Portland Public Schools is seeking to spend over $200,000 in federal funds on hiring four English language teachers who will serve as interpreters for “new arrivals” in the school district.
The proposed allocation of the funds, a total of $223,918, comes as part of a federal grant through the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Portland Schools is looking to use a portion of the grant money to fund the hiring of four full-time Language Acquisition Ed Techs, whom the district says “will serve as interpreters and provide cultural/linguistic support for students during the school day to assist them with transitions to the American school system, specific classroom procedures, and social-emotional awareness.”
“[The Ed Techs] will help new arrivals with classroom procedures and expectations, orientation to new technologies and platforms, and school routines,” the district wrote in their proposal. “They will help lower the affective filter and anxiety levels of new arrivals by having an adult with the same language and/or cultural background.”
Additionally, the district is looking to hire a part-time staff member to provide training for other staff on “implementing new skills to support the growth of Multilingual Learners in advancing their English Language skills while also achieving grade level standards in other content areas.”
[RELATED: New Report Analyzes the Decades-Long Decline of Maine K-12 Education…]
The funding is also proposed to be allocated towards a Portuguese language course for educators, and other “professional learning modules” directed towards topics related to the education of the “multilingual leaners,” as well as for family engagement activities for the families and caregivers of multilingual families.”
Portland Schools are accepting feedback on their proposed allocation of the federal funds through June 30, 2024.
According to Portland School Board Chair Sarah Lentz’s 2023 State of the Schools report, thirty percent of students in the district are actively learning English, eighteen percent are supported by special education services, and seven percent are homeless.
In presenting her report to the City Council last December, Lentz boasted that the district, although facing a deficit of at least $10 million — a situation she called “incredibly grim” — displays “remarkable diversity.”
“Our students embody remarkable diversity,” Lentz told the City Council. “In the whitest state in the country, our student body speaks over 50 languages, with thirty percent of them actively learning English.”
“All of these layers of diversity create a unique and rich environment for our students to learn in,” Lentz said. “We are so lucky.”
The $445 million Fiscal Year 2024-2025 supplemental budget passed by the Maine Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills last July included a $3.5 million earmark for school districts to support English Language Learner (ELL) students.
The largest recipient of the ELL funds from the supplemental budget was Portland, at more than $780,000.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="28355 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=28355">13 Comments
In Maine, that pays for 12 teachers, who can live under a bridge with their students
Talk to Aroostook Valley kids who happen to speak french in school. How did previous administration’s deal with foreign language speakers
Long time Portland Kids are already behind in Math and ENGLISH. NOW thanks to the democratic President Joe and our Democratic Leader, King, Pingree, and Jaraid, our native kids will be even further behind. VOTE THEM ALL OUT!
LOL
WHAT ….did all the geniuses think was going to happen ?
Better fire old Miss Smith who’s been teaching 3rd grade for twenty five years .
She doesn’t speak Spanish fluently so she has to go .
Maine can’t absorb all these “ new Mainers “ without displacing the old ones .
Wake up Maine ….Democrats need to go !
Wow that’s a lot of money. School budgets have that much to waste on a program? Great job Janet mills
They are not looking to hire teachers to do this job, but lower paid ed techs to do essentially the same job as a teacher.
spend over $200,000 in federal funds
I meant to note, that this is federal funds this year that they will want to absorb into the budget next year.
It’s a smart use of money. At the younger grade levels kids pick up English very quickly and don’t need help for long. My own kid is an eighth grader and there were two kids in her class last September that didn’t speak any English by December they were fine.
But Gman why are our kids read and math scores going down over the last few years. You are saying it is present day education system which is already here that is not doing the job. Then let us replace the current Ed Dept. in Augusta right now!
What Santa brings the Democrats will covet
forever ……once put in place we will be paying
For this ( and more ) forever .
More free lunch for all !
Portland has enuf to pay for without worrying about all these illiterate unvaccinated little urchins from the parts unknown
The thing that really torques me ….?
Is that an awful lot of ” Mainers ” always wanna bitch about the ” People from Away ” but a few hundred thousand illegal aliens ….?
Absolutely just fine ……
LOL
Want higher taxes ? Bring more !
Maybe Ilhan Omar could be our next governor .
Vote NO on Gorham 53 mil. School Budget!!!!!
EVERY new hire will be steeped in DEI, multiculturalism, that all white people are racists and will know all the lyrics to “We Are the World” by heart.
I hope none of you “ do gooders “ are surprised by this .
You’re the ones who allowed it to start , and will allow it to continue .
YOU are destroying our state .