The Case of Oben: Stacked Odds

Through the case study of a young man named Oben, it is demonstrated to what extent it is nearly impossible for a late-arriving Haitian immigrant adolescent who is also an English language learner (ELL) to obtain a standard high school diploma in a public secondary institution in the state of Florida.   Although this story is related through one non-fictitious case study about events which occurred and circumstances which existed from January 2006 through January 2007, this case can be generalized to many (if not most) late-arriving adolescent immigrants from Haiti and many other countries.  The events and circumstances related in this ethnographic study are common experiences for immigrant adolescents in Florida public school systems.  “Single case studies offer important trade-offs between validity and traditional generalizability” (Coulter & Smith, 2006).  The evolution of circumstances and events in one case study traces the educational life of one male adolescent ELL, from before his arrival at the Student Assignment Office, through his stays in two public Florida high schools. This study poses questions about the potential for this student and others like him to achieve academic success under the current services and policies of the public school systems.

 Part 1:  Background History

          Oben [a pseudonym] is a tall, handsome, soft-spoken and polite adolescent male from the rural district of Aquin, in southwest Haiti.  He was born on August 3^rd, 1988.  He attended school in Haiti, and according to his last report card from the Collège Classique de Virgile in Miragoâne, Haiti, Oben took the following 9 classes during his “7ième Année Fondamentale” at the school:  Créole Communication; Grammar /Style;  Reading; Exploratory Science; English; Spanish; Mathematics; Social Studies; and Classics.  His grade average on his last report card ranged from 4.05 over 10 on his first quarter, through 5.22 over 10 on his fourth quarter.  (This would correspond to a 40% through a 52% general average on the 100-points scale.)  This average of his grades would seem to indicate that Oben was not a remarkably successful student there.  We have a photocopy of this last report card from Haiti, which lists 2003-2004 as the year attended.  The “7ième année fondamentale” corresponds to 6^th grade – an American middle school grade.  He would have been 15 years old at that time. We do not have any report card from Haiti representing the academic year 2004-2005, nor from first semester of the school year 2005-2006.   Oben’s father testified to me that Oben did attend the same school throughout that time, and attended school right up until his departure for the United States in early 2006 (B.B., personal communication, Jan. 24, 2007).  Dad was going to attempt to provide the documentation for this additional year and a half of schooling.  So presumably Oben had worked his way through the year and a half more of school which would correspond to our 7^th grade and half of our 8^th grade, by the time he was 17 and a half years old and left Haiti for the USA.  High school credit will not be given to a student from abroad who was attending middle school grades in his country, according to county and state policy (Lee County School District, 2007; Florida Department of Education, 2007). 

         Although there is no formal record in the student’s cumulative folder of Oben having studied French while he was in school in Haiti, he is able to functionally comprehend rudimentary French in the ESOL classroom he currently attends in a SW Florida high school; for example, he comprehends simple directions given in French for classroom tasks and assignments, short translations of words and phrases from English to French, the remarks made in French in the classroom by one of his peers, and the gist of occasional conversation in French among his peers, myself and the Haitian paraprofessional.  He can also write the short translated words in relatively correct written French in his notebook when he is working on English vocabulary.  The study of the French language is very common and typical in schools in Haiti.  I would not go so far as to say that Oben is “bilingual” in French-Haitian-Créole, but he has acquired functional notions of reading, writing, listening and speaking in French.  In Haiti, traditionally French is the ‘prestige’ language and Haitian-Créole is the ‘lower-status’ language, so it is natural, coming recently from his cultural background, for Oben to at least pretend to glean gist from utterances in French when in front of Haitian peers and Haitian paraprofessionals, so as not to seem ‘completely uneducated’ (Pichard, 2006). “Consideration of dialects and registers of a language and of the relationships between two languages includes the relative prestige of different languages and dialects and of the cultures and ethnic groups associated with them. Students whose first language has a low status vis-à-vis the second may lose their first language” (Walqui, 2000).  In Oben’s new social world in Florida, English is the high status language, and the relative prestige or status-bearing value of a choice of French or Haitian-Créole has no importance here, but he is still in the process of being socialized into this new way of thinking about his two former linguistic possibilities.  Although Oben studied “English” in school in Haiti, according to his last report card available, he arrived in Florida with no functional English-language skills, and tested in as a monolingual (completely non English proficient) in the four areas of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing as evidenced by the Language Assessment Battery tests administered to him on March 21, 2006.  He was entered into the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program of services immediately with a status code of “LY” student (being served / needs ESOL accommodations). 

