Truman English Learners Read To Harp

Arnold Atuyuwe explained a few differences between Truman School in New Haven and his previous school in Malawi: Here, books are not free, computers are everywhere, and teachers don’t hit students.

English language teacher Mary Lou DiPaola brought Atuyuwe and 11 other English language learners from Truman School to visit Mayor Toni Harp in her office City Hall Tuesday morning. Students read letters and stories aloud, with varying degrees of fluency in English, and described their different paths to the Elm City.

Fourth-grader Atuyuwe was one of the newest comers to the city, arriving in December.

Others, like eighth-grader Edwin Sanchez, have been in New Haven schools since pre‑K. But all need extra services from the district to solidify their English reading and writing skills. The state has allocated 30 months for English language learners to learn in bilingual classrooms taught in Spanish. Last July, the state Department of Education decided to let districts request an additional three school years of funded bilingual services in the classroom.

DiPaola pulls students from classes taught in English and gives them extra support they need.

“They’re all technically on the English language learner roster,” she said.

Mayor Harp greeted the crew sitting around her office round table, who were a bit smaller than her usual visitors. She told students she grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, which used to be part of Mexico. ​“We often forget that parts of the U.S. were parts of Mexico,” she said.

Two students in the room were from Mexico. Seventh-grader Elmer Lucero moved from Mexico when he was a year old. ​“I haven’t seen my grandparents since I was a baby,” he said.

Fifth-grader Bryan Bautista said two of his brothers were coming next month from the Dominican Republic to join him in New Haven.

Sixth-grader Emmanuella Mwilelo, who came here from Burundi two years ago, has four sisters and four brothers, and came to New Haven with her father. He used to be a doctor, she said. ​“Here he can’t be a doctor,” she said. ​“He doesn’t have good English.”

She is still getting used to the differences between the two countries. She used to walk to school every day, but here, she takes the school bus. She used to have to buy her own lunch every day or go hungry, but here, she gets lunch at school. In Burundi, ​“if you talk in school, the teacher is going to beat you up,” she said.

Mwilelo said she misses the bright, colorful patterns adorning people’s clothing in her country.

Razia Assadi read the mayor her letter written in her native Dari language. She arrived in New Haven last November from Afghanistan.

Parent chaperone Mohammad Assadi translated for his daughter as she thanked her teacher, students and ​“Ms. Toni Harp Mayor who invited us” to City Hall that day. ​“I still feel my grandmother’s warm hug and that she was gently squeezing me with love at the time she was saying goodbye,” he translated.

Mohammad also spoke for himself, that he missed his parents and friends still in Afghanistan. He is having trouble looking for jobs.

“Have you gone to New Haven Works?” Mayor Harp asked.

“Yes,” he said. ​“Nothing yet.”

“Soon, we hope,” the mayor responded.

Some students had questions for the mayor, who is also the president of the Board of Education. ​“How does the lottery work?” Sanchez asked. He applied for magnet schools and was waiting to figure out where he would be next year.

Harp briefly explained the process: Parents apply for a few schools and some students get a higher preference if they have siblings in certain schools. Some students are waitlisted at their schools of choice and get off the list in September.

“Never give up,” she said.

Harp handed out copies of the book

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em>OMG… Am I a Witch?! by local author Talia Aikens-Nuñez

to each child, complete with bookmarks.