Author: kmattas

Good evening Superintendent Dr. Johnson and IPS board members,

My name is Lizzbeth Arias and I am a High School ELA Tutor at GEO Next Generation. I am here to thank you for agreeing to create a language justice plan back in December and to speak about why this plan is critical for students.

I want to start by telling you about an encounter I recently had with a really young child who was crying in the hallway of the school next door to mine. In this school, absolutely no one speaks Spanish. And this student was crying in the bathroom and in the hallway because he did not understand anything. He was trying to follow the other students but ultimately felt lost. He was in a new place, and he couldn’t communicate his needs or understand what he was meant to be doing. Trying to learn in an environment where you cannot be heard or understood is an injustice. I support IPS in creating a plan for language justice because I don’t want any student to feel how that boy did, but I know there are students across this city and this district who feel this way every day. Can you imagine arriving somewhere new and always feeling lost?

Supporting a plan for language justice is one thing, but for it to be successful, you have to get feedback from the immigrant and ELL communities. You will need to find ways to reach the families who do not have access to technology, who work long hours, who do not speak English and have possibly felt outcasted due to this, and whom you may not have heard from before.

Behind every English learning student is a community of parents and as you gather feedback to create the plan, I hope you also create communities of parents in schools. These parent communities can help you reach more families and gather more input. They can also create a sense of belonging and understanding in schools that need it. For our students to succeed in school, we need to make sure they are fully supported. A triangle of family, school, and student has to exist.

Again, I thank you for supporting the creation of a language justice plan. I hope through thoughtful feedback from ELL families, the plan can become a model for even more schools in our city. I also hope you offer time for the public to offer feedback on the plan and that you vote on the final version. And please ensure the district takes the time to gather input from the hard-to-reach parents, who desperately want to be a part of their child’s education but sometimes feel forced to live in the shadows. This will be a challenge for IPS, but it’s well worth the time, and you have partners who are ready and willing to help.

Thank you for your time.

Buenas noches, Superintendente Dr. Johnson y miembros de la junta de IPS,

Mi nombre es Lizzbeth Arias y soy tutora de ELA de secundaria en GEO Next Generation. Estoy aquí para agradecerles por aceptar crear un plan de justicia lingüística en diciembre y para hablar sobre por qué este plan es crítico para los estudiantes.

Quiero comenzar contándoles sobre un encuentro que tuve recientemente con un niño muy pequeño que estaba llorando en el pasillo de la escuela al lado de la mía. En esta escuela, absolutamente nadie habla español. Y este estudiante estaba llorando en el baño y en el pasillo porque no entendía nada. Estaba tratando de seguir a los otros estudiantes, pero finalmente se sintió perdido. Estaba en un lugar nuevo, y no podía comunicar sus necesidades o entender lo que estaba destinado a hacer. Tratar de aprender en un ambiente donde no puedes ser escuchado o entendido es una injusticia. Apoyo a IPS en la creación de un plan para la justicia lingüística porque no quiero que ningún estudiante sienta cómo lo hizo ese niño, pero sé que hay estudiantes en esta ciudad y este distrito que se sienten así todos los días. ¿Te imaginas llegar a un lugar nuevo y sentirte siempre perdido?

Apoyar un plan para la justicia lingüística es una cosa, pero para que tenga éxito, debe obtener comentarios de las comunidades de inmigrantes y ELL. Tendrá que encontrar formas de llegar a las familias que no tienen acceso a la tecnología, que trabajan largas horas, que no hablan inglés y posiblemente se han sentido marginados debido a esto, y de quienes quizás no haya escuchado antes.

Detrás de cada estudiante que aprende inglés hay una comunidad de padres y a medida que reúna comentarios para crear el plan, espero que también cree comunidades de padres en las escuelas. Estas comunidades de padres pueden ayudarlo a llegar a más familias y reunir más información. También pueden crear un sentido de pertenencia y comprensión en las escuelas que lo necesitan. Para que nuestros estudiantes tengan éxito en la escuela, debemos asegurarnos de que reciban todo el apoyo. Tiene que existir un triángulo de familia, escuela y estudiante.

Una vez más, les agradezco por apoyar la creación de un plan de justicia lingüística. Espero que a través de los comentarios reflexivos de las familias ELL, el plan pueda convertirse en un modelo para aún más escuelas en nuestra ciudad. También espero que ofrezca tiempo para que el público ofrezca comentarios sobre el plan y que vote sobre la versión final. Y asegúrese de que el distrito se tome el tiempo para recopilar comentarios de los padres difíciles de alcanzar, que desean desesperadamente ser parte de la educación de sus hijos, pero a veces se sienten obligados a vivir en las sombras. Esto será un desafío para IPS, pero vale la pena el tiempo, y tiene socios que están listos y dispuestos a ayudar.

Gracias por su tiempo.

Good evening Superintendent Johnson and IPS board members,

My name is Mary Bova and I am an ELL teacher in Indianapolis. I am here tonight because I am grateful that this district voted to support the production of a language justice plan back in December and I want to see that plan be as strong and as beneficial as possible to our ELL students and families.

I strongly believe that for any plan to succeed, it must consider the feedback of the people it is meant to help, so I am also here to ask you to seek more parental input, especially from our ELL parents in IPS, as you produce this final plan.

Without feedback, we don’t know what our families want or need or get the full picture of what it really means to be an ELL student or parent. Without feedback, the plan won’t account for the entire spectrum of English Language Learning students – from students who are fully bilingual and born here to our newcomers. Without feedback, you might not see what I see in my ELL students every day — that they are the hardest-working and most dedicated people I know.

From my experience as a teacher, I know ESL parents want to be involved, but without equitable language access, they are dependent on receiving information regarding their children’s lives at school from their children and are often at the mercy of an unjust system.

I have seen our ELL families be ignored and go unheard, which is one reason I realize gathering this feedback won’t be easy. But if this district truly wants to be inclusive, I believe being intentional about gathering feedback for a language justice plan will show our families that this is something different from their previous experience. As the district considers how to gather feedback, please also consider the families who are afraid to speak up, the families who may fear being deported, and the families who have no access to technology or the internet. As I said, there are going to be obstacles to making connections with some of these families, but I truly believe this plan can offer great, positive change that helps IPS ELL families feel included and ELL students be supported.

Language Justice for me means that all students are seen. It means that parents and students have equitable opportunities to succeed in the classroom. It means ensuring students aren’t repeating classes they do not need to repeat due to communication issues. With a great plan for language justice, instances that overcrowd classrooms and put ELL students at a disadvantage could be avoided.

Thank you so much for voting to produce a language justice plan in December. I hope to see this board vote on the final plan once it is produced and includes critical feedback from the very families it is meant to help.