Buffalo public schools provide inconsistent, inadequate and inequitable services to

students who speak English as their second language, according to a scathing report recently

released to the administration and Board of Education.

The city's rapidly growing student population of recent immigrants and refugees — now

numbering more than 3,000 — has historically been "largely invisible" in Buffalo

schools, the report contends.

"The school system didn't seem to notice they were here, didn't think to modify an

otherwise successful program to ensure that these newcomers could succeed, and didn't create

an effective system to reach out to those communities," states the Council of Great City

Schools report, which was commissioned by the board.

"In short, the instructional program for many of these new Americans is poorly defined,

inconsistently implemented, and lacking a clear strategy for developing English acquisition

skills."

Document: CGCS report on raising achievement of English language learners in Buffalo schools

The 158-page report praises the school system's multilingual education department and its

director, Tamara O. Alsace, but harshly criticizes the vast majority of principals and

teachers who work most directly with students.

It paints the picture of a fragmented school system where instruction and services for the

students known in education jargon as "English language learners" vary tremendously from

school to school, and sometimes even from classroom to classroom.

The few bright spots noted in the report include the work done at International School 45,

the dual-language immersion program at Olmsted, and a "newcomer" program at Lafayette High

School. There, the teachers do "an excellent job" but teach in basement facilities that are

"cramped, poorly equipped, and isolated from the general school environment."

Students who speak English as a second language represent 9 percent of enrollment, and for

nearly half of them, Spanish is the native language.

Hundreds of other immigrant and refugee students speak Somali, Arabic, Burmese and Karen, a

language spoken in Thailand, Tibet and Myanmar, which had been known as Burma. More than 60

other languages are each spoken by a handful of other students.

While the school system as a whole has made significant strides in academic achievement in

the last few years, progress has been slower for students whose native language is not

English, the report says.

These students have made progress on state tests in elementary grades over the last few

years. In fourth grade, for instance, 21 percent were reading at or above grade level in

spring 2008, up from 11 percent two years earlier. But in eighth grade, only 3 percent were

reading at grade level in 2008, reflecting no change from two years earlier.

Only 21 percent of the students end up graduating from high school, compared with the

city's overall graduation rate of about 55 percent.

The report also found that:

Students and their families have difficulty getting basic information about schools

in the system and services available to them because the system's Web site and most of its

written material is in English only.

A disproportionate number of non-native English-speaking students are placed in

special education, compared with national rates. Among those who are placed in special ed, an

unusually high percentage are classified as learning-disabled or speech-impaired, "raising

questions about the diagnostic and identification process."

Admission to the city's magnet programs and top high schools is out of reach for

most, in part because entrance exams are given only in English.

While the international school has received much attention for its work with immigrant and

refugee children, these students are found in many other schools. Yet throughout the rest of

the system, most teachers and staff outside the multilingual education department have low

expectations for these students, the report says. These teachers and staff do not see

themselves as being responsible for the students' success — and are not held accountable

for it, the report says.

"The level of instruction in most classrooms was extremely low. Students were disengaged,

and instruction often involved little more than worksheet exercises, copying questions off the

board or out of textbooks," the report says.

Administration officials say the city's challenges in these areas existed long before

Superintendent James A. Williams and his leadership team arrived a few years ago. They

acknowledge that Buffalo schools have a lot of progress to make with these students, as do

many urban school systems across the country.

Buffalo does have an instructional plan, which is in accordance with the National Reading

Panel and the National Literacy Panel, officials say. And in the last few years, the system

has set in motion a number of initiatives designed to improve instruction for these students,

which will take some time to yield results.

"We are in the process of creating a system addressing some of the profound needs our

country is facing regarding the students we have today," said Folasade Oladele, deputy

superintendent. "We are implementing things that need to be in place. Do we need to do more?

Yes."

Oladele and Alsace noted that it has been a year since the Council of Great City Schools

visited Buffalo. The city's schools have made strides in a number of areas during that time,

they said.

For instance, the school system now contracts with a national company that provides

translation services for more than 100 languages to help parents with phone calls to their

children's schools, Alsace said. Frequently used documents such as field trip permission forms

are being translated into the five most common languages. The system has hired more aides who

speak students' native languages.

And more is in the works. Principals will be educated about the particular needs of these

students, Oladele said. The system's entire Web site soon will be revamped and will become

more accessible.

The underlying challenge related to helping immigrant students lies in educating teachers

and others about these students and their needs, and bringing about a change in mind-set among

many of the adults in the district, officials said.

"We're really struggling with a cultural, intellectual shift that has to take place in how

we view the children we teach," Oladele said.

The report includes extensive recommendations for improving instruction and services.

Officials said they plan to review them.

Ralph R. Hernandez, the School Board president, said he has been pushing the school system

to audit its program for more than three years. Two years ago, the board approved a measure

authorizing the study by the Council of Great City Schools, which visited 100 classrooms in 11

schools last spring.

The focus of the study is dear to Hernandez, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New

York City. There, his family spoke only Spanish at home, but the children learned English at

school. He believes that the school system is ready to address its problems, using the report

as a blueprint.

"This is a student population that's been ignored way too long, and it's time we did

something about it," Hernandez said. "I truly believe I have the support of the board in

getting something done now."