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Steel Valley Navigates Growing Demand for ESL Services
Steel Valley School District has seen a significant increase in ESL students in recent years. Ten years ago, the district had about eight students in its districtwide ESL program, according to ESL teacher Cindy Levick. Today, that number is around 55. The demographics of that population have changed, too. Less than half were Spanish speaking students ten years ago; instead, they were predominantly Vietnamese or Mandarin speakers. Today, it’s predominantly Spanish, as well as Russian, Dari, Pashto, and a few others.
“The biggest challenge for our administration was making sure that we were able to have the appropriate number of staff members available to our student population that was growing almost daily—and be able to support those students,” said Steel Valley Superintendent Bryan Macuga. The district traditionally had one ESL teacher, but they needed to add another full-time ESL teacher to meet the current needs.
“That was a process,” Macuga said. “They are in high demand. It was almost a full year until we were able to finally secure another ESL teacher.”
Levick said it’s been important to learn about the languages the students and families use, even if she can’t speak them herself. The grammar and vocabulary in their native language can be used to help them grasp English, especially if there is a particularly troublesome area for a student.
Advancements in technology have been a huge help. Steel Valley is a one-to-one district where every student has an iPad. They’re valuable tools, especially with apps like Google Translate. Levick believes the best way for students to learn a word is to see a picture of it, not just a translation in our language. Pulling up a picture on an iPad is “something that I could not have done 20 years ago,” she said.
Translation apps are particularly important for certain assignments. “Even some of the students in high school who are in the middle range of their proficiency level might need a translation for technical things or complicated concepts in chemistry or calculus or things like that,” Levick said.
Cathy Ford is an ESL teacher who works with students from fifth through 12th grade in Steel Valley. She currently serves 33 students at the middle school/high school level.
Ford noted that reading, writing, speaking, and listening are all important, but many English learners spend the day mostly listening and reading. So, in her classroom, she encourages them to speak. In fact, Ford was delighted when one student told her recently that being in her class gave her more confidence to speak. “That made me really happy,” said Ford. “I’m not sure how much they speak English in a large classroom—because it’s intimidating. It’s scary.”
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