Staunton Republican delegate wants more funding for English learners in public schools

Del. John Avoli remembers when his family crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the winter to migrate from Italy to the U.S. He was 10 years old, didn’t speak English and had never ridden in a car until he got to New York City.

“The trauma occurred in the middle of January at the age of 10, in my knickers, when I had to go to school,” Avoli said. “My gosh, you wouldn’t believe it. I think we got into a fight every other day.”

Avoli, a Republican representing Staunton, recalled these hardships he faced entering the public education system as he spoke about Virginia’s duty to help immigrant families, especially children, learn English. The Early Childhood-Innovation Subcommittee voted unanimously to refer his proposals, HB 1823 and HB 1824, to provide more funding for the education of English learner students, to the Appropriations Committee on Jan. 18.

But the demographics of immigration to the U.S. have changed since Avoli sat at parent-teacher conferences translating Italian for his mother. Nowadays, the majority of the 117,000 English learners in Virginia schools speak Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Vietnamese or Korean, according to research from the nonprofit The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis.

“You risk people making fun of you,” Avoli said. “The way you look, the way you speak, or you don’t speak, and it becomes a traumatic situation.”

Virginia could be doing more to help older English learner students who have a harder time learning the language and integrating into American culture, Avoli said. The report from TCI states that Virginia has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country for English language learners.

“As a mother and immigrant, I see the importance of children having good development,” Adella Hernandez said through an interpreter at the subcommittee meeting. “Better literacy will increase the academic potential of our students at an early age and continue in the higher levels.”

Avoli’s solution is to provide funds for schools to prepare English learners for postsecondary opportunities starting next school year. HB 1823 would give annual reimbursement grants of up to $500 per EL student enrolled in high school to any school division to expand access to college and career readiness.

Other research indicates that Virginia is not providing adequate funding for English learners. Districts with the most English learners receive 48% less state revenue per student than districts with the fewest English learners, according to a report from The Education Trust non-profit. While HB 1823 addresses the lack of direct funding dedicated to students, HB 1824 seeks to increase the number of teachers who can instruct English learners.

HB 1824 would award incentive grants to public school teachers who obtain endorsements to teach English as a second language for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Once a teacher gets the endorsement, he or she would get a grant of $5,000 and an annual grant of $2,500 while the endorsement is active.

“These incentives will help us increase and retain the number of teachers to help strengthen the skills of our future bilingual and multicultural students,” said Beatriz Amberman, chair of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations. “Also, it benefits Virginia by preparing our future labor force to successfully compete in the increasing global economy.”