By EVAN ISRAEL, Times staff writer
Some Clinton County residents insist that an influx of undocumented immigrants into Frankfort's schools has disrupted the educational experience overall.
They point to Indiana Department of Education statistics that show the number of Frankfort students learning English as a second language has risen roughly 58 percent since 2000. They cite the 2007-08 ISTEP+ scores that placed Frankfort at more than 10 percentage points below the state average. They also note that the federal government repeatedly has labeled the heavily Hispanic Kyger Elementary School as "failing."
Community Schools of Frankfort Superintendent Dr. Kevin Caress assumes a more positive perspective, however. He acknowledges immigrants have a lower starting point, but he also says people need to give them a chance.
Caress says critics need to dig deeper.
The Northwest Evaluation Association test - one Caress prefers to tests such as the ISTEP+ because its focus is on improvement - shows Hispanic students improving at a faster rate than non-Hispanic students.
For example, Hispanic students averaged an 18 percent gain since September on the test taken in December, compared to about 7 percent for their non-Hispanic counterparts.
Test scores aren't the only areas where perceptions don't mesh with reality, Caress said.
People often talk about the "overcrowded classrooms" in Frankfort's schools caused by illegal immigrant students.
Caress adamantly refutes such a notion.
"That's not accurate," he said. "I don't know where that rumor or detail came from, but that's not accurate. I'm disappointed that anyone would take that tack."
Caress invites those concerned to "come into our schools and see."
The Times accepted Caress' offer last week and toured Frankfort High School. Principal Dr. Kay Antonelli pointed out classes throughout the building. Some classrooms appeared full, but as Antonelli noted, each student had his own desk.
Although Antonelli acknowledged the school's class sizes have grown in recent years, she said that has more to do with the administration's focus on stopping students of all backgrounds from dropping out of school.
Kyger Elementary School Principal Amber Targgart dismissed overcrowding at her school as quickly as Caress did.
"Absolutely not, to be quite honest," Targgart said of whether Kyger dealt with the issue. "We have very, very nice classroom sizes."
Caress says classrooms at Kyger average 16-20 students.
According to the department of education's Web site, the Community Schools of Frankfort for the 2006-2007 school year had a student-teacher ratio of 16.5, compared to the state average of 17.5. The same numbers applied to 2005-2006 and every year since the 2001-2002 school year, according to the Web site.
Of the 3,261 students in the corporation this school year, how many of those are illegal immigrants is not known because schools are not allowed to ask, per a federally mandated policy, Caress said.
Overall, Caress said, the corporation may even be losing students. The district's enrollment has dropped by about 60 kids during the last year, he said. He was uncertain about ethnic backgrounds of the departed students.
Breaking down the language barrier
The concern about language barriers and different needs also hold little weight for Targgart.
Kyger built reading groups to arrange students based on skill level, and created a "gifted" program for students especially ahead of the curve.
As part of the program, Coordinator Bret Rhea meets individually with students, as well as with teachers and staff, so they know how to improve students' academics, Targgart said.
Lisa Ristow teaches Level Two Hispanic students at Kyger. Few of the Level Two students know English. Ristow said people need to understand that learning English doesn't come as easily as native speakers may perceive.
"It's very difficult," Ristow said.
Ristow and other school officials who work with Hispanic students say students typically don't become fluent in English for at least 5-7 years, though the length can vary from student to student.
Ristow says students' improvements become evident as they spend more time in the district's programs.
"You can really see them start to spark more in fourth and fifth grade," Ristow said of Hispanic students who start early on in elementary schools.
What Ristow also sees are students who get along. She doesn't see the tension among students some might expect.
"All I see are kids helping kids," she said, adding that students like to share each other's foods and traditions.
Many students do voice concern about the banter regarding illegal immigration, Ristow said, though most don't seem to fully understand the issue.
For parents, a full-time bilingual assistant works in Kyger's office to answer questions and concerns, she said. She pointed to well-attended parent nights as proof that parents are kept informed.
Targgart believes the importance placed on individual instruction extends to the entire district.
"I just really think the Community Schools of Frankfort puts together huge amounts of effort across the board to help students," she said.
Marilu Castillo, a native of Mexico has been a legal United States resident for 35 years. She works for Head Start and believes all kids should receive schooling.
Although she acknowledges Hispanic students - legal or illegal immigrants - can bring down schools' test scores, she insists the students deserve the opportunity to improve.
"We have seen kids come with zero English," she said. "By year's end, they're able to communicate with the (other) kids."
Education opportunities for immigrants
The complexity of the language makes learning difficult, says Kim Redington, director of the Clinton County Adult Literacy Program. The United Way-funded oganization maintains about 25 tutors to teach English to about 100 students.
As an example of why the language isn't easily learned, Redington refers to a list she printed off a Web site pointing out that no "ham" exists in "hamburger," no "pine" or "apple" in "pineapple" and so on.
Without programs such as the adult literacy program, language difficulties would look much worse than it does now, Redington said.
"I think a lot of people would not have the opportunity to learn English," Redington said.
Melinda Grismer, the coordinator of the Clinton County Purdue Extension's Learning Network, says learning the language makes for a particularly difficult assignment even for adults.
"When you learn a language," Grismer said, "particularly as an adult, you base the learning of the new language on the language structure you understand from your first language."
The extension service works with about 60 students per week, Grismer said, including those from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Peru, and Brazil.
Eric Payton of the Frankfort Adult Learning Center, says his organization holds classes for two hours on Monday and Wednesday evenings, with 25-30 Hispanic students typically in attendance. Other students come throughout the day for tutoring, he said.
Any issues concerning the legality of students remain up to the government, Payton said, and he and his associates are not allowed to ask their students' legal status, per federal policy.
"You've got to appreciate them making the effort to learn the language common here," Payton said.
Without such programs, the Hispanic students would feel more isolated from the community than they already do, Payton said.
Conclusion
Current numbers show immigrant students - legal and illegal - drag down test scores. However, Frankfort educators say numbers do not tell the whole story.
They also indicate that educational resources available to non-English speakers, the push at the schools to teach English, and students' eagerness to learn may give hope to administrators and teachers.
However, whether the numbers will eventually trend upward will be not a matter of perspective, some say, but of time.
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