         Oben has evinced a very low level of general knowledge in his academic content classes here, leading us to think that his general knowledge on topics such as geography, world history, the sciences, life and culture in other countries, the humanities, the study of literature, and current events was probably not fostered or well-developed in his academic life in Haiti.  He has self-reported as being able to memorize large lists or chunks of material, as is common in Haitian schools’ traditional methodology for students’ learning, although he does not always make time and furnish the effort to study for tests here in Florida, even when memorization is a possibility which would be a successful strategy.  It is difficult to distinguish if the student is lazy, unmotivated, bewildered, or other affective factors; or if he is unable to detect which material would be appropriate and worthwhile to memorize for content-area tests in a Florida high school. His real understanding or comprehension of the material he memorizes was and is not always tested.  Comprehension of the material to be “learned” was not necessarily emphasized in his rural area in school in Haiti (Pichard, 2006).  Oben’s reading comprehension skills or reading grade-level in his heritage language (Haitian-Créole) are unknown. 

         “The student’s level of proficiency in the native language – including not only oral language and literacy, but also metalinguistic development, training in formal and academic features of language use, and knowledge of rhetorical patterns and variations in genre and style – affects acquisition of a second language. The more academically sophisticated the student’s native language knowledge and abilities, the easier it will be for that student to learn a second language” (Walqui, 2000).  Although literate in the technical sense of the word (Oben can read and write in Haitian-Créole), he lacks the organizational skills of writing which would be appropriate for his age.  When he was 18 years 5 months old, Oben was able to produce the following written passage on January 4, 2007 in his native Créole, which I have transcribed exactly as it appears on the lined page: 

“Pandan 2 semèn vakans noel la m’te premye man    ale legliz.  Fè makèt achte rad soulye ak lot bagay poum mete

mte  al nan sinema nan kekti fèt noel kitap fèt bò lakay mwen e legliz mwe

n  ak anpil lòt ti aktivite tankou

al visite kèk ti kote kwè tanpa

miami Bouch gadenn nan kèk ti joune

e mtal mange nan retoran tankou

olive godenn ak anpil lòt bagay

toujou mte vrèman bye pase fèt sa

li se yon fèt m pap jan ka bliye

e jan m pase ankò mdibondye

mèsi anpil paskel banou fèt noel

pou nou fete.

M byen kontan poumte eksplikew

Kòma fela te ye pou mwen, m pa kwè

Gen plis a di « mesi ».”  (Oben, classroom writing, 2007).   

[During two weeks [of ] the christmas vacation I went first to church. Did [the] shopping bought clothes shoes and other things for me to put [on]

I went to the cinema to some small Christmas parties that were being celebrated at my house and my church and many other little activities like that

went to visit some little places I believe tampa

miami Bush gardens in some days I went to eat in restaurants such as

olive garden and many other things

I always really had a good time [during] the holiday

it is a holiday I will never be able to forget

and that I never passed [like that] before I tell God

thank you very much because he gave us the feast [of] christmas

for us to celebrate.

I am very happy to explain to you

how the holiday was for me, I don’t believe

there is more to say [than] ‘thanks’.]

         In this sample of his writing in his heritage language, we see an almost total absence of the mechanics of writing such as punctuation, capitalization, spacing, apostrophes, and hyphenation.  His writing seems disorganized, jumping from one idea to the next without any particular schema of outlining the topics.  He does not write in complete sentences all of the time.  He goes to the next line (or not) seemingly at random, even continuing words or the last letter of a word onto the following line (see the 3^rd to the 4^th line above in Créole, the word ‘mwen’ [my] is separated).  His spelling and the formation of his contractions in Créole are not always accurate (see the beginning of the third line above for an example, “mte” should appear as “m te” [m te ale = I went] with a space between the m and the te; also in the third line we see “kitap” written all together, when it would be separated into its component parts in correctly written Créole, as “ki t ap” or “ki tap” [ki t ap fèt = which were being celebrated]).  He also writes several words together inappropriately without spaces between them (see the 11^th line, ‘mdibondye’  [I tell God] ).  He separates words that should not be separated (see line 1, ‘premye man’ should be premyeman [firstly]).  According to the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Equivalency measure assessment done on the English translation, Oben’s writing is rated at the 2^nd grade 3^rd month level, or a Grade Level Equivalency of 2.3 (Microsoft Word tools, 2007).  The Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level Equivalency assessment is not available for Haitian-Créole written samples.

         Given his age and the number of years that he attended school, Oben has difficulty organizing himself and his materials for the study of his 6 current different academic content areas, as evidenced by my finding a jumble of math papers in his English book, Science notes in his Social Studies note-book, English study-guides in his math book, Intensive Reading work in his Developmental Language Arts through ESOL workbook, random papers and garbage all over his locker and portfolio, etc. etc.  He owns a large black under-the-arm portfolio to carry papers, notes, notebook and writing utensils; he rents a school locker.  With my insistence, in October 2006 the Haitian paraprofessional spent more than an hour helping Oben to organize his papers, notes and books, and explaining that this was important and necessary in academic life; Oben was very cross and reluctant about this organizational assistance, sullenly almost refused to help the paraprofessional organize his own things with him, and within a week or two everything was carried or put away as willy-nilly as before. 

