HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Hispanic Student Achievement

Helping Hispanic High School Students achieve success in their High Schools

Word count: 4,875

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

Table of

contents.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....2

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4

Introduction……...…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………..

Literature

Review…….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...6

Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11

Results…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…14

Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…....20

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……...22

References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………..2

4
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Appendix A………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………26

Appendix B………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………32

Appendix C………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………38

Appendix D……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…41

Appendix E………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………44

Appendix F………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………47

Appendix G………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……...…50
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Abstract

The purpose of this research is to identify the reasons behind the achievement gap within
Hispanic students in High school so as to determine what factors influence their level of success
within a new educational system in a new country within a new culture to assimilate to. The
current research shows that legal and socioeconomic status as well as the lack of knowledge
about the US educational system impedes many Hispanic students to reach their greatest
potential to higher education and leadership within their communities. However, there is no
research that truly encompasses the challenges that teachers face within the language barrier
inside the classroom, and how much this affects the educational development of the Hispanic
ESL student. This mixed method study was conducted in the form of a survey for students and a
separate interview process for teachers that was semi structured. Survey data was collected from
two different groups of students, which each consisted of 8 participants. The two groups were
divided between ESL students and Non-ESL students. Five interviews were conducted and each
was analyzed through a coding pattern process, where three main focuses were determined:
Philosophy/Classroom Structure, Background, and Emotional Responses. Within the results of
my study, the survey data emphasized the fact that ESL students have a much harder time
realizing academic success in their high school, which was demonstrated in the form of average
gpa scores, extracurricular participation, and participation/advocacy in class. The findings
indicated that teachers definitely have challenges in teaching these students and that ESL
trainings do not provide the needed help. Therefore challenging the student, gaining a level of
sympathy, and creating an initiative program can help to create a better academic environment
for the student and the generations after.
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Introduction

Throughout my time as a Student Ambassador for my school, my job consisted of

welcoming students, taking the new student to their classes, picking them up from their classes,

giving the new student a tour of the school, and eating lunch with them for the first two days

unless they had already made a friend. Over my time as an Ambassador I began to specialize in

helping new students who came from Latin America with little to no English proficiency. I

wondered as I took them to their classes, how they would cope within their learning without

really knowing or understanding the language in which the teacher taught in. I wondered if there

was really any realistic hope for them here in America. Without a High School education, their

lives become very limited in what they can find as a career. I hypothesized that there might be a

difficult issue here in my high school, where Hispanic students may not have the same

educational opportunity as other students, thus contributing to a negative growth in terms of

academic rigor, graduation rates, and extracurriculars within the Hispanic ethnic minority. The

Hispanic students also tend to group themselves and isolate themselves from the customs of the

school, such as the lack of participation from Hispanic minority students in extracurriculars. My

research is then designed to investigate what can be done to better develop teachers so that these

teachers can better develop these students, despite the language barrier.
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Review of the Literature

Introduction

Within the influx of Latino immigrants entering the United States, 19.5 million out of

56.6 million who identified as Hispanic or Latino (Krogstad, 2016), there has been an influx of

Hispanic students entering the US school systems. Many of the students arrive at the US after

middle school, thus making the transition to a new country much more difficult, where schools

provide English-only programs that lack the language and cultural perspectives that are much

needed within teacher and staff training sessions. The student is then forced into a fast and

ineffective assimilation and acculturation of American culture that can break an ideological tie to

the formation of the student’s identity creating a possibility of negative social behavior and an

increase in the educational achievement gap between white and Latino students within the

observance of test scores, graduation rates, and course rigor/offerings. For Hispanics in the

United States, the educational experience is one of accumulated disadvantage that often stems

from parents' immigrant and socioeconomic status and their lack of knowledge about the U.S.

education system. As Hispanic students proceed through the schooling system, inadequate school

resources and their weak relationships with their teachers continue to undermine their academic

success, resulting in Hispanics having the lowest rates of high school and college degree

attainment, which hinders their chances for stable employment (Schneider, B. 1970). So the
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question becomes: To what extent is the educational achievement gap among Hispanic high

school students in North Carolina due to a lack in teacher instruction on the necessary

approaches for the educational development of immigrant students in terms of their standardized

test scores, graduation rates, and course rigor?

An Understanding of the Problem

In order to grasp a firm understanding of the struggles and challenges that each

immigrant student holds, it is important to take a look at existing bodies of research on the

subject matter. There are many studies that take a deep understanding of the achievement gap

with the education of Hispanic students, whether it be in the midst of economic, educational,

social, cultural, or even scientific lenses that create the reality and its immense controversy in the

current world society.

The article, “The Crisis in the Education of Latino Students,” recognizes and

acknowledges three important questions regarding the controversy surrounding Hispanic

Students. Patricia Gandara, a professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education at the

University of California–Los Angeles, asks 1) Is there really a Latino Education Crisis, or is it

just a passing phenomenon attributable to recent high immigration? 2) If there is a crisis, what

are its dimensions and what has caused it? 3) What are some of the policies that we must

consider to effectively address the crisis? (Gándara, P. 2008). She reviews each question with

statistical evidence to support her claims that there is, in fact, a crisis; however, as stated in later

sources, the crisis is not new and has in fact, been a struggle to surmount for these students and
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their families. She further addresses the root causes of the situation that includes economic,

social, and educational factors, such as low human and social capital within the student’s

families, an economy with very few entry-level jobs, the lack of necessary resources to meet the

basic need of every student, and inadequate social services, (Gándara, P. 2008).

In the current view that society holds for immigrants as a whole, there is a misconception

within the fact that the struggle that immigrants face within legal status and immigration is fairly

recent, when in fact it is not. According to Claudio Sanchez, an Education Correspondent for

NPR and a Class of 2007 Fellow by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard

University, Hispanic students and their families have faced hardships since the mid 1900s where,

before ​Brown v Board of Education​ was established, Hispanic students were separated because

of their lack of the English language, lack of proper health habits, and lack of training in morals,

manners and cleanliness (Sanchez, C. 2016). Discrimination was the foundation for the struggle

for achievement which can be accounted by an example of a statement made by a school board

member in nearby El Modena, where he states "If we educate the Mexicans better, who would

pick our crops?" (Sanchez, C. 2016). The importance of the timeline of historical events based

on detailed presidential eras where much change and action was acquired, such as the ​No Child

Left Behind Act,​ is an important detail to note because of an assumption that can be easily

misunderstood within the context of student achievement and its recentness. According to a

report on Achievement Gaps between white and Hispanic students made by the commissioner

for the National Center for Education Statistics, there has been an improvement in narrowing the

gap, but a significant gap still persists (Buckley's, J. 2011). This report defines an Achievement

gap as an occurrence when a group of students (such as students grouped by race/ethnicity,

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gender) outperforms another group and the difference in average scores for the two groups is

statistically significant (that is, larger than the margin of error). By drawing comparisons within

statistical data to support his claims of how Hispanic and White Students in Public Schools

Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Jack

Buckley provides an account of information in detail of the size of the achievement gaps at the

state and national levels by describing how those achievement gaps have changed over time.

Ethnic and racial information is additionally informative of the report that derives from results

from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) from the year 2009. Trend data

are provided to begin since 1990, which compares reading and mathematics test scores and

achievement, state by state, in either the widening or the narrowing of the achievement gap. This

report by the commissioner, Jack Buckley, provides credibility in terms of the fact that he works

for the National Center for Education Statistics, where it is a part of the US Department of

Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics

on education and public school district finance information in the United States.

Within the initiatives that the ESL (English as a Second Language) program provides,

there are several factors that affect the acquisition of a second language, including learner

characteristics or personal traits, situational or environmental factors, and prior language

development and competence (Robinson, Keogh, & Kusuma-Powell). The importance of the

distinguishing factors that separate the fact that not all students who enter are equal is an

equalizing force that creates a new set of consideration to take place. When students enter a U.S.

high school, ESL professors face different types of backgrounds with each student that makes an

equal education difficult. Each student has different needs and different capabilities. For
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example, some students may be affluent in literature and mathematics, while not understand the

English language, yet others may not be affluent in educational matters and have a lack of

understanding within the English Language. Even simple personality traits differentiate the

capabilities that each student holds, where a student who is self-confident with extrovert qualities

will attempt verbal interactions in another language more quickly than their timid counterparts,

speeding up social adjustment in the new environment (Robinson, Keogh, & Kusuma-Powell).

According to TESOL (International Association, formerly Teachers of English to Speakers of

Other Languages), effective education for ESL students comprises five dimensions; native-like

levels of proficiency in English, the maintenance and promotion of ESL students' native

languages in school and community contexts, all educational personnel assumes responsibility

for the education of ESL students, the comprehensive provision of first-rate services and full

access to those services by all students, and knowledge of more than one language and culture is

advantageous for all students (Sparks, 2017). Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds

may have difficulty if instruction presumes middle-class experiences. Other students may have

learning difficulties stemming from linguistic or cultural differences. These difficulties may

become harder to overcome if the instruction is not modified to address the students' specific

needs. Unless these students receive appropriate intervention, they will continue to struggle, and

the gap between their achievement and that of their peers will widen over time (Ortiz, A. 2007).

This is a growing issue within the ESL initiative, who carry the known considerations for these

immigrant students. However, once taken into consideration the fact that the rest of the schooling

system and its teachers hold little to no understanding on how to further develop the educational

achievement for this incoming students, there is a gap in knowledge that is further researched.
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Methodology

Within the purposes of my mixed method research that concentrates on the grounds of

being qualitative research, individual Hispanic student participants were asked if they are

comfortable sharing their academic records throughout the year. Within this sample of

participants the researcher was able to analyze their academic trends and find a correlation

between outreach and no outreach programs. There are two groups that worked as a comparison

to each other, one group was involved in an outreach program, the other was not involved in an

outreach program. An outreach program is defined as an activity of providing services to any

populations who might not otherwise have access to those services. In this case, half of the

student participants were involved within an outreach program, SinLímites, where they are

provided academic guidance. When the students were willing to share their academic records,

they were given a consent form.

This study was conducted in a suburban high school in North Carolina, which is 53.2%

white, 13.9% Hispanic, 24.6% African American, and 3.6% Asian. The high school is a top rated

school that offers many Honors and AP courses to choose from. The school is comprised of over

1,900 students and staff. Within the participants that are selected, all are of Hispanic ethnicity

and some are either first or second generation immigrants. It is important to make a distinction in

the immigrant status within the selection process because of external factors that may confound

the information and distort the reality of each student’s situation. The number of student

participants should comprise of a sample of at least 30 students to observe for this research
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experiment, via an electronic survey that was created as a Google Form. All aspects of the survey

were explained to the student participants, including the purpose and the importance before

asking for permission to access their academic records, such as their GPA. (Appendix A) There

is also a version of the survey that was conducted in Spanish. (Appendix B)

The second part of the mixed method research was interviewing teachers, where I also

explained all aspects of the experiment to the teacher participants, including the purpose and the

importance before interviewing the teachers and surveying their experience with students who

are from Latin American countries. Before beginning each research interview, participants were

provided with a written informed consent form and told that interviews would be audio recorded

and transcribed. Within the interview process, I provided a semi-structured interview that

contained the following guiding questions.

