IMMIGRANT ACADEMY
Kids Break Language Barriers

Oussama (front) practices English with classmates in an improved library

By Ellen Thompson
Oussama could feel his heart begin to beat slightly faster and the palms of his hands grow warmer as he neared the front doors of IS 235, the Academy for New Americans in Long Island City. The hesitant seventh grader bit his lip, gazed upward and told himself that whatever lay behind those big green doors would be nothing like everything he left behind in Morocco.

Oussama signed in at the school’s main office and sat silently as everyone around him spoke a language his tongue could not yet maneuver. Over a single school year the shy student spoke his first word of English, honed his math skills, recited the nation’s first presidents to his teacher, found a strong group of friends and is now writing entire essays in English.

“IS 235 isn’t just a school to our students. We’ve fortunately created a warm and friendly environment where they can open up and be themselves,” said Principal Carmen Rivera, who has helped hundreds of students that have walked into her office since the school opened 10 years ago. “Even though the students are only with us for a year, we are helping them build a solid foundation here in America. They learn about our school systems, customs and culture as well the language.”

Many of the students who arrive at IS 235 from countries around the world walk in to Rivera’s office knowing little to no English. Determined to nurture a bicultural lifestyle for the students, Rivera works with teachers testing the students’ language skills, determining what level they are at in comparison to the 35 languages spoken by the new Americans. After the students are placed in ESL classes they receive 90 minutes of English language instruction every day along with a language lab class where they focus on reading skills. To sharpen the English lessons, math, science, and social studies are offered in English-only or Spanish bilingual classes.

“Our students are challenged every day in class, but it’s not the type of challenge they would face in other schools. They don’t have to worry about being ridiculed or singled out for pronouncing words wrong or being different. They face academic challenges and overcome them quicker than typical students,” said Rivera, who developed a program that links new students with a classmate who speaks their language and acts as a tutor and role model.

Realizing the cultural challenges that tie in with immigrating to New York City, Rivera has been able to update the school library’s periodicals with books on popular culture’s past and present, including a book about John Lennon written in numerous languages. Looking further at the constantly evolving workforce of the city, Rivera persistently worked with the Genesis Foundation on installing a state of the art multimedia center in the library.
“Many of these children have never seen a computer before arriving here, let alone a smart board or video conferencing equipment,” said Rivera. “Some of our students come from a socio-economic background where they wouldn’t be in contact with these tools at home and these are the tools that will help them advance in ways that only time will tell.”

“The first day I walked into school I was scared. I didn’t want to say anything wrong, but now it is great. I know the teachers care and they help me speak good English,” said Oussama revealing a smile between each sentence. “I’ve been learning HTML and after high school I want to make WebPages and maybe even teach it here.