         According to the “Review of LEP Educational Background” filled out and signed by Oben’s father on March 6, 2006, Oben was considered by his family to be “on grade level” in Reading and Writing, and “Below grade level” in Math.  The “Review of LEP Educational Background” is a self-reported and non-criteria’ed form used by the public schools in this county as part of the blue ESOL insert / intake reporting of incoming limited English proficient students.  The form also states (as filled out by his father) that his last grade completed was 8^th grade in Haiti, and that Oben is able to read in both Créole and French on an 8^th grade level.  The father answered “no” to the following questions on the form:  “Do you work with your child at home with reading and writing in the native language?” and “Do you read to your child in the native language?”.  Although we do not have a copy of any proof such as a report card, the claim is made on the “Review of LEP Educational Background” form that Oben attended 8^th grade in Haiti at the Collège Classique de Virgile from September, 2004 through May, 2005.   When his father filled out this form on March 6, 2006, we have no way of knowing “why” Oben’s father thinks or thought that Oben was reading and writing on grade level in his native language, or by what criteria he would judge his skills, or how he would make such an assertion except by guessing or asking his son to self-report.  Oben’s father is not an educator or a highly-educated professional --- according to the Registration form filled out on 3/02/06, Oben’s father lists his own occupation as “Helper at Aeoport” [airport] and his wife’s as “Housekeping” [sic]. 

         School-years can be repeated “forever” in Haiti until the academic year is passed successfully and a promotion or passing report card is given by the school.  Many students do repeat some grades over and over there.  Students can attend elementary school or secondary school in Haiti at almost any age.  There is no law in Haiti limiting school attendance to a set age, or a limit as to the age when one must finish school.  Furthermore, there is no age-related ‘stigma’ in Haiti associated with going to elementary school or secondary school much later in life / older in age than we would consider “customary” here.  It was perfectly normal and acceptable socio-culturally, psychologically and economically for Oben to have been in the middle school grades in his middle-to-late teenage years in the region of Aquin, Haiti (Pichard, 2006).

Part 2:  Entry into Florida Secondary School:  The School Choice Office (Student Assignment)

         Oben arrived in the United States when he was 17 years, 5 months old.  His father was already here, working as a legal resident, and had applied for Oben to be able to enter the country.  Due to the exigencies of filings, and long wait times for applications for legal residency (Green Card status) with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service, minor children can easily be kept waiting for a period of years (two-three years is common) for their legal residency permit to arrive at the U.S. Consulate in the country where they are, so that they can leave their home country to join the legally residing parent in the USA (ICE, 2007).  Such was the case with Oben.  This belated arrival in Florida did not help the situation when it comes to Oben’s English language skills nor his general knowledge / educational levels.  It can essentially be said that Oben missed “the best years” that American public schooling has to offer, when children learn to read and read to learn, when children work on writing for a variety of purposes, problem-solving, organization, and many other skills. 

         Oben was brought to the School Choice (School Assignment) Office of this county’s public school district on March 2, 2006, to be placed in secondary school.  Although our county does have a full-time Haitian-Créole-speaking advocate for Haitian students and their parents, Oben’s father did not know that, and the district employee was therefore not contacted, and not requested to be present to help with the student’s enrollment.  The presence and availability of the full-time Haitian-Créole-speaking communications employee is posted on the School District website, but Haitian parents commonly do not do internet research.  So there was no specifically knowledgeable Haitian advocate present to help with Oben’s school enrollment. The School Assignment office personnel have conflicting placement-options rules to go by:  place the student in a grade which is age-appropriate, or place the student by looking at which was the last grade he had completed (if a school record / transcript is available).  In Oben’s case, the last school record presented was a “7ième année fondamentale” from Haiti, and the parent stated that Oben had accomplished a year and a half of schooling after that one, so the School Assignment personnel placed Oben in 9^th grade.  This was a placement executed by Oben’s school records and last grade completed.  No fault can be found with this grade placement decision, as far as the legalities go.  His last grade documented was approximately like American 6^th grade – middle school.  The School Assignment office is not responsible for doing transcript evaluation and assigning any high school credit, only grade placement. 

         Age-appropriate placement at age 17 and 5 months would have put Oben into at least 10^th grade and possibly 11^th grade in any Florida public high school.  This was not the option that was acted upon.  Perhaps Oben’s total lack of functional English language skills was one consideration.  Perhaps they hoped to give him a maximum amount of time to learn English in public school and to have a chance to pass the secondary diploma exit-level FCAT exams.  They cannot be faulted or blamed for thinking along these lines; it is considered “thoughtful and caring” to allow an immigrant student lee-way in the time he needs to learn English, pass the reading FCAT, and obtain a standard high school diploma.  Also, in spite of his already-advanced age, the public school district is obliged by the state of Florida to accept students for first-time entry up until the age of 18. 

