PINE PLAINS —  “I love this school, and I am so grateful to everybody who works so hard to help my son learn English,” Cold Spring School mom Erkhes Galidev said of her first-grade son, Bamboo, and his progress. A native of Ulan Baator, Mongolia, Galidev, whose husband is a pianist at Bard College, spoke sincerely of all the kindness and attention shown to her son.

The directors and teachers, she said, keep in touch with her by email, so that she is always in the loop with school matters. Bamboo’s (a simplification of his Mongolian name) day-to-day learning astonishes his mother beyond words: “Every day,” she said, “it is…,” she gestures as if to describe a head expanding upward.

Galidev and son were one pair of about 50 parents and children who enjoyed an informal evening of crafts and games for kids and families,while learning about offerings in the school district and the community. The ENL family evening was held on Monday, April 24, in the cafeteria at Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School. English as a New Language, or English for New Learners, is the updated version of ESL, or English as a Second Language.

Joanne Koch, secondary ESL and reading teacher, outlined the history of the district’s program for non-native speakers of English. “When I started here in the ‘90s, there were just a few students, mostly Russian and Polish adoptees.” Now, she said, most are Spanish-speakers, largely the children of farm workers, as well as a family of polo players from Argentina who come for polo season, attend school and then leave.

It takes five to seven years to get basic skills, Koch pointed out, and achieving literacy can be challenging, especially if a student’s core family do not have literacy in their own language. So students are given a diagnostic screening test even before they enter school, then are placed in not just ENL but also the broader reading program.

State guidelines

As to how long and how often students are pulled out of regular classes for English instruction, their progress is assessed yearly using the NYSESLAT tests. Classroom differentiation of instruction has been an education byword for decades now, the assumption being that teaching needs to be tailored to students’ varying capacities and learning styles. This works well for English Language Learners (ELL). Over the years, teachers have come to encourage students to talk about their cultures, and fortunately the approach to learning language is more dynamic and less academically rigid than it used to be.

Seymour Smith School teacher Alana Garnica and co-teacher Renee Rundall proudly presented their third-grade students’ graphic novel projects. Kids chose an endangered animal, filled out graphic organizers with research about them, and illustrated their stories based on the Maxwell Eaton III “The Truth About …” series. The school had been about to collaborate with the artist when COVID-19 hit, and they and hope to reestablish the relationship.

A pioneering year for the NYSSB

Gian Starr, director of curriculum and instruction, was present to introduce the New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB), which has been around for six years but was adopted in Pine Plains just this year. For now, the focus is on Spanish as the second language, and the Pine Plains students who are graduating with Seal of Biliteracy diplomas are mainstream, non-ENL students who have taken enough courses at a high level to accrue the needed credit points—three in English and three in Spanish—earning 85% or better in their courses. They must also achieve a set score on national tests, and complete and present a culminating project in English and/or a world language.

In the future, Starr noted, they hope to have ELL students stay in the language program long enough to achieve true bilingual fluency in not only speaking but reading and writing in both languages—or biliteracy. “That’s the goal,” he stated.

Eighth-grader Zayuri De Gabriel Jose, one of relatively few students over elementary age at the event, is an ideal candidate for the NYSSB. She has come up within the Pine Plains system and, despite some challenges, consolidated her English skills by about the fourth grade. She dreams of a career in immigration law.

There was a representative from the Pine Plains Library, and the Willow Roots Food Pantry owners greeted attendees and offered packages of mushrooms to all takers. Lisa and Nelson Zayas run the pantry, a nonprofit that feeds 50-70 families twice a month.

In line with their composting concerns, Nelson Zayas noted that “we’ve had zero breakfast garbage at Seymour Smith for the second year now.” They have compost bins there and are looking to install a similar system at the high school.

After a dinner of baked ziti and meatballs as well as a vegan option, youngsters wove through an obstacle course set up in the cafeteria until their attention was drawn to a decorate-the-cookies activity. Starr and Bon Burg urged everyone not to miss the new season of Unified basketball, which started last week, in which mixed life skills/special education and mainstream students from Stissing Mountain will compete with Unified teams from other schools.

Erkhes Galidev, left, with son Bamboo creating artwork at the Stissing Mountain ENL Family Evening on April 24. Photo by Deborah Maier

Erkhes Galidev, left, with son Bamboo creating artwork at the Stissing Mountain ENL Family Evening on April 24. Photo by Deborah Maier