Guiding Initial Questions

What is your teaching philosophy?

How would you describe the structure of your classroom management?

Do you encounter any challenges?

Do you have any ESL students in your classroom?

How would you describe the experience of the ESL student in this classroom?

Has anyone reached out to you for tips and advice on how to help these students?

Teachers were then asked to answer these questions as accurately as possible. Based on the

answers given, a determination in the relationship between the struggle of communication and
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the level of preparation a teacher holds in instituting education may be established. The selection

of the teachers is important to specify due to the fact that the teachers interviewed were selected

based on the fact that they have Hispanic ESL and ELL (English Language Learners) students in

their classroom. This interview provided an up close examination of challenges that a teacher

may face on a daily basis.

Each participant was given and labeled a letter in such a way as to acquire testing security

and the privacy of each participant because of ethical concerns. The teachers were interviewed in

a setting that is quiet with no limit as to the time allotted for the interview. There is no time limit

because it is a significant factor to consider in order for the teachers to not feel rushed or

pressured. The interviewing period should last only about a week and at most two, depending of

the teacher’s work schedule.

There is a limitation of time with the two student groups because of the fact that the

observation of the student participants will continue throughout the year in order to allow for a

trend in academic records to be analyzed. I acquired two sets of data. The first set of data came

from the first student group that is involved in an outreach program. The second set of data came

from the second student group that is not in an outreach program. The data will come in the form

of test scores, average grades, and academic rigor. I hope that the data will provide a pattern that

will allow for further analysis and comparison. Another limitation may be the fact that this study

does not contain a random sample of the student population due to the fact that the sample is a

specific group of people, the same applies to the sample of the teachers being interviewed.

Within this study, the collection of data was organized using thematic analysis, an

interpretive phenomenological approach whose emphasis is on the participant’s own views of the
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phenomena under investigation. This form of qualitative research is a defining factor that

involves the examination of data/interview transcripts with the intended objective of finding

repeating patterns of meaning.

Results

Within the means of the interview process, a descriptive coding process was enacted

with the following procedures: The transcription of the audio recorded interviews were

downloaded onto an application “Trint,” where audio recordings were automatically transcribed.

Once transcription was complete, I checked to see if there were any errors. Upon that, I then

coded and highlighted the themes that were distributed within the many patterns found inside the

transcripts, inserting quotes into their own categories of Philosophy/Classroom Structure,

Background, and Emotional Responses. These patterns enhanced an understanding of qualitative

data that offers true experiences in the real world within the local community. Learning about the

perspective of the teacher inside a classroom allows for a connection of dots within the situation

at hand that may seem out of reach.

Five teachers were interviewed, each were from a different subject, (science, english,

math, history) and the distribution of time within each interview varied. Each teacher was labeled

a letter, A through E, in order to provide anonymity and privacy. (Appendix C) The lack of

limitation in time is important to note, because each teacher has different allotted times dedicated

to this interview. They were reached via email and each had a semi structured interview, which

does provide slightly different questions for the teachers as the interview becomes more catered

towards the answers given and what is discussed. However, the responses were all similar and

had parallels to each other, which enhances thematic study.

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Teacher A expressed more emotional responses, by stating her feelings and her

perspective of the Hispanic ELL students in her classroom, where she felt that one on one

checking was “​harder on me and tiring​” and “​I still struggle with differentiating from language

and not necessarily ability​.” She also described the language barrier and how she feels

“​frustrated because I feel like I am not reaching them. And I feel frustrated because I don’t know

what they need.​” When asked about the way in which she structures her classroom, she depicted

how she lowers the standards of the workload and “​feels bad [that] it is not really respectful

work.​”

Teacher B expressed an equal amount of philosophy/classroom structure as well as

background references. One of his most concurrent practice was to separate the ESL students

away from the bilingual student, and “​I also don’t want them to speak anything but English...I

know the fastest way and most uncomfortable way to learn English is called baptism by fire.​” He

also stressed the importance of having a bilingual teacher cadet because “​then [the bilingual

students] were able to then just focus on their learning and not other peoples learning.​” The fact

that “​not just students but humans rise to expectations,​” is concluded by his experiences with

other cultures such as Korea, where he taught at an English private academy. There he “​kind of

took ideas from my experiences overseas and then I try to use those but holding on to high

expectations.​” His experience overseas also allowed him to be ESL certified.

Teacher C directed most of the discussion towards her classroom structure where her

philosophical view of teaching encompasses “​the phrase growth mindset...to me they’re all the

same but they are not all at the same point.​” She also expressed that “​everyone can learn, but

that’s naive in a way.​” She continues to structure her classroom as she has been told to by
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County Training for Teachers with ELL students where she will “​try to find a student who does

speak a Spanish.​” Just like Teacher A, she also stressed the importance of “​being open with them

and not scare them to death that they’re not going to come to you. Let them verbalize that I’m

here to help you.​” She depicted a challenge that may change, “​but that’s one thing I have an

issue with, standardized testing because it’s in English.​”

Teacher D gave greater insight into the physical structure of her classroom management

which was embedded into her philosophy where she will give lectures and hands on activities

because she wants “​the kids to get it.​” Like other teachers, she tries to do her best in helping the

Hispanic ELL students by accommodating their learning, “​we got books in Spanish even though

it’s not the version we use, and I translated their tests into spanish, I try to translate anything

digitally.​” As it is her first time teaching ELL Hispanic students, she can “​survive luckily so I

paired them and that seemed to help​” and with “​the ones that came regularly, I paired them with

a dual bilingual student and that seemed to help as well.​”

Teacher E provided much more background about her life growing up than other teachers

interviewed. Her hardships in life defined her empathetic emotions and the nature of those

feeling identify her as a teacher with good experience for teaching. She stated that she loved to

learn from a young age, “​I started assigning books for me to read, I started assigning topics.”

This dedication to learning didn’t end there, she still continues to enrich her knowledge by “​I'm

always buying books about teaching articles and I read latest research ideas and I try things and

if it doesn't work I try something else.​” She stresses the importance of the continuance of

learning due to the fact that all of the hardships disappear, “​Teaching becomes easier so many

things become easier than it's really worth it to try to reach all of your students.​” Trying to seem
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open to the child and motivational in a one on one level allows for the student to open up to the

teacher about personal issues, which allows the teacher to get a better understanding as to why

they don’t do their work or sleep in class. So personal interaction is something heavily expressed

throughout her discussion. She also realizes that other teachers may not have the same

experiences as her or the work ethic and brings attention to the fact that “​I think a lot of teachers

are so overwhelmed they work so hard they have so much to do and it can sometimes feel like

we're expected to do everything.​” With proper guidance this could change.

The survey conducted allowed for a deeper understanding of the student perspective

where both Hispanic ELL students and Non ELL Hispanic students were represented. Within

both surveys the students answered to the best of their ability. The survey results are shown

below:

Figure 1 ELL Students Non ELL Students Key

Enrolled in
Honors

Extracurricular
participation

Average
Collective GPA 2.294057143 3.6675 N/A
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Satisfaction with
GPA

Favorite Subject

Figure 2 ​Participation in Class

From a scale 1-5,

how often do
you raise your
hand to answer a
question?
(Non ELL
Students)

From a scale 1-5,

how often do
you raise your
hand to answer a
question?
(ELL Students)
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From a scale 1-5,

how often do
you raise your
hand when you a
question? (Non
ELL Students)

From a scale 1-5,

how often do
you raise your
hand when you a
question? (ELL
Students)

Figure 3 ​Student Advocacy

From a scale
from 1-5, how
often do you stay
after school or
receive help
outside the
classroom? (Non
ELL Students)

From a scale
from 1-5, how
often do you stay
after school or
receive help
outside the
classroom? (ELL
Students)
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Discussion

The interviews placed different set of perspectives due to the fact that everyone is

different, and everybody has different hardships and challenges as well as different backgrounds

and origins. Despite this being necessary for a humanistic perspective, the interviews displayed

several patterns of repetitiveness within the fact that their greatest obstacle is the language

barrier. The language barrier continued to surpass as something that is unmanageable or very

hard to manage. Taking into consideration the background and the experiences that each teacher

has held, Teacher B and Teacher E both displayed the importance of helping the ELL students to

challenge themselves and separating them from their bubble, and as Teacher E stated “It

becomes a corruption” to place the ESL student with the bilingual student. Both Teacher B and

Teacher E have had different sets of experiences that helps them differentiate from the other

teachers interviewed. Teacher B explained how his experiences abroad helped him to better

understand the importance of languages and therefore the knowledge of it, as well as learning

from the practices that other countries accomplish in order to teach English as a second language.

Teacher E displayed her background as a child which depicted hardships and opportunities,

where poverty was a constraint but her role models, her teachers, influenced her in the positive

direction of success despite the limitations in her life. Having a deep understanding can only be

accomplished when the person can empathize. It is a known fact and the same applies in the

educational system. Teachers A, C, and D, all described the idea of putting the ESL students next

to a student who is bilingual. They also do not see a way in which the situation can be helped

because of the fact that they do not feel as though they have the concurrent knowledge to better

educate these students. The language barrier for these teachers creates a blur in the educational
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process of teaching and learning. All the teachers described that the help of the ESL trainings

isn’t as beneficial as it should be. They grasp as much as they can, but Teachers B, C, and E do

not agree with some of the advice that these trainings provide such as the action of putting the

Hispanic ESL students next to the bilingual student, the only exception is during the very

beginning of their time in their classrooms.

The survey also provided meaningful data that was used for analysis. Within each set of

questions, there is a discrepancy between Non ELL students and ELL students. Figure 1 depicts

pie charts that represent the percentage of students who either said yes or no, or stated their own

option. When asked whether the student was enrolled in honor classes, the ELL students

responded in a collective manner that they weren’t, compared to the Non-ELL students who

were for the most part. This alone demonstrates the lack of rigor or challenging measures that the

ELL students do not take advantage of because they do not believe in themselves. The second

question asks about their extracurricular participation. There is a disconnect between the ELL

student and the activities offered at the school that may not require English knowledge. Yet

because of the fact that these opportunities are not presented to them, they do not know that they

can take a hobby at school. It is ideal for a student to involved in someway in college, this alone

puts the ELL student at a disadvantage for college preparedness. The lower collective GPA

(weighted) for ELL students is predictable due to the lack of honors course participation. This,

again, hinders their preparation for college. It is interesting, however, that the ELL students are

mainly dissatisfied with their overall GPA. They have the opportunity to improve, yet they don’t.

