Based on her own experiences, Krishteyn knows the obstacles that face students who speak little or no English when they come to the Berkshires.
"They don't know much," she said. Asked to rate these students' English skills when they arrive in the Berkshires on a scale of one to 10, Krishteyn said, "I would say the majority is at three."
That doesn't mean that Berkshire County's public schools aren't addressing this issue.
Pittsfield is one of several Berkshire County public
The state Department of Education formed the SEI courses following the ballot initiative that state voters approved in 2002 that did away with bilingual education. Teachers are trained to use instructional methods that are designed to include English Language Learners. Public school districts can still offer bilingual education, but it can only be implemented at the request of at least 20 parents in the same grade.
Pittsfield, with 293 ELL
In Pittsfield, the number of ELL students has increased steadily from 150 to 293 in four years. There are currently 18 more students than last year. Thirty-six
The Pittsfield public schools have only five full-time certified ELL teachers. Marilyn Fontana, the Pittsfield program's coordinator, said regular classroom teachers are currently undergoing ELL training.
The primary language for ELL students in all four programs is Spanish. In Lee, Portuguese became the predominant primary language among the 11 students enrolled in the high school program this year.
Despite their lack of English knowledge, some ELL students are very bright, while others have had extensive education in their primary language in their native countries.
The students that struggle the most often have problems understanding their primary language. Berkshire Hills program coordinator Karen Luttenberger said some students who come to the United States have had their education interrupted because they were refugees. According to Lee's program director Cindy Haven, El Salvador has so many people under the age of 20 that the government can't afford to educate them all.
"So these kids are at a disadvantage through no fault of their own," Haven said. "They were simply born in a country that can't afford to educate."
Students who enter high school with poor skills in their primary language often have difficulty passing the MCAS math and English language arts tests, which become a high school graduation requirement in 10th grade.
"Yes, definitely, it's tough," Haven said. "It helps if they have really good skills in their first language."
| » Some Berkshire County ELL students | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each school district also has tutors and teachers in mainstream subjects who have undergone training and participate in the program. |
The ELE program in each school district consists of four levels, set by the state Department of Education: beginner, early intermediate, intermediate and transitioning. Students whose primary language is not English are placed in one of the four levels based on the results of an English proficiency test they take upon registration.
At the end of each school year, ELL students take the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment, or MEPA, test. Those results determine which levels each student will be placed in during the next academic year. Students who are considered to be transitioning are placed in regular education programs, but are mentored by ELL instructors. The Pittsfield public schools last spring surpassed the annual measurable achievement objectives on the language proficiency test by 10 overall percentage points in listening, speaking, reading and writing.
In Lee, ELL students receive instruction in English and social studies, Haven said. In other subjects, such as math, instructors are encouraged to provide those students with lessons that include numbers instead of word problems. Beginners study the alphabet, numbers, colors, days of the week and months of the year, Haven said.
Despite the lack of English skills that most students arrive with, instructors say the majority of the ELL students move through the program very quickly.
"Most of them go out the door in two or three years," Haven said. "It's due to a lot of things. They're in an English-speaking environment five days a week. All the instruction is in English."
Measuring success
Luttenberger said that in her eight years in Berkshire Hills, which serves Great Barrington, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge, only one of her ELE students has dropped out of school.
"And the only one who didn't go to college went into the military," she said.
In North Adams, many of the English Language Learners are placed in foreign language classes when they reach high school, a procedure that differs from many other school districts, program coordinator Viola Moriarty said.
They receive better instruction in grammar through those courses and are able to mingle and make friends with college-bound students, she explained.
"One kid I have in Spanish 1 said, 'I don't speak English, but (the other students) don't speak Spanish,' " Moriarty said. "He said to me, 'It's the one time during the school day when I'm on par with everybody else.' "
Helping others
Krishteyn, who teaches 27 students at Pittsfield High School, said she relies on some of the experiences that she went through to help her students outside of school.
"There were eight people in my family, three generations who came here," she said. "We were sponsored by the Jewish community (the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires). They led us through every single step, how to get a bank account, transportation, buying a car and how to make appointments.
"That's exactly what I do with my students," she said. "They come here scared and confused."
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