The times they are a changin’ – and Oxford Area Community Schools is having to change right along with them.
Thanks to growth across the area, school officials have seen a notable increase in the number of students who do not speak English fluently.
“We are finally seeing a lot of the diversity that southern Oakland County and Wayne County have been dealing with for years now,” said Oxford Schools Curriculum Director Karen Eckert. “It’s finally moving this way as the community grows. We’ve really been seeing it over the last two to three years.”
During the 2002-2003 school year, Oxford Schools had 61 students speaking 13 different languages including Africann, Humg, Albanian, Polish, Japanese, Korean, Indian, German and Spanish.
“We are seeing many of the same languages this year because the students have remained,” explained Eckert, “but I expect there will be some new ones once we complete the assessments and get this year’s numbers in.”
Both state and federal regulations require school districts to provide assistance for these students. Each child must be assessed for fluency from levels 1 to 5 – with 1 having no fluency and 5 being able to function successfully in non-modified general classes – and an educational plan created. The three goals for each child are to master the English language, master curriculum language and adjust to American culture and society, while maintaining their own sense of background and culture.
Until this year, Oxford has always addressed these issues individually and given each child a separate plan; however, the numbers have grown far too large for this technique.
In response, Oxford Schools have joined with Holly Schools to begin their own “Limited English Proficiency” programs, also known as English as a Second Language (ESL). To help save on funding, the districts will be sharing an ESL teacher.
“We’ve been working with an Oakland Schools consultant to form the program and she put us in touch with Holly since they are in a similar situation,” said Eckert. “We found that sharing a teacher worked well.”
ESL teacher Karen Hile will be spending every Tuesday and Thursday working with Oxford students. Eckert said she will be using some new techniques for assisting the ESL students.
“She will definitely be taking a different approach to setting up the program such as group work and learning.”
Hile will also be working with other teachers and staff members so that techniques for teaching limited English-speaking students can be carried over into the general classroom.
“These students need a lot of support and we are happy to provide that for them,” said Eckert. “This is very exciting. These kids bring some wonderful experiences to the district and add great diversity.”
Oxford and Holly are looking to join with yet more schools in order to apply for supplemental funding to help with the new programs. Eckert said that 100 students are needed before a grant can even be considered.
As for the future, things will probably just keep growing and growing and growing. Eckert said that as the business world changes, so will the community and the school district.
“Down the road, I anticipate that as we continue to grow and the diversity continues to grow, we will need to adjust and expand even more,” she concluded.