What does having a high percentage of English learners in a class mean in practice?

[Anonymous]

We go to a high ESOL/Title 1 school. Was interesting to see ONLY the white kids waiting for the bus in the AM to take them to their "lottery" school. I mean we lost the lottery so I guess I am slightly bitter? I don't want my shy kid to get lost in the shuffle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my DS attended a North Arlington school for 3 years with very few, if any, ESL but several kids with learning or behavioral challenges. He spent too much time on the ipad or free time staring out the window. His last teacher, while very smart and a lovely person, didn't seem to have a handle on the too-large class and had no idea that my son's reading and comprehension was poor. I ended up having to "home school" him myself after hours in reading, math and science (very few lessons all year) to catch up to the VA standards of learning. I primarily blame the class size and inefficient class structure.

This was similar to our experience in N Arlington. I believe title 1 schools get more staff in the classrooms. They also seem to be better equipped to handle kids with different needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, this thread is gross. My child goes to a school with about 60% EL and it has been an amazing experience for her. She has friends from around the world, and is learning Spanish even though it’s not an immersion school. I don’t feel that my child’s learning has been limited in any way by learning alongside EL Orr low-income kids. Social-emotional learning and having a high EQ that allows a person to work and learn with all different kinds of people will be incredibly important in our kids’ lives.

We need to think about the skills, values and experiences that will benefit our kids. College acceptances and career and social success will depend on very different factors than from when we grew up.

Your UMC will be able to read and pass standardized tests in any APS school, so chill out about that. Look at the diversity of these high-EL schools as the opportunity and gift it is.

You are probably a Title 1 school with those percentages and thus get.a ton more funding compared to OP.

[Anonymous]

You people suck.
Love, the parent of two children thriving at a school where more students are English language learners than not. And no, my children are not designated gifted, but one does receive some pull out and push in services from the RTG. (For those who say "oh it's only ok for the kids who gifted services)

PS one of my children is in 5th grade so please don't use the "oh it's fine in kindergarten and first but by 3rd grade you'll want to move." Scare tactic/argument,

And to the poster about white children lining up for buses, yes I see that too. If your child is at our school I hope your experience is as good as ours, and you come back here in 6 years to judge the hateful jerks. I promise you these conversations will still be happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people suck.
Love, the parent of two children thriving at a school where more students are English language learners than not. And no, my children are not designated gifted, but one does receive some pull out and push in services from the RTG. (For those who say "oh it's only ok for the kids who gifted services)

PS one of my children is in 5th grade so please don't use the "oh it's fine in kindergarten and first but by 3rd grade you'll want to move." Scare tactic/argument,

And to the poster about white children lining up for buses, yes I see that too. If your child is at our school I hope your experience is as good as ours, and you come back here in 6 years to judge the hateful jerks. I promise you these conversations will still be happening.

Previous posters said that their kids were getting lost in the shuffle. So unless you're prepared to call them liars, all you've proven with this comment is that SOME kinds do fine in this environment, while others do not. Seems fair for people to warn about those outcomes based on their own experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people suck.
Love, the parent of two children thriving at a school where more students are English language learners than not. And no, my children are not designated gifted, but one does receive some pull out and push in services from the RTG. (For those who say "oh it's only ok for the kids who gifted services)

PS one of my children is in 5th grade so please don't use the "oh it's fine in kindergarten and first but by 3rd grade you'll want to move." Scare tactic/argument,

And to the poster about white children lining up for buses, yes I see that too. If your child is at our school I hope your experience is as good as ours, and you come back here in 6 years to judge the hateful jerks. I promise you these conversations will still be happening.

Previous posters said that their kids were getting lost in the shuffle. So unless you're prepared to call them liars, all you've proven with this comment is that SOME kinds do fine in this environment, while others do not. Seems fair for people to warn about those outcomes based on their own experiences.

The OP's school is Long Branch, which serves a mostly mostly affluent population. I don't think kids will get "lost in the shuffle" there. At other schools with a much higher percentage of English learners, that's surely possible. That's why many parents pay for supplemental tutoring, etc.