NYSUT members welcome newcomers
ast summer, when the news was flooded with stories about displaced migrants and the quandary of where to settle them, union members were on the frontlines, ready to greet them and help them get settled in towns across the state.
“It was a whirlwind last summer,” said Liesha Sherman, president of the Mohonasen Teachers Association. After learning there were 71 school-age children in the group of migrants who had been brought to Rotterdam’s Super 8 motel in July, Sherman and other members of the Mohonasen TA went to work. They organized clothing drives for the families, got students registered for school, and administered NYSITELL, the state-mandated language proficiency assessment for initial identification of ELLs. Sherman also served as a liaison between the group of migrants and the district.
Three experienced ENL teachers had built a robust English language learner program at Mohonasen, but the addition of 71 students effectively doubled the size of the program. To keep pace, district administration hired two additional Spanish-speaking TAs and two additional ENL teachers, but it soon became apparent that students needed more than academic support, said Sherman.
“It is important to remember that these students are beginner ELL students, but they also have interrupted learning and some of them have never been to formal school,” said Sherman.
Sweet Home Central School District also received an influx of 47 English language learners at the beginning of the school year. The district has a sizable number of transfer students each year due in part to its proximity to the University at Buffalo, but this was different, said Paul Szymendera, president of the Sweet Home Educators Association.
“How do you prepare for 47 transient kids all at once?” he asked. “A student who comes from Pennsylvania — okay fine. A student who comes from a whole different country? That’s a very different situation.”
Sweet Home educators quickly realized that creating a welcoming school was going to depend on more than well-staffed programs. “On paper we had enough ENL instructors, but now we are realizing that many of these students have never attended school at all,” Szymendera said. Sweet Home educators were simultaneously helping students recover from the trauma of their journeys and teaching the behavior norms of their new schools, he said. “We’re asking them to take on roles they were never trained for,” he said.
The Saugerties members have tended to the needs of the new families in other ways, too. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ortlieb and a student founded a school store where families can shop for food, free of charge. In the intervening years, demand has skyrocketed and now inventory includes everything from socks and underwear to prom dresses.
NYSUT gives educators a hand in preparing for newcomers by offering seminars and courses through the Education & Learning Trust, the union’s professional development arm. Seminar topics include language acquisition, scaffolding, assessment and culturally responsive teaching.
“NYSUT is committed to supporting the diverse needs of all our members,” said NYSUT Executive Vice President Jaime Ciffone. Ciffone coordinates the union’s Research and Educational Services and ELT.
“By equipping union members with the tools and strategies to effectively engage with ELLs in schools, we ensure that they feel heard, valued, supported, and capable of meeting the needs of every student in their classrooms.”