It is worth the time to investigate whether teachers or administrators directly do not put the

student in honors assuming that since the student has no English proficiency, the student will not
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do well in an Honors class. Another surprising aspect of the survey was the question of their

favorite subject. Within the Non-ELL group, there is a variety subjects that are the favorites of

the students, but when considering the ELL group, there is only one student who has a favorite

subject other than math, which is Physical Education. All of the other students surveyed stated

Math as their favorite subject, which should be further investigated. All that can be predicted at

this point is that Math is a universal subject, where the student can understand the same numbers.

It is important to note, however, that there could be outside factors that should be considered.

Throughout Figure 2, Participation is being compared within the same two groups. The majority

of the ELL students do not raise their hand whenever they have a question. This could be due to

a cultural factor where in their native country it is not seen as good manners to interrupt the

teacher while he/she is teaching, or they could be intimidated and shy to speak up in front of the

class. The same seems to happen when the student raises their hand to answer a question, the

majority of ELL students don’t due to the stated reasons above. Figure 3 describes the advocacy

level of each student from each group. Here it is seen that ELL students do not tend to stay after

school or receive outside help, hindering their educational experience. It can be inferred that

there learning is not occuring inside of the classroom because these students are not receiving the

best grades that they could achieve. So, even though they need help, they don’t take advantage of

outside opportunities.

Conclusion

Throughout the analysis that was given, it is accomplished that teachers do have a lack of

understanding as to how to better develop these incoming foreign students who arrive from Latin

America with little to no English proficiency, as was hypothesized. Of course, this is not the case
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for all teachers and it is important to note the practices and philosophy that these exemplar

teachers hold. There is a significant importance to the empathizing action that is very limited and

can not be given. Sympathy, however, can be achieved and not in the form of pity, but rather

understanding. Just knowing the personal situation of each student, culturally, is really helpful.

Teaching teachers to challenge the student is imperative for the educational development of the

student. Giving challenging work, other than the translation of vocabulary, will further motivate

the student to work harder to learn English in their ESL class. Having an initiative program

within the schools extracurriculars is something to consider. Having new role models who were

in their shoes and have achieved success despite the hardships, gives an intrinsic incentive to

work harder in school. Showing the opportunities offered allows for the student to have at least a

choice. Rather than assuming that the language barrier can not be broken, it is important for the

student to know that it really is up to them whether they want to succeed or not. All they need is

the choice. Teachers have this responsibility as a whole. Helping teachers teach these students

with important methods of sympathy, challenging, and initiative programs, will allow for greater

growth within the learning of each incoming foreign student from Latin America.
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References

Buckley's, J. (2011, June 23). Achievement Gaps: How Hispanic and White Students in

Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of

Educational Progress. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from

https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/commissioner/remarks2011/06_23_2011.asp

Gándara, P. (2008). The Crisis in the Education of Latino Students. Retrieved November 05,

2017, from ​http://www.nea.org/home/17404.htm

Ivey, P. S. (2011, May). Overcoming Language and Cultural Barriers in School 1. Retrieved

November 5, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED519664.pdf

Krogstad, J. M. (2016, September 15). 10 facts for National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Retrieved December 19, 2017, from

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/15/facts-for-national-hispanic-heritage-mo

nth/

Ortiz, A. (2007, December). Special Education and English Language Learners. Retrieved

November 5, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED469207.pdf

Robinson, N., Keogh, B., & Kusuma-Powell, O. (n.d.). Chapter 6: Who Are ESL Students?

Retrieved November 5, 2017, from https://www.state.gov/m/a/os/44038.htm

HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
25

Sanchez, C. (2016, November 15). Tougher Times For Latino Students? History Says They've

Never Had It Easy. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/15/502011688/tougher-times-for-latino-students-

history-says-theyve-never-had-it-easy

Schneider, B. (1970, January 01). Barriers to Educational Opportunities for Hispanics in the

United States. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19909/

Sparks, S. D. (2017, March 23). Teaching English-Language Learners: What Does the

Research Tell Us? Retrieved December 15, 2017, from

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/05/11/teaching-english-language-learners-what-

does-the-research.html
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
26

Appendix A

English Student Survey

My name is ​Maria Cuenca​, and I am a senior at ​Heritage High School​, enrolled in AP Research. For this course,
research must be done on a topic that can fit into larger academic discussions. My research project focuses on
determining the major implications of the lack in teacher instruction for the development of Hispanic High School
Student's educational achievement in terms of academic rigor, test scores, and graduation rates in the state of North
Carolina. I am asking for your voluntary participation in my AP Capstone project. Please read the following
information about the project.

About this Project:

If you choose to participate, you will be asked to answer a series of questions about your academic environment in
school. This survey should take no longer than 10 minutes. Your participation in this study could potentially further
knowledge in the sociology fields regarding language and cultural barriers for Hispanic students.

Privacy:

The answers given in these surveys will be kept completely confidential. No personal information aside from your
age and grade will be collected. Please note that some demographic questions (household income) are optional.
Again, your information will be completely anonymous.

Voluntary Participation:

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you decide not to participate there will not be any negative
consequences. Please be aware that if you decide to participate, you may stop participating at any time. If you would
like to participate, please sign in the appropriate area below.

If you have any questions about this study, feel free to contact me at: ​mjcuenca@students.wcpss.net

Participant Assent

By signing this form I am attesting that I have read and understand the information above and I freely give my
consent/assent to participate.

Demographic Survey

Please enter the following demographic information before continuing with the rest of the survey.

1. What is your gender? *

Female

Male
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
27

Prefer not to say

2. What grade are you in? *

Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

3. How old are you? *

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

4. Including yourself, how many people live within your household? *

5. Are you an only child? *

Yes

No

6. Are you the oldest sibling in your family

Yes

No
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
28

N/A

7. What is your household income? (Optional)

< $10,000

$10,001 - $20,000

$20,001 - $30, 000

$30,001 - $50, 000

> $50,000

8. Were you born in the US? *

Yes

No

9. If not, how old were you when you arrived?

10. Are you a first generation student or a second generation student? *

First Generation

Second Generation

Other:

Academic Environment

Please enter the following academic environment information before continuing with the rest of the survey.

11. Have you been placed in ESL at any time? *

Yes

No

12. Are you currently enrolled in an ESL Classroom? *

Yes
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
29

No

13. What is your favorite subject in school? *

Math

English/Language Arts

Science

History/Social Studies

Other:

14. What is your least favorite subject in school? *

Math

English/Language Arts

Science

History/Social Studies

Other:

15. From a scale from 1 to 5, how often do you raise your hand to answer a question? *

12345

Never Always

16. From a scale from 1 to 5, how often do you raise your hand when you have a question? *

12345

Never Always

17. From a scale from 1 to 5, how often do you stay after school or receive help outside the

classroom? *

12345
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
30

Never Always

18. If you have taken ACT, what is your average score? (Type N/A, If you haven't taken the ACT)*

19. If you have taken the SAT, what is your average score? (Type N/A, If you haven't taken the SAT)*

20. What is your current GPA? (weighted) *

21. What is your average school grade? *

<50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91+

22. Are you satisfied with your current grade average at school? *

Yes

No

23. Approximately how much time do you spend on homework each day? *

None

Less than one hour

1-2 hours

3-4 hours

5 or more hours

24. Do you participate in extracurricular Activities *

Yes
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
31

No

25. Are you or have you enrolled in AP Classes? *

Yes

No

26. Are you or have you enrolled in Honors Classes? *

Yes

No

27. Is there anything else you would like to share, such as a personal experience? *

Thank you for your time and consideration, it is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions regarding this survey
or my research, don't hesitate to contact me at ​mjcuenca@students.wcpss.net
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
32

Appendix B

Spanish Student Survey

Mi nombre es ​María Cuenca​, y soy una estudiante de grado 12 en ​Heritage High School​, inscrita en AP Research.
Para este curso, la investigación debe hacerse sobre un tema que pueda encajar en discusiones académicas más
amplias. Mi proyecto de investigación se enfoca en determinar las principales implicaciones de la falta de
instrucción docente para el desarrollo del rendimiento educativo de los estudiantes Hispanos de escuela secundaria
en términos de rigor académico, puntajes en exámenes y tasas de graduación en el estado de Carolina del Norte.
Estoy solicitando su participación voluntaria en mi proyecto AP Capstone. Por favor, lea la siguiente información
sobre el proyecto.

Acerca de este proyecto:

Si decide participar, se le pedirá que responda una serie de preguntas sobre su entorno académico en la escuela. Esta
encuesta no debería tomar más de 10 minutos. Su participación en este estudio podría potenciar aún más el
conocimiento en los campos de sociología con respecto a las barreras lingüísticas y culturales para los estudiantes
hispanos.

Privacidad:

Las respuestas dadas en estas encuestas se mantendrán completamente confidenciales. No se recopila información
personal aparte de su edad y grado. Tenga en cuenta que algunas preguntas demográficas (ingreso familiar) son
opcionales. Nuevamente, su información será completamente anónima.

Participacion voluntaria:

La participación en este estudio es completamente voluntaria. Si decides no participar, no habrá consecuencias

negativas. Tenga en cuenta que si decide participar, puede dejar de participar en cualquier momento. Si desea
participar, firme en el área correspondiente a continuación.

Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre este estudio, no dude en ponerse en contacto conmigo en:
mjcuenca@students.wcpss.net

Consentimiento del participante

Al firmar este formulario, certifico que he leído y entendido la información anterior y doy mi consentimiento /
consentimiento libremente para participar.

Encuesta Demográfica

1. ¿Cuál es su género? *

Mujer
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
33

Hombre

Prefiero no decirlo

2. ¿En qué grado estás? *

10

11

12

3. ¿Cuantos años tienes? *

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Other:

4. Incluyéndote a ti mismo, ¿cuántas personas viven en tu hogar? *

5. ¿Eres hijo único? *

Sí

No

6. ¿Eres el hermano mayor de tu familia? *

HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
34

Sí

No

N/A

7. ¿Cuál es su ingreso familiar? (Opcional)

< $10,000

$10,001 - $20,000

$20,001 - $30, 000

$30,001 - $50, 000

> $50,000

8. ¿Naciste en los Estados Unidos? *

Sí

No

Si no, ¿qué edad tenías cuando llegaste?

9. ¿Eres un estudiante de primera generación o un estudiante de segunda generación? *

primera generación

segunda generación

Other:

Ambiente académico

Ingrese la siguiente información del entorno académico antes de continuar con el resto de la encuesta.