         Oben did not get his first choice of high school, which was full and had no seats for him as an incoming 9^th grader in March of 2006.  He got his 2^nd choice of school and began attending there on March 13, 2006.  His 2^nd choice high school is somewhat closer to his home than his first choice school, but has a “bad reputation” in the community compared to his first choice high school.  His second choice school has a state grade of “D” on the A ++ Plan rating of school-grades (Florida Department of Education, 2007).  Its demographics include a high number of minorities, and its free-and-reduced-lunch rate is at 75% - 80%.  In spite of huge efforts by the staff and administration (Lee County School District, 2007), underachievement is rampant among the students attending Oben’s second choice high school.  Its location is within a cluster of lower socioeconomic status, mostly African-American neighborhoods.

 Part 3:  The First High School

          Oben was placed into second semester of 9^th grade, which he entered on March 13, 2006, when the third quarter was almost over.  One quarter – 4^th – remained for Oben to catch up and get some high school credits banked.  He was 17 years and 7 months old and entering a Florida public high school for the first time.  His Language Assessment Battery test dated March 21, 2006 reveals that he received scores of “1” across the four areas of language, indicating that he was a totally non-English speaker:  Listening 1, Reading 1, Writing 1 and Speaking 1.  He was coded LY and in the ESOL program of services.  He was / is entitled to ESOL accommodations in his daily class-work in all content areas and tests. 

         Oben had no comprehension of “the Florida high school system”.  He had no knowledge of the necessity of earning credits (24 credits in a required range of subjects are necessary for high school graduation) or of GPA (Grade Point Average) requirements (2.0 GPA is required for a standard high school diploma).  None of the requirements for eventual high school graduation were overtly explained to Oben by the personnel at his first high school; he remained oblivious to the “obstacle course”; not understanding English and/or his content-area subjects was his first and perhaps only daily concern.  In fact, there was no ESOL paraprofessional available that semester for Haitian-Créole translation for Oben at that high school.  The school was looking for one, and had the job vacancy posted.  Furthermore, the first high school did not offer any classes in a program of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) type English (Examples: “Developmental Language Arts Through ESOL” or “English 1 through ESOL”), so Oben was scheduled into regular English 1 class, which he failed.  He did not describe to me in detail what ESOL accommodations and modifications he may or may not have received from the teacher of that regular English 1 course. 

         Oben did not receive comprehensible instruction commensurate with his low level of English language while he was at the first high school.  His teachers had the state’s required ESOL Endorsement, and presumably gave lip service to the ideas of “ESOL accommodations, strategies and modifications”, without truly enacting these in day-to-day class-work and testing or assessment activities.  According to himself, Oben was lost and floundering without comprehensible instruction or a Haitian paraprofessional tutor / translator at his first high school.  “Mwen te konprann anyen, anyen” [I understood nothing, nothing] (Oben B., personal communication, September, 2006).  As Coulter and Smith wrote, “ELLs were not given quality instruction in which to interact with each other, native English-speaking peers, and the content. ELLs were either integrated with mainstream students, but then virtually ignored or even ridiculed, or segregated into ESL classes and tracked into a vocational, non-academic schedule” (Coulter & Smith, 2006, p. 319).

         Oben would have been able to spend about 55 school-days at his first high school – all of 4^th quarter and the last few days of 3^rd quarter.  According to his report card from his first high school, he was absent for 11 of those days.  Remarkably and inexplicably enough, even though he spent less than one semester at the high school, he earned two credits while there --- .5 credit each in the following subjects:  Intensive Reading (final grade of D), East and West Heritage (C), Health (D), and Basketball (B).

 Part 4:   The Second High School

         Oben turned 18 years of age on August 3^rd, 2006.  He and his father still did not realize that free public high school attendance ends at age 21 and that he would be withdrawn in exactly three years due to his age, finished or not, earning credits steadily or not, having passed the FCAT tests or not, close to graduation or not.  They did not realize that there is an age-limit in public schools, and that 22 more credits had to be earned in the next three school-years.  Due to having earned 2 credits in his first year of high school instead of the usual 7 (he earned or ‘was given’ 2 credits in less than one semester, the second semester of 9^th grade), Oben is still officially a 9^th grader.  According to state rules, he would have to have had 5 credits minimum to be considered a 10^th grader.  At the School Choice Office, Oben was successful in his attempt to transfer to his first-choice high school, a seat opened up for him, and he entered his second high school on August 8^th, 2006. 

         There is still very little comprehensible content instruction for Oben at his second high school, and few ESOL accommodations or modifications are done for this student, who is one of the 6 or 7 lowest-level-English in the whole school.  Teachers like him because he is quiet and sweet-natured, obedient and respectful.  Teachers here are ESOL-Endorsed, but most do not really do regular ESOL accommodations and modifications in their classrooms for their instruction, their textbooks / reading, and their assessments.  Fortunately for Oben, there is a Haitian male paraprofessional in place at this second high school, who is able to do some content-area translation, to do some tutoring, and also to explain more of the rules and systems to Oben and his father, as time goes on. 

