Carroll County?s program for students with limited English-language skills is growing at a rate of 200 percent a year, officials said, prompting concerns about whether the budget ? and test scores ? can keep pace with the booming population.
The school system?s English for Speakers of Other Languages program now has approximately 150 students who speak languages including Arabic and Vietnamese, though constant movement of students in and out of county schools can make the roster fluctuate, said Program Director Pamela Mesta.
As Carroll County grows, it is home to more students who are new to the countryor speak a language other than English in their homes. The ESOL program offers students specialized instruction while helping teachers and families break down language and cultural barriers, Mesta said.
Most of the students served by the program live in the central, northern and eastern parts of the county, allowing some ESOL teachers to be assigned exclusively to schools in Hampstead, Manchester and Westminster. The students are more spread out in the southern part of the county, Mesta said, requiring at least one teacher to shuttle among four schools every day.
Part of the requested budget for the next fiscal year will switch seven part-time employees to full time and add two more positions, Mesta said.
Though Carroll is one of a few school systems to have all of its students pass state testing requirements, Gregg Bricca, director of accountability and research, said an “achievement gap” exists between students with limited English skills and the rest. The key to closing that gap, Bricca said, is supporting those students and looking for community outreach opportunities.
Students who speak limited English are often constrained during tests by the difference between learning to use a language conversationally and learning to use it academically, Mesta said. Studies generally show it takes from five to 10 years for a student to develop academic proficiency.