10. ¿Te han colocado en ESL en cualquier momento? *

Sí

No
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
35

11. ¿Está actualmente inscrito en un curso de ESL? *

Sí

No

N/A

12. ¿Cual es tu materia favorita en la escuela? *

Matemáticas

Ingles

Ciencia

Historia/Estudios Sociales

Otro

13. ¿Cuál es tu materia menos favorita en la escuela? *

Matemáticas

Ingles

Ciencia

Historia/Estudios Sociales

Otro

14. Desde una escala de 1 a 5, ¿con qué frecuencia levanta la mano para responder una pregunta?*

12345

Nunca

Siempre

15. Desde una escala del 1 al 5, ¿con qué frecuencia levanta la mano cuando tiene una pregunta?*

12345
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
36

Nunca

Siempre

16. Desde una escala del 1 al 5, ¿con qué frecuencia se queda después de la escuela o recibe ayuda fuera de la
classe? *

12345

Nunca

Siempre

17. Si ha tomado el ACT, ¿cuál es su puntaje promedio? (Escriba N/A, si no ha tomado el ACT)*

18. Si ha tomado el SAT, ¿cuál es su puntaje promedio? (Escriba N/A, si no ha tomado el SAT) *

19. ¿Cuál es tu GPA actual? *

20. ¿Cuál es su promedio de calificaciones escolares? *

<50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91+

21. ¿Estás satisfecho con tu promedio de calificaciones actual en la escuela? *

Sí

No

22. ¿Aproximadamente cuánto tiempo pasas en la tareas todos los días? *

Ninguna
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
37

Menos de una hora

1-2 horas

3-4 horas

5 o mas horas

23. ¿Participas en actividades extracurriculares? *

Sí

No

24. ¿Estás o te has matriculado en clases de AP? *

Sí

No

25. ¿Estás o te has matriculado en clases de Honores? *

Sí

No

26. ¿Hay algo más que le gustaría compartir, como una experiencia personal? *

Gracias por su tiempo y consideración, es muy apreciado. Si tiene alguna pregunta con respecto a esta encuesta o mi
investigación, no dude en ponerse en contacto conmigo en ​mjcuenca@students.wcpss.net
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
38

Appendix C

Teacher Transcripts

Teacher A

[00:00:03] ​So whenever I’ve had specifically Spanish speaking English learners in biology, I am more concerned
about their comfort level sometimes maybe more than they are, like I worry that I'm not being culturally sensitive by
the speed that I'm in, because I don't usually slow down the class as a whole.

[00:00:42] ​But I do so because of that I try to do a lot of one on one checking which does make it harder on me and
tiring. I think if I have several students that need that language check.

[00:00:59] ​But I feel like they get more out of it if I am coming in and checking in with them one on one than just
doing large things as a class. I differentiate a lot anyway in my classes. And so I think there are activities that are
already available kind of different levels.

[00:01:25] ​What I don't think I'm very good at is something I still struggle with is differentiating from language and
not necessarily ability. So I'm not good at judging someone's ability that may be very bright and capable, but there's
that language barrier so I'm not seeing that. And I think in other classes what might happen is they always just
choose for themselves or are assigned by the teacher. Kind of a lower level activity, when I think we can do a better
job of taking some of our higher level concepts and just adjusting to address their language.

[00:02:13] ​My concern is students in science are not always working at their academic level because of their
language barrier.

[00:02:24] ​I don't know that I have the ability to create assignments like that.

Student: In general what would you say is your teaching philosophy?

[00:02:39] ​I think in general my teaching philosophy is, everyone in a class, to truly learn that each student needs to
be working just outside of their comfort level. And it's my job as a teacher to plan activities so that their slightly
uncomfortable because I feel like that's where we learn. And it's my job also to put structures in place to get them to
the point where they do feel comfortable. So, to plan activities so everyone can be in a level where they're just
outside their comfort zone. And then those activities walk them to a point where they have the information.

[00:03:31] ​Because if things are too easy everyone likes that but no one's really learning science. But if it's too hard
you get a lot of shut down. So I want to get everyone to that point where they're comfortable with science and enjoy
the science. That's different for everybody. And I'm really only to the point in my teaching where I can kind of
address the different levels there's three levels and I know it you know everybody knows in the classroom 30 people
there's in reality 30 different levels. So I feel like the English language learners have this barrier on top of them
because I don't speak Spanish. So I'm because I don't speak Spanish specifically. I feel like there is a disadvantage in
here but I don't feel like it's impossible. I don't feel like I have to speak Spanish to get them something that they can
do.

Student: There is a frustration and this is because of communication. Maybe you're frustrated because you
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
39

don't know exactly how to help the student and the student just doesn't see the point in reaching out for help.
So there is an unmotivation within the student. How do you address that?

[00:05:00] ​So I think a lot of that I agree. I think at least for myself I feel frustrated because I feel like I'm not
reaching them. And I feel frustrated because I don't know what they need.

[00:05:13] ​I just don't know how to always create those activities and things.

[00:05:22] ​The only way I do is just through personal interactions and trying to be as open as possible trying to be as
helpful as possible in the hopes that they would eventually come to me and start to say hey you know if I could
present this this way and be so much more helpful or if you could show me this diagram that would be much more
helpful. I think just making myself as person seem more open because they're really the ones that need to tell me.

Student: And it's hard for them. The fact that they do know the language or are not confident in their
learning. So they don't advocate as easily as other students.

[00:06:12] ​And that's probably one thing. If I could change something about the students it would not be like their
work ethic or anything like that, it would be that they would advocate more for themselves. I know especially since
they don’t speak the language.​ ​I mean I don't know I just try to be approachable person.

Student: Has anybody ever reached out for advice on how to better develop these students?

[00:06:41] ​So as a faculty Miss ​Tucker​ who is our ESL teacher is always publishing tips. I asked her when I was one
of the beginning teachers speak to beginning teachers. That was really hopeful for everybody that mentors in the
beginning teachers. So she is kind of like our in-house person I guess that reaches out and then she lets us know. So
I personally have gone to her with issues like I noticed the student is never works in class, but then when I send
something home they always come back with it done, so you know and she'll talk about specific things like
culturally she's really good about that but she's not necessarily someone I feel like I could go to with them and say I
really need them to understand this photosynthesis diagram, What could I do differently.

[00:07:43] ​But she is really good about saying well there's only mom at home and mom speaks no English.

[00:07:52] ​And like giving me insight into them as a person that helps me be more open and understanding. You
know or well she's probably more comfortable at home looking at the stuff on the computer than just with all that
English.

[00:08:11] ​And sometimes the county offers like ESL trainings or, I’m trying to think of the last one I went to and if
it was helpful. a lot of them are trying to tell the teachers just to be open and accepting and patient, which you can
tell people all you want but some people's personalities are that just that some people think this math and math is
math, and we need to get the biology and get through energy

[00:08:44] ​I don't know that I personally need that. I know it's hard for the students who don't speak English I need
more specific how to adapt assignments and how to give them like respectful valuable work.

[00:09:13] ​You know if everyone else is working on analyzing graphics I feel bad and even Mrs. ​Tucker ​will
sometimes just say to give them a vocab sheet and sometimes it will just be it.

[00:09:26] ​But that is not really respectful work, if they are really bright students. I don’t want to do that. It’s like
lowering their standards.

[00:09:37] ​Yes. And so I need help how I can take my assignments that I think are valuable in all these different
levels and everything and make it something they could be comfortable doing.

[00:09:50] ​And I don’t feel there's training for that.

HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
40

[00:09:58] ​It's. And they'll say you know just be patient just be kind and open with them.

[00:10:04] ​And I feel like am and that's my personality, you know, whereas someone else, Mrs. Holly and I teach
the exact same thing everyday. But people will tell you that we are so different. And she works on that whereas I
work on other things.

[00:10:16] ​So I don’t feel that English as a second language students get as valuable work.

Student: I recently wanted to be a teacher cadet using my bilingual ability. So do you think that would be
helpful to have an interpreter in the classroom on a regular basis?

[00:10:43] ​Yes. Yes. Because, not last year that year before when I taught earth science.
I had a lot of Spanish speaking students at all different levels. And another thing that the trainings and everything
will tell you is to seek them together so they can help each other.

[00:11:09] ​So I think it depends on the kids. This is like a really good group of kids and they all got along. And so
that was beneficial, but then it kind of isolates them.

[00:11:22] ​You know what if I'm in a group by ability like what if I want a high level work group and a middle level
work group and low level group well some of those kids need to be in the middle and high group and I want them
doing that activity. I don't wanna keep them there just because they’re interpreting for their peers. And so if I had
someone else like a teacher cadet that could sit with the lower level students and interpret for them and let the other
students that maybe language is a barrier but they are ready to move on to the higher level. I think that would be
beneficial.

Student: And it's important to know that maybe these Hispanic students come from different backgrounds
some might be highly intelligent just not in English and others barely went to school.

[00:12:26] ​Yes but I feel like that grouping due to my language is unfair because it's really it's a comfort zone and
everything but it is only the language that's binding them. Some of those students have a lot in common with the
other really high English speaking students and they need to see that lab. So if I had an interpreter actually in that
case it would be helpful or I could work with these kids and say go and work with so-and-so in case she has
questions because she can do that.

[00:13:13] ​So basically anything in here that is based on what I've seen of what we've seen seen isolation. A lot of
the students script themselves because I mean they can communicate with each other.

[00:13:27] ​But I never knew that in the classroom that would also happen.

[00:13:30] ​And it's it's a given it's going to happen and we're being told to stay sitting beside someone else who
speaks the.

[00:13:40] ​And it's almost like protecting them. I think and it's not letting them challenge themselves into.

[00:13:47] ​Well definitely the higher academic students gets a say you know they're like well I have to sit here and
do this activity because I'm translating you know the the

Student: OK so how would you describe your experience of yourself know your students in your classroom in
my classroom.

[00:14:18] ​I think realistically I think that probably comes through and feel welcome and like they belong.

[00:14:32] ​But I don't think they're getting the same science curriculum that everyone else in the classrooms are
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
41

getting.

Student: I think that finalizes I think everything.

Appendix D

Teacher Transcripts

Teacher B

Student: I already told you a little bit about my research in the e-mail and my research is just focused on
Hispanic Achievement, especially here in Heritage High School and is really limited. Yes it's really limited in
terms of achievement in being more challenging and more students taking more rigorous courses.

[00:00:23] ​So are you saying that Latin American students don't take rigorous.

[00:00:27] ​As many especially the ones that come from foreign countries which is understandable. I mean they don't
even have language as well. And from my understanding you had ELL students in class. Yes. And I just want to
gain an understanding of the perspective of the teacher in this situation.

[00:00:43] ​Sure.

Student: ​So but to start off I kind of want to know what your teaching philosophy is.

[00:00:48] ​Oh man

Student: ​In general. And then if you want to be more specific towards the students.

