IPS board commits to providing more help to English language learners
The Indianapolis Public Schools board of commissioners approved a new language justice policy Thursday night that will provide the framework for the districts to better serve its growing English as a new language student population.
Jessica Dunn, the executive director of enrichment programs for IPS, told board members the policy sends the message that the IPS district and board of commissioners see language justice as a priority and are willing to provide the resources needed to make it happen.
“It helps give us the support that we need to make sure that we can implement this in a way that is going to truly be transformative for IPS families,” Dunn said during Tuesday's agenda review session meeting.
The approved policy creates an objective for the IPS administration to achieve and establishes the board’s position on language justice, but it does not specifically lay out actions the district will take to fulfill its objectives.
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Language justice is the “practice of ensuring people can communicate effectively, understand information, and be understood using the language in which they feel most comfortable,” according to the policy. The policy also states the district honors a person's unique cultural experiences and will promote cultural competency across the district.
IPS board president Evan Hawkins said during his last meeting as board president Thursday night that he realizes there is a lot of work to be done in the district surrounding language justice but is excited to see the process begin.
“This is not a document that is filed in a folder and placed away,” Hawkins said. “It's a living breathing policy that will continue to be sharpened and iterated, so I'm looking forward to seeing the evolution as we learn as a community how to sharpen and how to improve policy.”
Number of English language learners continues to grow in IPS
During the past five years, the district has seen a 20% increase in English as a new language students in the district and now has around 6,000 ENL students.
Around 90% of IPS’ English language learners use Spanish as their preferred language. The next highest preferred language seen in IPS is French Creole at 2.3%, Swahili at 1.2% and Arabic at 0.7%, according to IPS data.
Currently, IPS sends out communications in both English and Spanish to families and its website is translated into multiple languages. The district employs over 90 ENL teachers who support students directly with instruction as well as over 50 bilingual assistants assisting in classrooms.
Next step will be in January when a task force will convene, that is composed of school leaders, teachers, non-teaching school staff, families, students and community partners. That task force will create the administrative guidelines that will lay the blueprint of how the district will make these goals happen.
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Dunn said some of the obvious resources the district will need to carry out this promise is to hire more interpreters and translators, as well as provide more professional development to all IPS staff that pertains to cultural competency and language justice.
“So no matter what school you would visit in IPS, you would see that there is a welcoming environment for any family that walks into those doors, regardless of their preferred language,” Dunn said.
Parents and community members affiliated with Stand for Children Indiana, an education reform nonprofit group, applauded IPS for approving the policy saying that this is a step in the right direction for IPS.
“I truly appreciate IPS leaders for taking this step towards addressing gaps in serving the ELL community,” said Stand for Children Indiana organizer and IPS parent Carolina Figueroa. “I am proud of the community and IPS parents for speaking up and seeking this language justice policy. As long as we keep working together, we will be on the right path to create a more inclusive environment for our immigrant communities.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis schools plan to offer more help for English language learners
