Schools and an immigrant influx: What it takes to educate all children
The girl with the ponytail and overalls has four favorite sports.
“Fútbol, básquet, béisbol, y fútbol americano,” she tells her class in Spanish, seated in a circle on a rug.
A new teacher at Eagleton Elementary in Denver tells the class it will practice English tomorrow. But a cluster of kids can’t wait.
“¡Ahora!” they say, wanting to try now. New words trickle in through their ears and transform out their mouths. Fútbol becomes soccer. Béisbol turns into baseball.
This New Arrivals class, for English learners in kindergarten through third grade, is itself new. In January, soon after a migrant shelter opened nearby, the school of 212 students added another 125. Most come from Venezuela, where political and economic crises have caused millions to flee.
“When you have 17 kids in your classroom, and then the next day you have 35, you’re basically starting over,” says Janine Dillabaugh, the principal. Beyond academic support, she says, “we also have to attend to their social and emotional needs.”
In an era of historic migration and , many Americans rate immigration as a ahead of the 2024 election. Yet like the United