[00:00:52] ​Yeah I don't even know what you mean by teaching philosophy.

Student: ​Like what's important is if you're teaching her how is it structured. What do you believe teaching
can do.

[00:01:05] ​Sure. So I mean I guess I'll just start talking and you can tell me how I'm going in the right direction. So
English. I hated English in high school and I hated it because it just seemed pointless to me. All right we were
always like analyzing poems and writing about your feelings and this and it seemed to have no real world
application. So kind of like I guess the bedrock of my teaching philosophy is I want to provide students not really
with content knowledge because all content knowledge can be Googled but I want to provide them with skills that
can be applicable and transferable to the real world.

[00:01:44] ​And so with that kind of end in mind I've then analyzed my audience model. So like I teach different
classes right. So my for the last six years except for this year the six years prior Heritage High gave me the lowest
50 performing freshmen every year which is why I constantly teach the ESL students.

[00:02:12] ​And so you get these 50 lowest scoring 50 freshmen and then you kind of have to figure out where they
are as a class and where they are individually and then try to get them to have those skills. The good news about that
is in some cases these skills aren't even necessarily English reliant right like the ability to argue could you could use
that in any language right. But it's impossible for me to assess it in any other language but English.

[00:02:40] ​I would try to teach the skill bilingually and I'd always get teaching cadets that were bilingual but then
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
42

they had to eventually just for the sake of getting a grade be able to use that skill using English. And then I could
kind of assess that. So I guess those are a few of the main ideas of philosophy right is that skills and not content.
And then what we call teacher lingo differentiation of meeting students where they're at trying to get them
collectively and individually.

Student: So you mentioned that you didn't like English before. And of course now you are an English teacher
or you were past six years I believe, so then what inspired you to be an English teacher.

[00:03:51] ​Great question. So I actually went into college as a finance major and I had an awesome professor for
English 101 and then I took them again for one or two. And what he showed me was really the real world uses of
English.

[00:04:07] ​So really specific subjects that really peaked my interest was the idea of rhetoric. All right so our rhetoric
was that the specific kind of I don't know if it was a unit or topic that really piqued my interest. It's the art of
persuasion and the professor was awesome and he showed me that really the people who control this world or who
control your individual life or who just kind of wield power. Are the people who can manipulate and use language to
attend cheap certain means and so on. I could be a really brilliant. But unless I nail that interview for that job I
probably will not get that job. And so that job really rests not on my ability to master content even but it's to master
the English language or whatever language you're going to be interviewed in. And the ability to to you know get
your ideas across in a coherent and persuasive manner and so that really piqued my interest I was like wow like
Language is power like languages important. Ability to understand language is super relevant. And so I transferred
schools after freshman year. So I started thinking about when I transferred about changing my major in the world of
finance just didn't look as interesting when you got close up to it in college and so I decided I wanted to teach. And
then when it came time to teach I chose English one because I had the great professor. And then I think to because I
was starting to get interested in traveling and I realized that if you want to travel the world you can be an English
teacher or a doctor or nurse in the army which was definitely not a choice either was being a doctor.

[00:06:10] ​So that's why I chose English.

[00:06:13] ​How would you describe the experience of an ELL student in your classroom.

[00:06:18] ​In my particular class yes. I mean a lot of scaffolding a lot of me trying to meet them where they are and
then them getting a lot of repetition in a lot of opportunities to practice the skills that I'm trying to teach. Now I
should say that's speaking specifically to that lower level. Sometimes there's kids who get put in my classes in an
honors level and I feel bad for them there's really no time to slow down.

[00:06:53] ​But that specific class was really created and catered towards. So you know the ESL population.

[00:07:01] ​So yeah in that class it's just a lot of repetition I also don't allow them to speak anything but English. And
I mean I don't hold them. They're not trouble when they do now. But a lot of times what ends up happening right is
the students all kind of sit together. And there's always one student who speak who's bilingual. Right in the class to
speak Spanish and English almost perfectly and they kind of act as a translator. So I have tried to remove that
student completely from them and then they do have a senior who is bilingual but I am able since that student is a
cadet and they're not in the class I'm able to kind of talk to them about the expectations that I want you to explain
everything in English and then you know when they can't do it and kind of use their native language but having lived
overseas I know that the fastest way is the fastest and most uncomfortable way to learn English right is called
baptism by fire.

[00:07:48] ​Just to throw you in and into to really force you to try to understand and comprehend and conversate. So
yeah so that also will hopefully foster and improve really the most important aspect of the English language
language experience which is conversational English to writing. There's been some students especially my early
years of teaching who could write a pretty decent like argument but couldn't hold a conversation right because I let
them see with their bilingual you know friends and they always just translated everything and they had no use to
really listen. Right. So that's are two things that kind of mark I guess my ELL approach is that trying to force them
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
43

into conversational English but trying to meet them where they are and giving them just tons of repetitive practice

Student: That's really interesting because most teachers tend to isolate them and pair them up and just keep
them there and then let the students be. Maybe even though a bilingual student will be held back in order to
help the other students.

[00:08:46] ​That's right. That was another problem that was my first approach to it was because this was even before
we had a teacher at the school when I started that class. And so my first approach was like like oh yeah you're
bilingual you have to go sit over there. And it was necessary because there was no one else to like explain in their
native language.

[00:09:04] ​But then as soon as the cadet program was launched I was like yes. And then I said I was the first teacher
to request the only bilingual cadets. You couldn't be a cadet in my class unless you were bilingual. And then as soon
as I got the bilingual cadets I was moving and bilingual students because they were being held back. So then they
were able to then focus on just their learning and not other people's learning. The other students were forced to speak
English.

[00:09:31] ​Interesting. That's really different perspective than from what I've seen. So you've definitely challenged
these students and you think that if you challenge them that's the only way they can grow

[00:09:41] ​They'll grow quickest.

[00:09:42] ​Yeah yeah. Wherever I mean I guess. Going to teach your philosophy right. It's the teacher's job is to set
expectations and not just students but humans rise to expectations. So it's just a matter of how high you set them
how quickly you set them and so and those and other things so I also taught in Korea where expectations were super
high and I taught it in English private academy in one of the rules there was that you couldn't speak Korean.

[00:10:06] ​And these were all native Korean speakers. But this went back to you know hours and hours of research
pedagogy of the quickest way for them to actually learn conversational English which is then transferable to
academic English is to them to force themselves into that situation so I kind of took ideas from my experiences
overseas and then I try to use those but holding on to high expectations.

[00:10:32] ​So would do so you seem to have traveled a lot. Do you think that really helps you and differentiate you
from other teachers who might not have.

[00:10:39] ​Yes.

[00:10:40] ​So right after I went I graduated from college which was an English secondary ed degree and then came
back to America got a teaching job in North Carolina and one of the few benefits of teaching in North Carolina is
that you can get licensed in any subject as long as you pass a test. So I took the ESL test that I'm actually ESL
certified also just because of my experience overseas even though I never took an ESL course it was just kind of like
teaching over there. I kind of knew all I didn't know the terms but I knew all of the practices and the best practices
and then when I studied I just had to figure out what they were called here in America I was like Oh I know this
pedagogy I know this idea. So I studied a little bit so I am ESL certified and I would say that my experience
overseas has really helped me.

[00:11:27] ​Was that your question.

Student: Yeah yeah absolutely definitely.

[00:11:31] ​So you definitely went far more beyond you've had cultural experiences you've been certified. Yes so that
other than that has anybody reached out to you or giving you tips or advice as to how to better develop these
students.
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
44

[00:11:47] ​Ms. ​Tucker​ is awesome. So I've gone to her and we've kind of collaborated on that class. She also is
really great in getting to know students like quickly on a one on one level and she can feel fill me in on not just kind
of the cultural struggles that they're having as they try to transition into a new cultural but even you know some of
the background their family situation and how that's impacting their learning and things like that. So Ms ​Tucker ​is
an unbelievable resource. On a personal level of getting to know those students quickly on a personal level but also
with ESL resources and stuff she's given me a lot of tips over the years. And besides that not really you know teach
really simple principles but just really hard to pull off one of the basic most basic things is getting to know every
student.

[00:12:41] ​Cut off.....

Appendix E

Teacher Transcripts

Teacher C

Student: Just to start off, may I know what your teaching philosophy may be?

[00:00:05] Oh I don't really have one. I don't really know how to answer that question except for. I guess.

[00:00:13] Before the word or the phrase growth mindset came about I guess what it is is that when students walk in
my room. To me they're all the same but they are not all at the same point. But I want to try to get them to the same
point so they all have to have a growth mindset. You know everyone's growth is going to look different to me as a
teacher. So I just want them to be open to growing as a student just as a person in general.

[00:00:45] I try to have the philosophy I guess, of the fact that everyone can learn but that's almost naive in a way.

[00:00:55] As a teacher because everyone learns differently. So again it goes back to the growth mindset. Growth
for one child may look different then for another child.

Student: So, I assume that you have had ELL students before

[00:01:13] Yes changed over the years I've watched the show the acronym change. And yes I have had had that.
Yes.

Student: Could you describe some challenges that you had teaching.

[00:01:24] Oh gosh just , well communication first off especially on their different levels.

[00:01:29] Because when we get there LEP reports which I'm just now getting by the way you get the students what
you've been and what are we five weeks or more into the quarter we're getting you know towards the end towards
little over the halfway mark and I'm just now getting the LEP report to even tell me where they are.

[00:01:50] So I just have to guess where they are because unless you know some students come into you and you
know that they are higher level with their comprehension and with their speaking skills but others are not. But it's
helpful to have a report.

[00:02:24] The challenge is to figure out where they are and then if they do not understand English which I have had
students that have just left their native country it's one thing that will have to do is obviously try to contact Ms
Tucker​ or I will try to find a student who does speak a language especially if it's Spanish. If it's not Spanish. It's
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
45

more about just being able to communicate with them on the first day it's difficult in trying to figure out early on in
the first week or two what their understanding of what they're not understanding. So again I just got the LEP reports
this week saying where they are exactly. Yeah.

Student: So do you think some of your Hispanic ELL students might be unmotivated

[00:03:15] Oh yeah if you can't understand just like anybody when you don't understand what is going on around
you specifically like like if you don't understand math language for example like students tend to just shut down. So
you get one or two. I feel like with ELL. Hispanic students is will get to one it's like you know I'm going to this is
my challenge in life I'm going to get over it and I try super hard and give it 110 percent. And I have others that will
shy away and who do not want to participate especially when called upon obviously to use to practice their language
skills in class.

Student: You spoke about growth mindset before. What do you think inspired you to think about that as your
philosophy.

[00:04:06] Just because I just know that every child in there even if it's a class of 37 or a class of 20 they come from
different backgrounds and they also they bring a lot of stuff into the classroom. So I just want them to grow just a
little bit. You know it doesn't have to be a ton of to be at least just to learn something and be a different person when
he leaves the room. Yeah yeah.

