‘Cadillac’ Plan for English Language Learners Comes With $39 Million Price Tag

After years of dribbling out money for students learning English as a second language, Metro Nashville Public School officials are proposing $ 39 million worth of new programs. Smaller classrooms at schools with high percentages of English language learners, laptops loaded with software for each student, bilingual tutors, summer school, direct services and family community nights throughout the district make up part of what Chief Academic Officer Jay Steele calls the “Cadillac” plan for the district’s 25,316-student EL community. “It’s a hefty ask,” Steele told board members at their regular meeting Tuesday night as he and Kevin Stacy, director of the district’s EL office, pitched the plan. Entitled “Helping ELs Achieve Even Higher,” the plan also includes professional development for teachers and administrators, mentors for EL teachers, an EL consultant and language centers equipped with registrars. Nashville became a hub for refugees beginning in the 70′s and 80, followed by immigrants in the 90s and continuing to grow today. Students who speak a second language at home account for 31 percent of Metro Schools students, speaking some 120 languages, chiefly Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, Somali and Vietnamese. As presented, the plan envisions costs during a three-year roll out, with pieces that can be taken up separately. However, any significant investment in the programs will require the approval of the Metro School Board, but also the Metro Council and the mayor’s office that approve the funds to pay for it. “Do I think everything will be funded? No I don’t,” said Steele. Finding additional funding for English language learners has been a low priority in past years, having garnered a $ 100,000 bump in funding in 2014-15 before the board agreed to invest $ 3.4 million in 2015-16. Will Pinkston, the board’s most vocal advocate for English language learners — many of whom live in his South Nashville district — applauded the plan and said the board should begin inviting Metro Council members and the mayor’s office to the table to talk about how to make the plan work. But before the school board moves forward with decide what, if anything, to find money for next year, Board Member Elissa Kim pressed for more details about which of the ideas has a proven success record of improving student achievement for children entering Metro Schools speaking a different language. “We need to be rooted in actual facts of what works,” said Kim. Here’s the play-by-play of last night’s meeting: