Field Local Schools adapting to accommodate rise in Arabic students

Field Local Schools has seen a rise in Arabic students in its classrooms and has been faced with educating non-English speaking students or students that know very little English. Reporters Emily Moran and Jenny Harvey examined the issue of increasing Arabic students in the Field Local School District and how these students are being educated in the classroom. In her video, Harvey looks at what teachers are doing to accommodate Arabic students and how the language barrier is being addressed. In her story, Moran looks at why the number of Arabic students is increasing, where these students are coming from and what is being done to help these students.

[rpavideo caption= “In this video, TV2 reporter Jennifer Harvey takes a look at how Brimfield Elementary is dealing with the increase of Arabic-speaking students. “]RPA_HARVEY_04_ARABIC[/rpavideo]

Increase in Saudi Arabian students poses challenge for Field Local Schools

by Emily Moran

BRIMFIELD, OHIO — Field Local Schools is currently facing an educational challenge with the increase in Arabic students to the area. In recent years, the Arabic population around the Brimfield and Kent areas has been steadily rising and so has the number of Arabic students coming into the Field Local School District. With no budget to help these students and a rising number of Arabic students in its classrooms, Field Local Schools is scrambling to educate students who speak little to no English.

Jason Hamric, the only ESL (English as a second language) tutor for the entire Field Local School district, said he was hired at the end of September by the school district to help those students learn English. He said  his salary is paid for by Title III which the federal government gives to schools to help teach non-English speaking students English. He said once the funds run out, “that’s all there is.”

“I am a licensed English teacher, so when I saw the opening, there wasn’t an English opening. So, I decided to apply for the ESL position because it still teaches English and I wanted to get a job in the field of teaching,” Hamric said.

The only ESL tutor

Brimfield Elementary currently has 40 Arabic students and there are another 12 Arabic students in the high school and middle school respectively. Hamric is in charge of teaching all of them and is the only ESL tutor in the district. He works 21 hours a week and sometimes subs for the district as well. He said it is stressful because he wants to serve all of his students as best he can. Hamric said it is hard trying to figure out what is best for each student and switching from elementary students, to middle school students, to high school students; sometimes in the same day.

“My goal this year is to make the kids comfortable in the classroom, I want them to forget about the language barrier and learn,” Hamric said.

[pullquote float = “right”]My goal this year is to make the kids comfortable in the classroom, I want them to forget about the language barrier and learn. — Jason Hamric[/pullquote]

Hamric spends on average of 30 minutes one day a week with each student in the elementary school and 45 minutes one day a week with each middle school or high school student. Each student’s ability to speak English varies, making Hamric’s task of teaching all the more difficult. He said when he works with the elementary students, he focuses more on word recognition, pointing out and naming items and places, as well as other basic language exercises. Hamric said when he works with older Arabic students, the focus is more on the work they are doing in their classes.

“With middle school and high school kids, I don’t really do the language exercises and other stuff. I’m trying to get them through their homework, their tests, their assignments, their projects, and help them read the books they have to read,” Hamric said.

Arabic students coming to America

Nicole Bable, an elementary teacher at Brimfield Elementary, said she is part of the Arabic culture and has visited many of the Arabic student’s homes and spoken with the parents. She said she faces stereotypes from parents of students she has in her classroom which is frustrating for her.

“Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy country, these people have money and when they come their government supports them to be here for the purposes of education,” Bable said.

Bable said the Arabic students in her classroom are integrated with the rest of the students and are held to the same expectations as their English-speaking classmates. She said this forces the students she has to communicate with their peers.

“One of my favorite parts is watching the other kids get used to having kids from a different culture here,” Bable said.

Bable said most of her students have never seen an Arabic student before and the children are very helpful and interested when it comes to teaching them in the classroom.

“They are five and they get so excited about differences,” Bable said.

Bable said when Arabic children come to her classroom, their English speaking skills can vary and many of them do not speak English at all. She said when an Arabic student comes to her classroom that cannot speak English, she has to literally hold his or her hand and show them what to do. Bable said that although the work is challenging, she hopes that her Arabic students will have fond memories of being in the U.S.

“You want them to go back having fond memories of being here,” Bable said.

Bable said the majority of the students that come to Field Local Schools are from Saudi Arabia and many of the children are brought to the United States by their parents or even born in the United States while their parents pursue a degree at nearby Kent State University or Akron University. She said since many of the parents come to pursue a degree, a good portion of the Arabic children that come to the U.S. are here for only a short time before going back to Saudi Arabia when their parents receive their degrees.

Teaching responsibilities

Bethany Hudson, the Director of Curriculum at Field Local Schools said the district has sent teachers to professional development to help them with strategies for working with Arabic students in their classrooms on top of hiring the ESL tutor.

“Any student that might qualify for ESL services is tested when they start the school year to find their level of skill in listening, speaking, writing and comprehending English. Depending on the results of that testing, students may see the tutor for one or more days a week or participate in some other district interventions,” Hudson said.

Hudson said Kent City Schools has dealt with an increase of Arabic students as well in recent years due to its location to both Kent State University and Akron University. She said the teachers at Field Local Schools have done a wonderful job in working with Arabic students.

“As a school district, it is our responsibility to make sure that every child that comes to our school has an equal opportunity to access the curriculum. As with any student who faces a challenge, we employ a variety of strategies to help them reach their potential,” Hudson said.