Student: So has anybody reached out to you for advice on how to better develop these students learn how to
kind of had to grow up figure it out by yourself

[00:04:47] you just figured out by yourself normally. So recently though we had a training Wake County put it on a
couple months ago.

[00:04:54] I was right here actually and it was about that it was the officials from Wake County I don’t know their
title but they were essentially in charge of the ELL program and so they went through with us about things that we
do to differentiate our lessons for our ELL students and so that we can learn from each other and I talked for a bit
about what I do to modify assignments because I know growth for them is different than growth for my students
who have been here their entire life in speaking English their entire life. So how I modified the assignments yet they
still get the content. They need to take a 40 question test on Greece and Rome. Now they can still I can still gage if
they understand the information. If they answer let's say 20 questions.

Student: So what's the structure of your classroom.

[00:05:45] Typically it's you will have some direct instruction obviously being a social studies teacher it's hard to
not have some type of direct instruction.

[00:05:53] We do co-operative work as well.

[00:05:58] We have some type of co-operative work and they work together but typically on a day to day basis is
Direct Instruction followed by practice like in group work and then just some type of assessment towards the end of
the week. But I try to do a blend of direct instruction and group work at the same time because I know they don't like
to be talked to want to be talked to for very long. That research says and after 20 minutes you guys lose interest in it
so if I do lecture in my regular classes it is 20 minutes or less but it fits in an AP class. That's the difference between
the world as well. I have to give a little more direct instruction but in it it's more discussion so I'll have questions and
answers for example so that it feels more like a discussion and not just me talking at the student. And I feel like
today I did a seminar so it does so from day to day. It could change.

Student: Any students were or yes who are Hispanic students who are outliers that may do really well here
than others. And what do you think they're doing differently.
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
46

[00:07:22] Anything last semester or not my one L.L student that was the outlier was actually Egyptian. He would
not be considered Hispanic.

Student: So what do you think he would have that he did that helped him.

[00:07:39] He constantly pay attention. First off I mean he honestly he sat pretty far away from me to the science
room. And yet he just he asked questions. I think the students. Oh how can I forget. I had a student who was
Hispanic. Albert last semester who he just tried so hard and he had a friend in the class. Logan who did not speak
Spanish but Logan sat right beside him and like him helped him. And so I think the students that do the best who are
the outliers who are Hispanic will friend someone in the class to either speak Spanish or maybe in Logan's case
Logan did not speak Spanish that Logan would like. Explain it to him like after I explained it it was helpful just to
have someone explain it. As the student saw it enter to break it down and so there he had me helping him you have
logan helping him and there was Spanish they can see and I think it's really helpful if they rely on their peers as well.
Because again the way I described something he may not understand it the way Logan broke down he was able to
understand. He also stayed after school every day for just a few minutes with me just for five minutes or so and be
like Can you explain this to me again. Or is this enough. Am I on the right path. So he wasn't afraid to. And that
makes him an outlier I think it was not just those ESL students is that he took the initiative as a freshman too. That's
even on the way here to talk to me.

[00:09:13] Yes I think it's important for teachers that have ESL students to be open with them and not scare them to
death that they're not going to come to you. Let them know verbalize that I'm here to help. You just need to come
and ask them you know. And that's the hardest part sometimes for students to ask for the help because you know
ego. You know I think I can do this on my own or they're just too timid to come up and ask I try to be a teacher that
for all students that can easily come to me and to me.

[00:09:43] Yeah. So they have to advocate for themselves.

So it's something that you teach ninth graders is to advocate for themselves, yeah

[00:09:49] And that's hard. That's hard to teach also.

[00:09:51] ​Yeah it is really kind of like a personality trait is hiding that when you leave high school we hope you
can do that you go onto a job or if it's you know college to advocate for yourself no one's going to do that.

[00:10:04] And so is there anything else you want to share that maybe I didn't ask you about.

[00:10:09] Now I Shoba Albert yeah I forgot about him. Yeah because he did well and he didn't belong to cause
that's but that's one thing I have an issue with standardized testing because it's in English. And those kids have been
here for like less than a year but I heard recently the General Assembly is trying to get away with to not make
Hispanic students are ellL students in general much Hispanic to no longer have to take in NCFEs. Teacher made
final is enough. Next we'll have the final exam. And I don't know I'm sure there are parameters with that.

[00:10:43] So once they do better and become more proficient they would have to take them perhaps. Yes. You
brush covered everything there.

Student: Do you have any feedback for me. Maybe some things I could do better on the next interview.

[00:11:03] I thought they were good. Yeah you asked open ended questions that allowed the interviewee to to
expand. Yeah that's good that you didn't you know push them into just talking about one thing. Yes. That's great.
You keep learning.

Student: Thank you. Well I guess that's it​.

HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
47

Appendix F

Teacher Transcripts

Teacher D

[00:00:02] ​Gladsome I think was probably a big eye opener for myself. We can but we you know the shockingness
of not being able to reach the kids because I can't speak Spanish. And so I really have considered this summer taking
some Spanish coursework just so that I could be able to communicate with some of the kids because in high school I
took latin. I didn't spanish. So we reached out to the intervention coordinator and we kind of got some tools to help
us with. And we got books in Spanish even though it's not the version we use but when we do assignments we have
books in Spanish and I translated their tests into spanish. I try to translate anything digitally. I try and try to translate
them so they had the English version and the Spanish version, side by side of but it is it's a huge challenge. We have
asked for administrators for some of our professional developments to be Spanish passes so that we at least can
communicate with the students you know. And but it's a challenge.

​[00:01:20] ​It's a it's a growing challenge because you know we give more and more spanish speakers and we're not I
mean we're still stuck. So yeah it's huge. I heard I had students in my class who are bilingual and I can survive
luckily so I paired them and that seemed to help.

​[00:01:43] ​It picked up more with two of my students that came over. So not only was I have an issue with this the
language barrier, but I have issue with them being here. So the ones that came regularly when I paired them a with
dual bilingual student that seemed to help as well. And then they got to leave and test with Mrs. ​Tucker​ and take
extra time and they use their devices and stuff like that.

​[00:02:07] ​So I did everything that I had access to.

​[00:02:11] ​But I feel like we need more, we need so much more and its a process.

Student: Yeah can I ask you maybe what your teaching philosophy may be.

​[00:02:26] ​Well so I want the kids to get it. So i try to give lectures.

​[00:02:36] ​Then I trying to get hands on or some type of activity or some type of lab or sometimes I'll lead in with a
video or I lead in with a lab. I like what I like to for them to get them more than once.

​[00:02:50] ​So I give it to them vocally and give it to them visually and then I'll give them hands on. So they usually
typically see it from me at least three times in different forms.

Student: Can you describe a little bit more the structure of your classroom management.
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
48

[00:03:12] ​Well I'm pretty much an easy going person they'll say i'm mean but I just don't like nonsense so I'm like
them to come in and be on task. I don't mind questions. Actually I like for you to talk to me and I like to
communicate. But the main thing is making sure that your on task, you're paying attention . My classroom structure
is As they come in in the morning or at the beginning of class I have my screen up that has what the test is coming
up know what's due that day.

[00:03:47] ​What's the homework for the night. What's the agenda.

[00:03:51] ​They should come in and start doing those things first. They i will be taking attendance and getting the
homework collected, then we will start into the lesson whether it's finishing what we left off or start on the new topic
which could be a discussion it could be a question. It could be a video. And then we just kind of go from there and
progressed from there. And depending so my spanish speakers were in my ICR class so I had an extra teacher. So
we were able to do small groups a little bit. so I like to be able to do small groups especially if I hold hands with
him. I like to be able to walk around and help and assist. I was able to do that with my kids.

Student: Another question I have is do you think that the students who are unmotivated, the Spanish
speaking students.

[00:04:56] ​There is a very few of them that are motivated for the most part the ones that I've seen were very very
motivated. I had a maybe last semester.

[00:05:07] ​Two of the eight Spanish and of those eight four spoke no English at all and that there were two students
that didn't speak any english at all that weren't motivated and there were two that were very motivated and ended up
passing on the two that weren't motivated did not so much do so well I have one in my class this semester who is
very motivated. He stays back and ask questions if he doesn't understand. He says Do you understand that I'm
bilingual. I mean I'm Spanish speaking and I don't understand. And I said yes. And so I have been helping him. He
has done very well. As a matter of fact he has an A. So he's very very motivated. So I'm seeing a high and in the low
end of the spectrum but for the most part not many now unmotivated learners.

Student: So what do you think a student in particular is doing that other students are not they're not
motivated the motivated the one that hasn't he.

[00:06:09] ​He's working hard.

[00:06:10] ​He's he has he has his own translation now. When he doesn't understand. He's back. I mean he stays back
and asks question. He says he's very polite he says misquotes Can I speak with you after school today. or he'll find
me at the end of the day to make sure that he ask questions.

[00:06:39] ​he advocates for himself all the time.

[00:06:42] ​And I noticed that the one that was not Spanish speaking she would bring her partner up and she would
speak to the partner and the partner will relate to me what she is saying and that we will converse that way. So she
was also an advocate for herself. And I also know that her parents in particular were very supportive of her as well.
So I believe that the ones that are more motivated they have the support of the parents. Whereas those that don't,
don't have as much support

Student: And for those students that are unmotivated what do you tend to do do you discipline them or do
you just let them be.

[00:07:19] ​Well no I mean we talk to them I reach out to Mrs. ​Tucker​. I'm trying to get help by reaching outside
intervention. It's hard to get help there. I hand the work to them, I say I need this. I do everything in my end. Reach
out by emailing parents. You know we have that.

[00:07:41] ​We have the Spanish interpreter that comes in every three or four weeks and we type up what we want to
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
49

tell the parents. And she translates that to the parents while we reach out that way. Sometimes we get response
sometimes parents ask we take them off the list you know so we just do what we can in that aspect. But we do reach
out as much as we can in all like in school and out of the school we reach out as much as we can.

Student:Has anyone reached out to you for tips or advice on how to help these students.

[00:08:25] ​Miss ​Tucker​ is my go to.

[00:08:27] ​She is because you know she's an ESL teacher. She is pretty much the one who we go to for help, her
Mawanda and now Ms. Turner

[00:08:39] ​are the three that we go to for help to get you know get assistance to Help these kids.

[00:08:42] ​And do you have any other specific challenge just in general.

[00:09:00] ​The biggest challenge in any classroom is motivation. Because Earth science is probably one of the most
boring sciences.

[00:09:11] ​You can't really get down and get your hands into stuff, it's a of vocabulary it's a lot of notes and it's a lot
of reading.

