Multilingual Students Are Here to Learn — And Succeed

As I travel around the U.S. engaging with the Hispanic community, many are surprised when they learn that I didn’t learn English until I was 15 years old and that neither of my parents had a formal education. They are even more surprised when I tell them I went on to graduate from a top American university and have worked for some of the world’s top companies. Growing up in Colombia, I didn’t picture my future leading me to my current role as vice president of international government relations for Pearson but those experiences have equipped me to better understand students of all backgrounds — including, and especially, students whose First Language is Not English (FLNE).

FLNE students represent the fastest growing segment of the U.S. public school population.

Every day I work to help ensure that these students’ needs are understood so they can succeed in the classroom, no matter what language they speak at home. At Pearson, we are determined to help these students close the achievement gap, increase their high school graduation rates and lower their rates of college attrition.

As part of this effort, Pearson has partnered with America’s Promise Alliance to release a study, I Came Here to Learn: The Achievements and Experiences of Massachusetts Students Whose First Language Is Not English to share qualitative and quantitative data about FLNE youth in Massachusetts, which counts one in five students as FLNE. The research is part of GradNation State Activation, a three-year initiative to develop and share successful models to increase high school graduation rates to 90 percent by 2020.

Massachusetts has one of the highest graduation rates in the nation, but FLNE students account for 30 percent of youth who leave high school before graduation. The study analyzed data on more than 13,000 FLNE students and interviewed more than two dozen Hispanic youth from across the state who were identified as being at risk for leaving school. The report highlights three key findings:

• Some FLNE groups graduate on par with, or even substantially higher than, their native English-speaking peers, while others lag far behind.

• Many students are navigating different issues, not just language barriers: a home life without both parents in the U.S. and often the need to work to support their family — all in addition to attending school.

• Across the board, students were generally motivated to better themselves and reach their full academic potential.

Through the interviews with FLNE students, the report also identified several implications for policy and practice that can help students successfully reach graduation. The main three that stuck with me are:

1. Create more opportunities to establish connections and foster communities.
2. Engage young people in the design of educational programs.
3. Provide more flexible programs for older youth.

I have long believed that engaging multilingual students and their families and communities is crucial to helping students succeed because of the unique challenges they face. For Pearson and all those who support learning, this report highlights the opportunities to involve more students in the creation of educational materials and to continue to provide flexible programs for older students that are balancing many competing priorities. But while the report provides valuable findings, continued research and successful application of these findings is needed to help move the needle for these students.

Non-native English speakers represent the fastest growing population in U.S. public schools.

Our partnership with America’s Promise Alliance is just one piece of our work for the Hispanic community that engages students, parents and teachers. These efforts include a partnership with NBC to provide a dual-language parent toolkit to empower parents to be actively engaged in their children’s education and growth; support of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) and Excelencia for Education, and expanding college access via our support of the Rey Feo Foundation in San Antonio, Texas.

I worry that too often the lack of English language skills is mistaken as the inability to achieve academically.

I know from my own experience that this is simply untrue and that this perception is a barrier that FLNE students must overcome. It is clear that it will take all stakeholders and communities working together to ensure we are best supporting all learners, including FLNE students.

I’ve met so many bright and motivated Hispanic students throughout the country and I know that together we can help them realize their full potential, become contributing members of our society and achieve their own dreams along the way.

Maria Alexandra Velez is Pearson’s Vice President of International Government Relations.