Graduation rate of ENL students in Syracuse City School District increases by 20%

At the beginning of the year, the New York State Department of Education released data that revealed graduation rates in the Syracuse City School District hit an all-time high of 70.7%. While higher graduation rates are a victory for all students in the district, it is the English language learners who saw the most dramatic improvement, with graduation rates increasing by 20% in the past year alone. According to members of the Syracuse City School District’s ENL, World Languages, and Bilingual Education department, there are various components responsible for this victory.

Jacqueline LeRoy, director of the ENL department, said that a primary reason is more family involvement. The department works directly with community-based organizations, such as Interfaith Works and Catholic Charities, and with the families.

“We do a lot of regular meetings with them and we also provide a lot of workshops both for our community partners and then for the parents,” LeRoy said. “Our parents go there regularly either to get adult ESL classes, to have support with employment, or if they have questions or concerns. We have interpreters and nationality workers who come with us. So we built this collaboration between our partners, and we’ve been finding ways to engage our families.”

Another way teachers keep parents involved is through the use of a platform called Talking Points, which allows teachers to communicate with parents using their cell phones. The platform translates individual and group text messages in a wide variety of languages (there are currently 84 languages spoken in the district) so that the families can have access to information.

“It’s a great tool to keep parents in the loop about what’s going on,” said Meredith Green, an ENL instructional coach. “Especially during the pandemic, it keeps them involved.”

Green works primarily with the high schools and was an ENL teacher at the high school level prior to becoming a coach. Now, she supports high school teachers with professional development.

According to ENL department director, LeRoy, these professional learning sessions provide the understanding and the know-how to create a rigorous, grade-level, standards-based curriculum for an ENL student.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of teachers participate in these sessions over the past few years,” she said.

Lyda Ragonese, assistant director of the department, explained a blueprint that the New York State Department of Education truly believes in, that says all teachers are teachers of English language learners.

“In the past,” she said, “it was always the thought that the ENL teacher was the one responsible. But the true belief is that we all—whether it’s the physical education teacher, the art teacher, the principal—are responsible for educating these students.”