The eight EL teachers serving all LAPS sites gather recently for a photo. Pictured back row from left, Julie Bulthuis of Aspen Elementary, Ellen Middleditch of Chamisa and Piñon, Rebecca Cabildo of LAOLA and Inna Bohn of Los Alamos Middle School. Front row from left, Michele Poulton of Barranca, Sherri Smith of Los Alamos High School, Jessie Dixon of Mountain and Miel Rim of Aspen and Barranca. Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS News:
Los Alamos Public Schools now has 170 students enrolled from 33 countries and pueblos, speaking 25 languages.
Students are enrolled in grades K through 12 at all elementary schools, the middle school and high school. The English Learners (EL) program at LAPS is specifically for students with other home languages to help them learn social and academic English to succeed in school.
“The program uses English as the common language across the diverse languages and cultures we have here,” said Michele Poulton, one of eight EL teachers serving all school sites in the district. “It provides legally required services similar to how special education programs are supported.”
According to Poulton, when new families register for school, they complete a Language Usage form (LUS) which asks questions about other languages within the family/home setting. If any of the answers indicate yes, EL teachers administer a screener to determine if the student needs EL services.
“If a student needs services, the amount of time per week depends on a variety of factors, including the student’s levels in Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, and their grade level,” she said.
The countries and pueblos represented in the district include Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, India, Israel, Italy, Korea, Laos, Mexico, Navajo Nation, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam and the United States.
These students and families speak Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Kannada, Keres, Korean, Maithili, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Tewa, Urdu, Uzbek and Vietnamese.
“I love getting to know my students and their families and cultures,” EL teacher Jessica Dixon said. “I believe that speaking more than one language is an asset and having a richly diverse population is a strength.”
“A wonderful part of my job is knowing that I make a difference to a student and a family in some way,
every day,” Poulton said. “English is not my first language, so I can relate to the students and
families with whom I connect. Living and learning in a different language and culture can be difficult, so helping the families feel welcome and helping them find a voice in their new home is important both in the short and long term.”
Most of the EL teachers agree that scheduling EL services can be challenging. It requires coordinating
with classroom teachers, specials teachers, and other services across all grade levels to balance English
learning with classroom instructional time.
At the elementary level, EL teachers coordinate with classroom teachers about pull-out to work in the EL
classroom, push-in to help in the regular class, or a combination. At the middle and high school levels, it
is more complex as students who need EL services need to be scheduled into the proper level of English
class with the EL teacher and/or an EL Academic Support class to help with other subjects/content.
Over the years, the EL team has worked hard to streamline the process across elementary schools and to
parallel the middle and high school process as appropriate.
“It is so much fun to see our ELs develop the language but also to learn the different cultures and
perspectives they bring,” Rim said. “When I first immigrated to the US in first grade, I was an EL
student. My EL teacher made a huge impact on me adjusting to the US quickly. I am thankful I have the
opportunity to pay it forward.”