[00:09:19] ​And so that can get very boring so I'll try to change it up and try to give them foldables. I try to give them
guided notes. I try to give them different types of notes because we could be sitting here and writing all day. And I
try not to do that. The biggest thing is keeping them interested and motivated to learn.

Student: Thank you for your time and consideration.

[00:10:43] ​Yes. OK. Well thank you.

HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
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Appendix G

Teacher Transcripts

Teacher E
Student: What is your teaching philosophy and what does it imply?

My teaching philosophy has actually evolved over the years. When I first started teaching I had to actually write up
a teaching philosophy that I would write on a portfolio that I used to apply to different jobs, and as I was looking
back on it, I really have shifted a little bit of my teaching. I think teachers have 3 main responsibilities. One is to
teach the content, and so it is very important for me that my classes are rigorous, right, that children are thinking
and thinking deeply. I utilize technology and I use artistic things here and there, but I don’t use those things as hooks
because I feel that technology hooks a student while they are in the room in front of a screen, and art and fun and
games, hook a student while they are in the room in that moment and they are feeling competitive. But big ideas for
them is really important too. My goal is always to have students thinking, not just in the room, but later at home, at
the dinner table. I want this to be something deep and I do really truly believe that after I have gotten to know
thousands and thousands of students, that students think about a lot more than we give them credit for. Children care
for big ideas. About poverty and equity, about truth and honesty, and gender equality and about the environment.
Students care about history. Students care about genocide. All these “big adult issues,” students care about those
things and so when literature is able to speak to the human conditions that we see all around us in the world, you
look at a student in a “slow bird” kind of way. It doesn’t hook them immediately, the way a kahoot game would, but
it hooks them deeply and it hooks them for longer, and they can think with more complexity. Then, the other thing I
do, is that I do feel that the most important things we teach as teachers, is not just our subject matter. As an english
teacher I can’t just teach you English, I also have to teach you about ethics. I have to have you thinking about ethical
questions. What is right and wrong, how to do we treat other human beings, what does it mean to have integrity.
That’s not necessarily something that is explicit, but I don’t think that any teacher can do their job well if they are
only teaching their curriculum. If that’s all you teach, you are missing opportunities to shape and mold young people
who are going to go out into the world. And then the third part of what I think is important is to reach each child.
Every single student should come out of the class feeling like they are worth something, no student should go
through the beginning of the day to the end of the day and feel like it doesn’t matter that they were there to anybody.
So there’s that social and emotional part, there is the ethical part, and then there is the academic part. I think all three
of those have to be met by a very good teacher, and there has to be careful, conscious planning of the curriculum and
how you want students to go and how you are going to get there, is that aspect of teaching that is very scientific, and
then there is that aspect of teaching that is very much an art. And both of those things need to be taken care of in
order for it to be a good class. Ideally, in a really good class, this is just my opinion, students will never feel like
they are totally under pressure. Most of my classes don’t feel like they are totally under pressure, for me. They don’t
feel like I am working them to death. I rarely have a student telling me “I feel so stressed out right now.” It’s rare, it
happens, but sometimes. It’s bound too. But I try not to stress students out. What I try to do is teach them as much as
I can and they end up learning way more than they thought they were going to learn because as I said, I am
kidnapping time from other parts of their lives, when they are at their table and during husky help and when they are
in another class and they are still talking about literature. I’m gaining all this time from them. But i’m not making
them feel like I am forcing them, I try my best to think about fun and excitement and enjoyment, and nurturing the
whole child and not just “this is the data we need.” My data is good, my students always do well, but that is not the
HISPANIC STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
51

thing that is driving me. Excellent teaching and excellent stewardship of children is what drives me because I treat
every student like it were my child.

Student: Where or how did you gain these ideas, how were you inspired to teach the way you do?

Some of it is because I was really lucky to have really good teachers. Like Mrs. Ross, she was my art teacher in
middle school, and in my neighborhood, everyone was an immigrant, we were all from all parts of the globe. Justin
Heights is one of the most multicultural neighborhoods in the entire world. And that is fact based, not just my
opinion. And she was able to teach us things about life. She didn’t just teach us art. We would draw and she would
use little moments as opportunities to say “you made a mistake you don’t like the way this looks. Now how can we
fix it.” You are going to have mistakes in life, nothing is ever as bad as it seems, there is always a way around it,
let's see how we can turn that mistake into a strength. There are things that she would do. She would talk to us about
staying curious, learn to learn, she would say things like “boring people can only talk about one subject or topic,
interesting people are well rounded and they can talk about different stuff.” It was the class where I discovered that I
was intelligent. I don’t think I knew that I was smart before that. I always did well in school, but I never realized that
I could actually think. And in her class, I learned how to think, I learned how to analyze art, I learned that I was
talented. I mattered. But she didn’t hit us over the head, she was loving and warm and kind, she’s influenced my life.
In High School I had wonderful teachers. I was lucky to go to an art school. And because I went to an art school and
also a specialized high school that students tested to get into, where everyone is very bright, teachers were very
dedicated and so we did projects such as in my english 2 class, aka an opera class, where we read books but we also
wrote our own opera. So we had vocal majors in the class, and they were the singers, and we had painters like me
and we did the backdrop and all that. And it was a very very creative dynamic project. I was able to take creative
writing, I was able to take latin lit, and by the way it was in that class that I discovered that I wanted to be a teacher,
not just an english teacher. I didn’t know then that I loved literature and that I was good at analyzing it. I started
assigning books for me to read, I started assigning topics. And for me I would say “ok you are going to write a
report on Israel.” I did all the work as if I was going to give it to a teacher. I said “ok next week you are going to do
one on France.” I would do that and then eventually learn to assign myself a book every week, “you are going to
read wuthering heights.” I did it on my own, but there is something in me, and there are times in my life where I
lived right next door to a crack house. And my family was very poor at some points in my life. We had almost no
furniture, we had a fold out bed that was a couch, and we would get government cheese. And so I knew that through
education, I could improve that situation, and I really really wanted to study really hard. But then I also had my
brother and sister to raise, my parents worked a lot. Starting first or second grade, I had to pick my sister up from
school, so by the time I was 8 years old, I was taking care of two children. A baby in diapers and then my sister was
3 years younger than I was. We couldn’t afford babysitters, so I grew up very differently than most of my students,
but because I know what it is like to go through that and because I studied, how do some at risk youth, like students
of color, at risks students, or poor students, but not of the ones who don’t make it, because there is a lot of stuff
about those kids, I wanted to look at the outliers, what did they have in common, that really helped me to shape my
teaching, Because when I teach I try to not only give the kids the normal knowledge, I try to give them what is
called cultural capital. I will add in things into my lesson plans like how to give handshakes, it is ideally informal, its
not going to be an official lesson. But things like how to right a resume, how to write an email, how we say things to
a particular audience, their family may not know about these things. Where do you go for free ACT stuff, how can
you self study for the SAT. This is all little bits and pieces that rich people know. They know about taking college
tours in your junior or sophomore year. Poor students don’t know, somebody has to tell them.

Student: You mentioned at risk students and a lot of those are Hispanic students, so it's also a cultural factor
because their parents come from another country and its completely different. I believe you have had ESL
students before, how did you help them, since they already have the language barrier, so how did you go
about helping them develop what you wanted to develop within them?

There are a few things that I do for a few students and some of it is going to vary. It's going to vary because it just
depends. I had students coming to my classes with very little English. But who in their native language were very
educated, perhaps they were middle class students, a little bit more richer with better educational opportunities like
going to very rigorous schools. And I have other students who have very interrupted schooling because of war or
poverty or whatever, those two students will need different things but in terms of language, I let them use
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translators, I shorten things because I know it is going to be a little harder for them to understand. Sit the student
next to someone who speaks the same language, depending on their level, if they are not very new it becomes a
corruption. I have to kind of separate those kids so that that kid is forced to speak English and talk to the students
remind them speak a little bit of their language when I have to remind them that if I say hard she it's right there right.
And I say that because I think that it blends is important because she can write English decently. She doesn't speak
it. She's embarrassed how she sounds right. And I make a joke about practice practice practice English and you
know stuff like that matters. Emerging students a lot of students understand way more than they seem to show
because our understanding comes in first and our verbal language will come in first. But if they were the type of
students who especially if they were good student in their old school you'd see “Kelly” A's getting good grades and
now they're in this situation where it's very difficult for them to get those kinds of grades. But a lot of pressure on
themselves is helping them to work through things like from one of my students. I gave her a list of books that she
could do this summer. You know it just depends on what each student needs they might be different things but the
things that every student can use things like translation right translated texts what I teach American literature a lot of
times. What's missing is not so much not understood the text is just having all the context right. So if they have
covered the stuff we're doing in American history yet providing videos resources where they can go to research and
get an idea of OK who is this person. I don't know who Dr. King is. We are still in reconstruction right. So a student
who has just come to the country may not know who that person is and may not understand the civil rights
movement. And so they need background information just to fill in the links but just little things not ignoring the
students. It's a big one board because a lot of students were saying you are not going to ask the tough questions
because they don't feel confident enough to. Plus they may come from a culture where you don't ask a teacher a lot
of questions just do what the teacher tells you to do. They may just be embarrassed that they're a million reasons and
not ask questions. So just asking do you understand once you as you understand usually a kid who doesn't and will
say something because yes we were seeing what they're doing not to praise who's giving them ways to contribute
from they're doing group work. Right. Working with students before presentations. Right. Sometimes wrapping
things up phonetically. OK. You know this is how you say this word phonetically in their language so that they can
pronounce it well and have confidence. It just depends. And different people want different things. Right.
So look I had a student who would do that with me for every presentation every word that she wasn't sure how to
pronounce. We recorded on the phone saying it you were practicing a home for other students. You know it's just
I'm good at art. I'm not that great with language yet. Give me an opportunity to contribute to my group without you
know necessarily that put it at the end of the day I have to have high standards for those kids too and they have to
get to the point where they can write and read English and practice English because it's not going to help them or me
really but really them to graduate from high school and have no other opportunities of improving and then be stuck
there. I want them to have opportunity later if they choose to ulcerans can because of status immigration status. But
to go to community college to go to college to to make decisions for themselves and for that they want to have to be
taken as a city. And so I'm very much aware that if we don't do what we're supposed to do to get them where they
need to be we can be match's affecting their life with their whole families. So if they don't get up to at least high
school level we're basically relegating that kid to continuing and whatever job their parents might be doing right
now. So whether that's construction or farming you know cleaning these are typical jobs that some of my immigrant
students have their families doing. And that's not education should be not that education should give students
opportunity to make that choice if they want to or choose something different if they want to. And if if if a kid
leaves or school they don't really have a choice. We haven't done our job.

Student: So I would say the students would be very lucky if they have your class. But many other teachers
don't have the same experiences and the opportunities that you had. So what would you say to that. What
could you contribute to these teachers who have not had the opportunity to see life the way you do.