         The help from the Haitian paraprofessional is quite limited, due to several issues, including the fact that it is his first educational paraprofessional position.  The para’s own English language skills are poor (he is still an English language learner himself).  The para’s own content general knowledge is extremely poor.  His math skills are low and he cannot really help Oben by tutoring him in Algebra.  His knowledge of rules and regulations, state and county policies, and the school district’s (or school’s internal) systems and procedures is extremely limited.  The Haitian paraprofessional is still learning most of the things that Oben and his father need to be aware of. 

         Oben continued to earn a minimal amount of high school credits --- he earned 2.5 credits in his first semester (Fall 2006) at the new high school, getting a B in Developmental Language Arts Through ESOL class (an elective), a C in English 2 through ESOL (a required English class), and a D in both Intensive Reading and Algebra 1A (both required).  He failed and obtained F’s in Biology and World History (both of these classes are requirements for graduation and will have to be repeated).  After two semesters of 9^th grade, he has 4.5 credits in all and a GPA of 1.07, as of his report card dated 1/05/07.  A GPA of 2.0 is the minimum required by the state of Florida for a standard high school diploma (Florida Department of Education, 2007).  Most of Oben’s grades over the past year have been F’s or D’s, with an occasional C to boost his GPA slightly.  He is earning limited high school credits overall.  The clock is ticking louder with respect to his aging out within the given time limit. 

         Oben’s reading comprehension ability in his native language is unknown.  He was placed in Intensive Reading class on the lowest level offered by this school, in Sopris West Educational Services’ reading instruction book series called “Language!”, level A, by virtue of his being monolingual non-English proficient (Greene, 2005).  This is a block Intensive Reading class, and he spends two periods back-to-back per day there with a teacher who has her Reading Endorsement.   It is very doubtful that Oben is anywhere near the level of being able to pass the 10^th grade standardized Florida state FCAT exam in Reading comprehension, nor that he will make such rapid progress as to be able to do so in the next three years until he ages out of high school.  “The needs specific to ELLs must be distinguished because a disproportionate number of these students are unable to pass the high-stakes standardized tests and the tests now drive the education these students receive, with great implications for the ways ELLs are taught as well as their learning” (Menken, 2006, p. 538).  Oben’s STAR reading test (Institute for Academic Excellence, 1998) done in English in the early fall of 2006 gave him a Grade Level Equivalency of grade1.9 in reading comprehension.  Oben’s Degree of Reading Power (DRP) Test (TASA, 2000) reading raw score was 6 at the beginning of the year -- which was too low to score; he had a score of 42 on his Silent Word Fluency, which is a 2.2 Grade Level Equivalency on Form A, and a score of 32 which is a Grade Level Equivalency of grade 1.7 on Form B.  The TASA Degree of Reading Power (DRP) tests are standardized, criterion- referenced tests designed to provide a valid and reliable measure of text comprehension (TASA, 2000).  Oben’s fluency of reading words-per-minute correctly aloud on 9/1/06 was measured at 49 & 62, and his fluency on 1/05/07 was measured at 57 & 59 (cumulative folder and teacher personal communication, January 2007).  Among the various measures of reading assessment which have been done, we can see a consensus on these indicating that Oben has been scoring at the end of 1^st grade or up to midway through 2^nd grade in reading comprehension in English. 

         This student has reading comprehension issues in English, mostly due to his language barrier, although his ability / fluency / comprehension in his native Créole are unknown and untested.  Without a reading diagnostic assessment done in his native language, it is impossible to determine what the real issues of reading are to be remediated, or even if there are any. 

         The intensive reading methods and books used here, as in all of the middle and high schools in this public school district, were chosen for the schools by a district-level Curriculum official, without regard to LEP students’ needs as English Language Learners first and foremost.  There was no consultation with secondary ESOL professionals before the reading method (book series) was chosen for the lowest quartile of students to work in.  It is impossible to determine if Oben’s reading comprehension needs are being worked on appropriately, without any form of diagnosis of what they might be.  He is a Limited English Proficient (LEP) student who has been in the country for one year, and who has a status of LY.  He has not even had his second LAB test yet.  We do not have any reading diagnostic assessment on record for him in Haitian-Créole, because we don’t have one in this county.  His reading grade level equivalency of 1.9 in English language reading is not generally available to all of his teachers; the data has not been shared.  The intensive reading class method (Greene, 2005) in the “Language! A Level” books does a lot of phonemic awareness work, syllable awareness work, prefixes and suffixes work, and grammar work, instead of spending time on actual reading of text.  So there is not a lot of holistic reading comprehension work going on in the double block of Intensive Reading periods with the students who are considered to be the lowest quartile of readers in this high school.  The assigned teacher does not like the method that was chosen, but she is “willing to give it a try” and follows through with it faithfully as it is scripted (L. Lee, personal communication, 2006).  Oben is deriving a level of L2 comprehensibility in his reading class, due to the scripted nature of the work and the predictability of the Intensive Reading classroom routines, even when the reading input is beyond his level of comprehension of English language text. 

