Telegraph file photo Elm Street Middle School English Language Learner teacher Karen Kariger works with two students during a summer school program in this 2018 file photo. (Telegraph file photo)

NASHUA – A day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had reached an agreement with the Nashua School District for a three-year plan to improve the district’s handling of instructional programs for its English Language Learners, top district officials said they are committed to doing what it takes to fulfill the initiatives outlined in the agreement.

“We are focused on doing all we can to support students to read, write and speak in English so they can fully participate in their classes,” interim Superintendent of Schools Garth McKinney said in a statement he and several other district leaders issued Tuesday afternoon.

Part of that equasion involves hiring more teachers certified to teach English as a second language,” McKinney said, adding that the goal is to “alleviate the shortfall in our teaching ranks.”

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire launched the investigation into the district’s English learner program in July 2019, based on a complaint the agencies received regarding the program, according to Board of Education president Heather Raymond.

The source, and nature, of the complaint was never revealed to the district, Raymond said.

Nevertheless, Raymond said she “fully supports this partnership with the DOJ. The city of Nashua and the Nashua School District are committed to working together to create more equitable learning opportunities for our community’s children,” Raymond said, adding that there are currently more than 1,400 ELL students in the district.

She said that last fall, investigators began conducting a series of interviews with a wide range of district personnel, including elementary, middle and high school administrators, English Language Learners (ELL) teachers, classroom and content area teachers, and ELL outreach workers.

Investigators also interviewed Robert Cioppa, district director of ELL and Student Services, Raymond said.

“Although uncomfortable, the experience is providing the impetus for more positive changes in our program,” Cioppa said in the statement.

Those changes, he added, “will lead to positive outcomes for our ELL students and their families.”

Meanwhile, McKinney, the interim superintendent, said steps have already been taken “to help each of our students overcome language barriers.”

Mayor Jim Donchess, in spring 2019, just before the investigation got underway, established a $200,000 contingency that McKinney said funded four more ELL teacher positions, according to McKinney.

Regarding the district’s settlement with the DOJ, which calls for DOJ personnel to monitor the district’s implementation of the improvement plan for three full school years, Donchess said he joins the BOE “in recognizing that more needs to be done to address barriers to our students learning in school, and I am committed to doing what my office can do to make that happen.”

In addition to the $200,000 contingency, the district in fall 2019 created a new position to augment communication efforts at both the district and school levels.

Yeney Naranjo Armenteros, who was hired for the new position of ELL Communication Coordinator, sees her role “as forging healthy relationships with ELL families,” which in turn “encourages greater parent engagement with the schools.”

“Translation apps” that help teachers “make sure important messages about student classroom work reach home successfully” are one of the initiatives that have already been implemented, Armenteros said.

“Our families know that we are available to help their understanding of school and how their children are doing in school,” Armenteros said, adding that interpreting and translation services are being provided as needed.

With the start of the 2021-22 school year, McKinney said, will come an added focus on “professional development offerings and school district and school staff meetings” that will focus on the findings of the DOJ investigation.

Those offerings, McKinney added, will be designed to “make sure all staff (members) understand the emphasis on addressing the immediate needs of the ELL program to fulfill the settlement.”

Cioppa, the district’s ELL and Student Services director, said the investigation identified seven areas for remediation.

The district needs to provide:

* Sufficient ELL services to all of our ELL students

* Sufficient ELL certified teachers to staff the ELL program

* Meaningful access to core content instruction for ELL students

* Training to principals so they can adequately evaluate teachers of ELLs

* Sufficient curricula to implement the ELL program

* More effective communication with ELL parents

* Adequate evaluation of the efficacy of the ELL program.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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