Well I have to do that a little bit. When I came here up in New York City. I didn't have any experience with rural
America really. I dealt with lots of types of poverty right. And I had to learn how to relate to my students who were
wearing camo were hunters who had the Confederate flag. You know I had to figure out a way to relate to the
students because I couldn't just dismiss them right. And so the first thing you have to do is you have to value that
role right. That that's part of your job is figuring out how to relate to students because report does matter. Right. And
then you have to say to yourself I can do this right. I think a lot of teachers are so overwhelmed they work so hard
they have so much to do and it can sometimes feel like we're expected to do everything right. And we have 30
students 5 IP is going on in our heads three plans were making lessons reading at different levels or doing math or
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whatever and it seems that we have so much to do but it's not a waste of time for any teacher to think about how he
or she could reach us through that because if you can reach a student culturally you know to be a student maybe
LGBTQ kid or you know it's not just freelancing for all students reach each student as an individual person because
they're all human beings right. And figure out what's important to them what makes them happy what matters to
them. What do they feel proud of. And talk to them as people and get to know them. You know if you can spend a
few minutes of that every day. All the other stuff becomes classroom management becomes easier. Teaching
becomes easier so many things become easier than it's really worth it to try to reach all of your students. Right. So
those students can really be assets to the class because especially in English. But I think also in history and in
science students who have different perspectives and different experiences can add to the discussions going after the
group projects and presentations. Love it when we have exchange students in the class of someone from Kazakhstan
right now. Someone from Spain had someone from Brazil last semester and the kids learn so much from that and it
makes you a much richer experience for all the students not just for those students right and because they have so
many strengths. And maybe that's part of it too we need to recommend the strengths of these students because they
may not be strong in English and understanding the language but they've been flexible on the culture they are lots of
things and they're able to grow extremely quickly. And they also have this big hope in America right. This big
dream for America because they're comparing it to wherever they've come from America is is very hopeful place.
Whereas most Americans are quite cynical about America. Most immigrant kids are very hopeful about America.
And so helping those students is a way of actually like it's like making the American dream happen for somebody
right. And so it's so worth it just as a human on a human level. But as a teacher to just there's so many benefits to
your whole us you know engaging those kind of students. But yeah it just starts from the desire to add something
and you have to research more and sometimes you have to read more like I read a lot about teaching. I do still do it.
Oh I'm always buying books about teaching articles and I read latest research ideas and I try things and if it doesn't
work try something else. But you know that's part of it too. That's the scientific part of the teaching. So for example
like I know the vocabulary you know there are better ways to teach vocabulary than others. Just giving kids a list of
the words not a good way to teach them you know incorporating it using it. Having students use the word 13 15
times you know that kind of thing teaching fewer words with deeper you know that kind of thing. And so when you
when you start doing that scientific part and then you mix it up with the artistic and emotional part and the social
part what ends up happening is you able to teach the students the whole story better. Right and that you can have a
strength.
I mean honestly a lot of those students who don't have a lot of strength in English are wonderful about it and because
it's easier for them to translate their skills in a math classroom. There are ways to bring the suit and use what they
put out to make it better. So splinting how to do a space program if you show a house like a formula you're using
what you already know. You know it's they should do it. The other teachers should try it. Isn't there's some fear for
some people that they can't do it. And I think for other people unfortunately for other people there's an unwillingness
because their feelings about immigration may translate into their lack of wanting to accommodate English language
learners because they come into the classroom with their own baggage and their own feelings about other things that
have nothing to do with the child sitting in front of them and so they don't really put an effort into helping those
students. I don't think that's the majority teacher that has a very small percentage of teachers. I think the majority
that all of you are not helping because they think they don't have time or it's too overwhelming or they don't know
what to do and what I say is the answers are out there. A lot of research a lot of information. We have resources at
the School of Mustafa. We have other teachers like Ms. Hirsch Scheinman who are reading specialists. We have
people in the building who've worked extensively with English language learners like me Mr Howard. And you
know Mr. So we know which teachers you know they can ask. Just like we would for any other student. Right.
Which teacher seems to work well with X student. I notice that so-and-so was excellent your class. OK let me see
what are some techniques used. It's the same thing with any student just doing the same thing. And sometimes you
have to do it one by one and some things again you can just look out for a whole group. Once you have a little
technique down it's very helpful because a lot of English words are actually quite with the technology you know and
so it's becoming easier and easier everyday to incorporate lots of things in the class will translate with all the things
that we have these days is less and less of an excuse to help students and give

Student: Motivation is definitely a very important aspect and you are giving me a bunch of examples of how
you motivate your students and giving them importance is one of them. What do you do when there's there's
a student who has negative family issues really motivates them and they kind of block you out. So in a
situation like that. What is the best thing to do.
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There's no one but normally we have a conversation talking. Sometimes there's something that you know with the
family situation that our school can help with like the food pantry when we do. Sometimes it's stuff that we really
help. For example one of my students started to get a lot worse last year and it turned out that his father was
deported and so that caused a lot of stress for him. I have students whose family members died. Now if you like at
AP student there the parents will e-mail me right or even an honor to them. It's an immigrant and the parents may
not utilize technology allowed or they don't think to do that or they're just trying to make it through know with all
this stuff because everything has to be translated or that the kid is getting pulled up for it. I had a student she's a
good student really my student hardworking she was absent a lot and I said I said I was about. I said to her are you
you've been absent a lot. What's going on. This is not like you. That's a helpful phrase. You're a good student. I
don't. Why haven't you been doing what them even if they're not always the best. I think you were a smart kid. So
why are you doing this. Not sure why she said her sister is a year round school and her sister elementary school kid
is tracked out and so she's home for three weeks. So the other sisters have to take a week off each to watch movies
basic right. Because this is the plan that their family has come up with. Sometimes it's just pointing out resources
places that she can look for help. If we can't help the child the child is super unmotivated then we'll look for ways to
build some motivation. Right. Every child more ready for something so it might be tickets to an event. It might be
chiefly a gift card. It might be something really silly like that. I don't try to do those types of motivational things that
often because I want kids to do things for more than just candy right. I think that it works and it's good if that's
where the kid is right at the beginning. But you do have to get them to a place where the motivation is intrinsic. But
a lot of times you know if it's a student who's totally motivated this connected to other students who are join
organizations get connected to the school artistic things or ladies of distinction or you know whatever just depends
on the kid. You know you have to figure out what it is with that student into. They feel like they belong that
motivation changes but they have to feel like it matters at their first and that they're getting something out of this. So
again it's very important I think for teachers to explain what students are learning from the class besides just the
word problem or the essays right. Like where can they use this in real life. Why does it matter that you can speak
well. Right. Why does it matter that you can write well. Well this is where it comes in handy for your whole life but
sometimes it means just being flexible. Like with that student who was absent I didn't give her every single
assignment that she missed. Right. Why would I do that. What put her under a mountain of stuff that she couldn't
finish. I did extend time for her to do her essays right. Do I have to do that. No I didn't have to. It wasn't written
down anything like so and so needs this amount of extended time. But if a student needed some time I'd rather the
student do the work and learn the thing and learn it. Two weeks after I've finished with the other students and for
them not to learn it at all. Right. And so my goal is for them to learn and I have to be flexible sometimes. Sometimes
it means giving them a copy of the book. Sometimes it means staying after school or staying after staying during
lunch. It just depends on what it is that the kid needs. It can be very depressing if your families form through lots of
problems financial problems legal problems. There can be trauma and abuse in certain houses or not and that can be
very stressful for a student. And then on top of English Language Learners often take on leadership roles within
their families because they know the most English. Right so while in school they may not know enough English to
do well in their physics class or whatever home they know the most English out of everyone. So they're translating
and they're filling out forms and they have a lot of responsibility. This can create a lot of anxiety for certain students
and sometimes it's just talking and being there for them probably an action but pairing up the ILA is unmotivated.
That's why I think like that group that you're in this is a wonderful idea right pairing up a student who motivated or
unmotivated but someone you were to the country with someone who has been through the path before really helps a
lot. It really helps a lot. Just having a community being a part of something that helps with it for students in a band
what they do in Memphis doesn't just affect them in band when they come in my class they have people that are in
band with them and they have a community now they're more connected. They enjoy something in class in school if
it's in basketball or whatever I don't go to any of the sporting events because I live far and also I'm not a sports
person. But will I congratulate a kid. Yes I heard that you all did this or heard that hey you know I said to Mike
straight to the why don't you try out for the soccer team. You know stuff that is really helpful to students finding a
place for them to connect. It may not be about class. Your class is important but the most important thing is if there's
depression or anxiety like that stuff has to be taken care of first before they do the work. I'm not going to get to the
market they're hungry. If they're tired if they're depressed you know that it matters a lot. Well that's taken care of. Lo
and behold they do the work perfectly fine. But you know kids who are stressed out not sleeping because they work
two jobs and I've had that too right there in school day and their welder at night. Right. That kid is not going to not
fall sleeping plus they are going to fall asleep and then you just have to calmly. This is not a kid you send out this
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kid that you constantly wake up with. You don't I don't let them sleep. But I also understand why it's happening you
know so it just takes common with some of it and just like basic human empathy to understand what it is they're
going through but you don't know that unless you talk to the kid. I mean that's not written in a chart somewhere.
Right. That this kid works as a welder after school and lives with his aunt as a refugee and is going through the
process of becoming legal and the rest of the family you know is in El Salvador like no one tells you that you have
to actually talk to your students and get to know them and ask questions and be the kind of person that they would
want to tell things to because not everybody is because you know so maybe not being too harsh too little things like
kids has it. Might you just say hey take me but I just have to see that sometime every day to the same kids. But it's
not the kind of thing that I have to say you know you know you're evil and you're so disrespectful get out of my
class. It's not worth it. That's not worth it. You know the kid is blatantly disrespectful to me yes but a lot of little
ways that we that we burn bridges with our kids that we don't really need to and easily just say put the phone away
without saying you know there are ways to do things and there is a lot of little things like that but I'm so motivated
and motivated with the ACTU test prep that he did today. I don't believe him. It's boring as hell. Right. Then I start
to explain why it's somehow important. And then I also explained you know just little things do that work for most
kids most. Not every single kid. There's still some kids subtler than that I explain to them like the psychological
thing about the ratification of the marshmallow yes that helped the other kids not that much but at the end of the day
they still are up and they're still respectful and they were like have a nice weekend missing and I was like oh look
you weren't paying attention but maybe you were just a little bit sick. It's not every day some students are apathetic
every day. That's a bigger issue. That's when you have to do a lot more background research and then some kids are
just bored that they were teenagers maybe they watched a movie last night maybe they're just bored maybe
something is on their mind in the breakfast this morning it could be a lot of things