         In mid-October of 2006, Oben’s father was invited to the guidance counselor’s office to meet with all of Oben’s teachers.  At that time, Oben was failing 4 subjects.  An attempt was made to remedy the immediate situations of failure.  The Haitian paraprofessional was present at the conference and translated to the father very faithfully and well.  Oben seemed to be having emotional issues at school which centered around issues of embarrassment and humiliation / pride / shame / loss of face.  He couldn’t stand to be corrected, to demonstrate his lack of knowledge anywhere near his peers, or to seem to need the help of the tutor, even when it was clear to the teachers that Oben really needed the help / English-to-Créole interpretation or translation / tutoring.  This was all explained to his dad, who promised to speak to him about accepting more help or even asking for help, and that there was no shame in needing help when a person first arrived from another country into American high school and didn’t speak much English.  The father was very quiet but seemed to understand most of this message and to agree to help us with his son’s psychological blockages / emotional affect regarding accepting help and being aided overtly.  “High school is a high-stakes social world, as it is the adolescent sense of identity that is at risk.  Adolescent immigrant children face a very difficult situation as they establish their growing sociocultural identities. There was very little cultural relevance for many ELLs in either the instruction or the institution of the high school” (Coulter & Smith, 2006, p. 330).

         The guidance counselor was present at the October 2006 conference, along with five of Oben’s six teachers.  The counselor essentially wanted us out of his office within 40 minutes.  The parent was slightly late to the conference.  Each teacher spoke briefly about why Oben was failing his/her specific class.  At this time, there was no attempt whatsoever made to educate Oben’s father about the nature of the high school curriculum in Florida, about Oben’s apparent levels of functioning and comprehension / knowledge in various content areas, or about the general requirements towards graduation which his son would be expected to meet. 

         On his report card from his first high school in Florida (Spring 2006), Oben’s absences numbered 11, out of the 55 days or so available for him to attend high school. (It is astonishing that he received any high school credits at all there.)  On his first semester report card from his second high school (Fall 2006), it was also noted that Oben missed 6 days.  That rate of attendance is ‘improving’ but still not perfect.  In the month of January 2007, he has already missed 4 school-days out of the first 21 days.  In Haiti, attendance is not taken into account and has no real importance --- there are no real-world consequences to missing school, as long as one can get (from peers) and memorize the material and regurgitate it for tests or recitations to the teachers (Pichard, 2006).  Obviously, the notion of attending school every day and keeping up mentally with what is going on in every classroom, is a part of the ‘hidden curriculum’ in American secondary schools which has not been overtly explicated to Oben or his father. 

         The content learning needs of Oben are not being met at his second public high school, due to the relative lack of ESOL accommodations and the relative lack of comprehensible instruction.  “There are ways in which teachers’ linguistic expectations and assumptions of their ESL students govern their understanding of classroom pedagogy and language acquisition. These practices and beliefs create a school experience that makes the acquisition of standard academic English virtually unattainable for these linguistic minority children” (Schmida, 2006, p.2).  The teachers at Oben’s second high school pay lip service to Florida’s  META Consent Decree as far as being in compliance on paper / on record-keeping for their ELL’s, but they are not truly in compliance with the spirit of the Consent Decree in their day-to-day classroom arrangements.  There is no recourse in this situation.  Even if a teacher were to be “trapped” by a state ESOL auditor into betraying his/her lack of compliance with ESOL accommodations according to the META Consent Decree of 1990, this “betrayal” of not being in the spirit of the Decree would not help Oben in his day-to-day content learning or mastery.  Furthermore, we have not been visited by a state ESOL auditor in more than 4 years, and we do not seem to be scheduled for a state auditor’s visit this year (2007) either.  “It is clear that high schools are not meeting the needs of our immigrant children. Most high schools severely under-serve ELLs.  For example, teachers with little or no background in teaching academic content to ELLs were assigned to classes with large numbers of ELLs; ELLs were offered sparse coverage of academic courses; there was little or no site leadership regarding the needs of ELLs; and there were no additional support mechanisms for ELLs and their parents” (Coulter & Smith, 2006, p. 332 - 333).

         Oben took Florida’s new Comprehensive English Language Learning assessment (CELLA) test for English language learners on September 29, 2006.  The report of Oben’s scores was sent to the school by mid-January, 2007, three-and-a-half months later, and this report reveals the following scores:  Listening, 4 points out of a possible 22; Speaking, 7 points out of a possible 24; Reading, 6 points out of a possible 26; and writing, 10 points out of a possible 39.  There are also scaled scores reported on the state’s new CELLA test.  Oben’s Listening and Speaking combined scale score is noted on his personalized report as 624.  On the CELLA report, under the rubric “Listening/Speaking scale score anchor point”, it says, “Students with a score of 620 usually have a small vocabulary and know only a little grammar. They are still learning how to ask and answer basic questions” (ETS, 2006).   Oben’s Reading scale-score on the CELLA is noted as 605.  On the CELLA report, under the rubric “Reading scale score anchor point”, it says, “Students with a score of 620 are just beginning to read. They can recognize many common words in English and can read and understand some very simple sentences” (ETS, 2006).  His reading scale score is below this anchor-point.  Oben’s Writing scale-score is 647.  On the CELLA report between scaled-scores of 620 and 660, the report says “Students with a score of 620 are learning to write letters and single words / Students with a score of 660 can write letters and single words and are learning to write sentences independently” (ETS, 2006). 

