report notes. 鈥淗owever, Title III funding has not kept pace. When adjusted for inflation, funding has decreased by 24% since 2002.鈥�

The group found Latino students are more likely than their peers to attend a low-rated school and to have a novice teacher. These children also have limited exposure to educators who look like them 鈥� just 9% of teachers are Latino 鈥� which is an important factor in student success. 

And language access remains a challenge: More than three quarters of the nation鈥檚 5.1 million English language learners are Latino and a similar percentage speak Spanish at home.

Research shows students learning English typically make academic gains at rates similar to or higher than their peers, the study notes, but experience greater learning loss in the summer months when they are not in the classroom. The pandemic, which sent the nation鈥檚 entire school population home for months at a time, worsened this slide for Latino children, who were disconnected from their teachers and the technology their schools offered. Just two years prior to the pandemic, data shows nearly a third of Latino households lacked high-speed broadband internet and 17% did not have a computer in the home.

Despite many schools鈥� efforts to place a device in the hands of every child, Latinos remain at a disadvantage. Two years into the pandemic, 1 in 3 often or sometimes faced one of the following problems: They had to complete their homework on a cell phone, were unable to turn in their assignments because they lacked computer or internet access, or were forced to use public Wi-Fi to complete at-home work, UnidosUS reported.

And their lack of connectivity wasn鈥檛 the only problem, the group found: 50% of Latino parents reported having difficulty helping their kids with unfamiliar coursework and 58% had problems communicating with teachers, possibly because of a language barrier and schools鈥� failure to employ translators.  

More than 56 percent of respondents said these students鈥� formal education was significantly disrupted, but they were not the only children to have suffered: Most did not believe they were disproportionately affected as compared to their English-speaking peers, despite evidence to the .

The answers were gleaned from a survey conducted in October by Off2Class, a company that provides curriculum, assessments and professional development tools to ESL teachers. The seven-year-old for-profit is headquartered in Canada but serves more than 90,000 students in 120 countries.

Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents were teachers: The others were tutors. Roughly half live in the United States though many are Americans living and working in other countries. 

Several of the questions were answered on a sliding scale though teachers were able to write their responses to open-ended queries. The results reveal their concerns about the long-term consequences of lower expectations for English language learners 鈥� and about their backsliding, especially in the area of grammar.

Some respondents were concerned about students鈥� mental health and the return of behavioral problems usually seen in elementary school 鈥� getting out of their seat at inappropriate times and name-calling 鈥� while others wondered whether students鈥� enthusiasm for school would return.

鈥淢ost of them just logged in on Zoom, left the computer and pretended not to care,鈥� one educator wrote. 鈥淢y main concern is that it has made them less interested in studying/engaging in future classes.鈥�

Still others focused on the difficulty of learning a new language without close interaction with school staff.

鈥淚 think ESL learning is extremely difficult over the internet when it comes to pronunciation,鈥� another educator said. 鈥淪tudents benefit from being able to mimic mouth movement and that can get lost on video chat.鈥�

More than 44 percent of survey-takers said their schools supplied them with sufficient technology to weather the shutdowns. But more than a quarter disagreed.

It鈥檚 not surprising, then, that more than 62 percent of respondents paid out of pocket for some of the tools they needed to serve their students during the pandemic: They spent hundreds 鈥� or, in some cases, even thousands of dollars 鈥� on additional materials, including books, computers, routers, printers, webcams, headsets and memberships to online educational resources.

But no matter what they purchased, problems persisted. Motivation was a significant hurdle for students learning at home. Not only did they face a massive disruption in their lives because of school closures, but they also wrestled with a faltering economy and in many cases, lost wages for themselves or their families.

Educators said they, too, felt the strain: While many respondents reported an even greater passion for their work 鈥� one said the pandemic, 鈥渉as only increased my desire to improve myself so I can be of further use to my students鈥� 鈥� some were clearly overburdened.

Not all teachers received the help they needed from their schools. While more than 48 percent said they were supported by their employers during the crisis, nearly 20 percent strongly disagreed with the statement. More than 58 percent of respondents said their stress levels rose sharply during the crisis.

鈥淭he way we are treated, the amount of work versus pay, the disrespect and disregard of teacher鈥檚 mental health,鈥� one teacher began, 鈥淚 feel like quitting for good every single day.鈥�

Despite the burnout, there were bright spots: Nearly half the respondents 鈥� 46 percent 鈥� said their confidence in online teaching skyrocketed during the pandemic. Kris Jagasia, CEO and co-founder of Off2Class, was glad to see teachers build their skills in this area.

鈥淟ooking forward, now that ed tech is here to stay, it’s really important that technology be considered very purposefully to make sure the right investments are being made for ELLs,鈥� he said. 

Some respondents were reached through a Facebook group founded by Off2Class while others were contacted by email through the company鈥檚 customer database. Most use its software and were incentivized to participate through T-shirt giveaways and/or a $25 credit toward the purchase of the company鈥檚 goods.

蜜桃影视 contributed several questions to the survey, including those on student retention.

The results, collected between Oct. 22-29, were telling: While some educators might have wished for English language learners to have repeated a grade, only 22 percent recommended this for their own students.

Tim Boals is the founder and director of , an organization that provides language development standards, assessments, and resources to those who support multilingual learners. Based out of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, WIDA has 41 member states and territories which use their language standards and follow their guidelines for teaching these children. 

Boals is well aware of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on traditionally underserved populations, including multilingual learners, but does not believe retention is the answer: He said schools should remember language acquisition takes time.

The real problem, he said, is some educators鈥� lack of faith in these children: If teachers label them unsuccessful, the children themselves will believe they are destined to fail.

鈥淚f we see kids as 鈥榖ehind their peers,鈥� the danger is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that denies them the future opportunities they need,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are plenty of anecdotal examples of people going through most of their school careers at the bottom and then something happens that shows them their potential greatness and they turn it around.鈥�

Success depends on a schoolwide buy-in, with every adult on campus working to create a welcoming and engaging environment for newcomer children and committing themselves to helping them learn English while they master content subjects. All this, Boals said, while respecting and building upon their students鈥� own languages and cultures.

鈥淚t’s a big job, but there are plenty of examples of schools that are succeeding,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to share those examples and ensure that educators have the resources and understanding to create and sustain those learning spaces for multilingual learners.鈥