        Oben’s English-language learning needs are not being met, partially due to the scheduling constraints of a modern Florida public high school meeting the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and the state’s Reading First program.  A two-period Intensive Reading block is mandated by the state and by the county for the lowest quartile of readers in our secondary schools.  This is somewhat in conflict with the META Consent Decree, as it is part of a vicious circle, whereby the Consent Decree mandates subject /content areas to be offered to LEP students in the same degree, quality, scope and sequence as to general education students who are non-LEP.  So the state mandates a double intensive reading block and we comply.  The Consent Decree mandates scope and sequence of the scheduling of subject-areas appropriate to high school / the grade level of an ELL who is not diagnosed with any learning disability or other exceptionality, and we comply.  Between these conflicting mandates, there is very little room for Oben to have extensive and intensive English language learning opportunities.  “Language learning …is the result of opportunities for meaningful interaction with others in the target language” (Walqui, 2000).  There is no intensive-English-language Newcomer Center (Welcome Center, International Center) for the incoming secondary LY students in this county’s public school district.  Oben lives in a lower socioeconomic district. “Unable to claim an affiliation with the English of school, from which they remain isolated due to their ESL classification, they affiliate instead with the language of the inner city in which they live, speaking a dialect of English that has African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) markers, yet remains distinct from AAVE as well” (Schmida, 2006).  

         Oben’s math skills are extremely low.  His father had filled out the “Review of LEP Educational Background” on March 6, 2006, indicating in Créole that Oben was “below grade level” in Math.  Oben has so far been unable to pass Algebra 1A class, and his math teacher at his second high school regularly reports how low his general mathematics skills and knowledge are.  Oben is unable to do problem-solving.  He has no functional ability working with multiplication, division, negative numbers, decimals, fractions, or pre-algebra concepts such as beginning simple equations.  The high school, like all the high schools of this county, does not offer any remedial-level Math classes for the severely-below-level students. “Learning requires active participation around content and with communities of practice” (Faltis, 2006).  Here, Oben is not able to have opportunities for practice of the mathematical skills and concepts on his level. 

        As of this writing at the end of January 2007, Oben has three F’s on his quarterly interim report: in World History (grade of 41), in Algebra 1A (grade of 23) , and in ‘English 2 through ESOL’ (grade of 35).  All three are required classes bearing credits towards graduation.  No change in his school behaviors, motivation or daily style of organization has been observed.  The Haitian paraprofessional has had several long talks with Oben about academic success-behaviors, and changing his responsibility-level towards an attitude of taking more initiative for his own learning, but apparently these talks have been in vain.  “With adolescent language learners, factors such as peer pressure, the presence of role models, and the level of home support can strongly affect the desire and ability to learn a second language. Support from home is very important for successful second language learning; parents [must] value both the native language and English, and show support for and interest in their children’s progress” (Walqui, 2000). 

         Oben continues to be quiet, well-brought-up, respectful and well-behaved in all classrooms at this school.  The “hidden curriculum” of success in Florida public high school remains obscure to Oben in Florida, or he is unaware that there is a high degree of personal responsibility involved.  Even if he is aware of these things, and what he “should be doing”, he does not act on them. Whenever possible, he chooses to spend his time playing games on a computer, listening to pop music in Créole or English, or web-surfing in mostly Haitian popular web-sites, as if he is unaware of the need, or unable to force himself to take responsibility or initiative for any aspect of his progress in English language or other learning.  He rarely asks any questions of the Haitian paraprofessional about content area assignments, English language vocabulary, or systems and procedures.

         At a conference with his father on January 24, 2007, the Haitian paraprofessional and I explained some of the nuances of Florida public secondary school systems, the ideas of aging-out and credits and GPA and diploma level, the importance of reading comprehension and English language learning, and Oben’s rate of speed and level of personal responsibility.  The father heard us out in almost complete silence.  He said he would speak to his son.  Oben’s behavior has remained the same, and he chooses as usual to spend his free time in idle pursuits such as music-listening or TV-watching or web-surfing in the websites of his home culture.  “High school organizational behaviors and norms produce anonymity, anomie, isolation, invisibility, silence, insecurity, coercive conformity, meaningless rote activity, and intellectual deadening [which is] painful and hurtful to human development, performance, spirit, and society” (Ancess, 2003, p.10).

Part 5:  The Options and the Stacked Odds

          One of the following options could happen for Oben in the future: 

1)      He will learn enough English in the next three years to pass all of his classes, garner 24 credits total, and pass the FCAT exams, thereby obtaining a standard high school diploma just before he turns 21 years of age.  This rosy future outcome is highly unlikely.

2)      Oben will not accumulate enough required high school credits to graduate before he turns 21, and his GPA will remain well below 2.0.  No diploma or certificate of completion at all would result. This is the very likely result if he remains in school. 

3)      Oben will accumulate enough high school credits before he is 21, but he will not read in English well enough to pass the reading comprehension FCAT exam, so he will not obtain the state standard diploma. A certificate of completion would result.  This is still a possibility. 

4)      Oben can attempt to enter a local Vocational-Technical Center program, to learn a trade, but he will be blocked from entry there by his low scores on the TABE   (Test of Adult Basic Education) exam.  Therefore, since he will not be allowed in to the Vo-Tech Center, he will not learn a useful trade and he will remain unskilled for the work-place. 

5)      If Oben has neither a high school diploma nor a high school certificate of completion, he cannot go into college, community college nor into the U.S. military. 

6)      If Oben drops out of high school when the reality of the high school requirements and his situation is finally fully understood, the following are potential results:

A)    He can go to attempt a G.E.D. (General Equivalency Diploma) diploma program.  His English language skills are so low that it will take him years to get to the level of passing the 5 GED exams, which are written, and have to be read and comprehended, in high school level English.  Oben will either persevere in getting his GED, or he will drop out of that program as well.

B)    Oben can get a low-paying job and remain in it for much of his life.  If he drops out of school tomorrow, he will be unskilled and his English will be very limited.  He apparently reads in English at the 1.9 or approximately 2^nd grade level, and writes in English in the middle of 2^nd grade level. 

C)    Oben can go to a free ESOL English program for adults at one of the local centers, either day classes (daily) or evening classes (two nights per week), to improve his English language skills.  He can remain in one or more of these adult ESOL English programs ‘forever’, if he has the morale and stamina to do so.   “[Studies of adult ESOL]… student persistence suggest that students have many forces working both for and against them.  The same family, friends, job, childcare, and health issues that support students attending class can, in a flash, become the very things that keep them from coming to school” (Roberts, 2006). 

D)    Oben can turn to a life of crime on the streets and in the city neighborhoods, perhaps drug-running or car-theft with one of the local gangs, and he will eventually be caught and sent to prison.  Taxpayers’ money will pay for his correctional stay.         

          The odds of being academically successful in a contemporary Florida public high school are very much stacked against an English Language Learner immigrant adolescent such as Oben, who is overage for his grade level, possessing very limited English, from a third-world country, and who went to schools within rural Haiti’s educational system, where he had a limited formal education and from whence he got little general knowledge and skills.  The impact of these stacked odds, when taken all together, are that Oben will probably drop out and/or be relegated to being a member of the American ‘permanent underclass’ of the low-wage, low-skilled immigrant workforce.  How many Obens are there in the public high schools of the United States at this moment?

References

Ancess, J. (2003)  Beating the Odds: High Schools as Communities of Commitment.  New York: Teachers College Press.

Coulter, C & Smith, M. (2006.)  English Language Learners in a Comprehensive High School. Bilingual Research Journal, 30: 2 Summer.

Educational Testing Service (ETS). (2006.) Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA). Princeton, New Jersey: Educational             Testing Service

Faltis, C. (2006).  Joinfostering: Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Classrooms. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Florida Department of Education. (2007). Retrieved January 30, 2007, from http://www.fldoe.org/

Greene, J. (2005). Language! The Comprehensive Literacy Curriculum, A Level. New York: Sopris West Educational Services.  

The Institute for Academic Excellence. (1998). STAR Reading Test. Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin: Advantage Learning Systems, Inc.    

Menken, K. (2006). Teaching to the Test: How No Child Left Behind Impacts Language Policy, Curriculum, and Instruction for English Language                     Learners. Bilingual Research Journal, 30: 2 Summer.

Microsoft, Inc. (2007). Fleish-Kincaid Grade Level Equivalency tool.  Microsoft Word.

Pichard, M. (2006). A Focus Group of Adolescent Haitian Immigrants: Factors AffectingTheir Perceptions of Academic Success in a Florida             Public High School. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 2006). Dissertation Abstracts International DAI-A 67/03,
     p. 828, UMI No. 3210376

Roberts, M. (2006). Student Persistence in the Adult ESOL Classroom. White Plains, New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Schmida, M. (2006, April 8). Language Acquisition Through Linguistic Affiliation: Urban Subculture and Perceptions of Self.  Paper presented at         the 2006 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), in San Fransisco, CA

Author Bio

Mercedes Pichard, Ed.D. is the ESOL Contact Educator at a public high school in Lee County, Florida.  She received her Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in 2006 from the University of Central Florida, Orlando.