LYNN — A new program that aims to help underserved youth succeed in education is helping to close the achievement gap for English language learners, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Thirty Thurgood Marshall Middle School students, who have been identified as English Language Learners (ELLs) took part in five weeks of virtual learning this summer through the LEAP program.
Those students now have the distinction of being the first group to complete a LEAP (Learn, Explore, Aspire and Pursue) program in Lynn, as this summer kicked off the organization’s expansion into the city.
Linda Saris, executive director of Leap for Education, Inc., said the students targeted for the virtual summer programming were mostly newcomers to the city, fairly new immigrants with a low level of English speaking capabilities.
Saris said ELL students have been especially impacted by the coronavirus-induced school closures, and subsequent shift to remote learning, because of their challenges with English literacy and technology. LEAP aims to close not only that COVID-slide but the summer learning loss as well, she said.
“The (teachers) all felt there’s this group of kids that are newcomers to this country that are slipping even more far behind,” said Saris. “They felt it was really important that they didn’t lose the whole summer.”
The summer learning loss is harder for English Language Learners, Saris said, explaining that students will go back home to their families, who often speak their native language, rather than reinforcing those English-speaking skills learned in school.
“They were students who really needed the extra (time) to close the learning loss that they had in achieving English literacy,” said Saris. “Those four months were really tough for them and tough for them to stay in school.”
Through a partnership with the Lynn Public Schools, Salem-based LEAP for Education expanded into the city last January with the support of a $250,000 grant from Boston-based Wellington Management Foundation.
The grant funds are being used to offer LEAP programming at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, which was supposed to kick off on April 9, but had to be pushed back because of the coronavirus.
Instead, the organization opted to pivot toward running a virtual summer program for five weeks, from July to early August, with youth and teachers from Marshall, Saris said.
Students, who were split into three cohorts of 10 students each, engaged in two 90-minute learning sessions a day, with a break in between. Participants were tasked with completing two projects, which were focused on introducing them to their community and improving their English vocabulary, which feeds into their speaking and writing skills, Saris said.
The typical LEAP model is for students to learn English by getting out into the community and taking on a civic project, but the pandemic altered that portion of the project this summer.
Ultimately, Marshall teachers settled on a project that would consist of students interviewing several community leaders, including those in business, nonprofits, and schools.
One of those school leaders interviewed was Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, who said the school district is fortunate to have the LEAP program at Marshall, which the students have dubbed Dream MORE, an acronym for Marshall Opportunities for Resilience and Education.
“These students are some of the more vulnerable students because of low English language and technology literacy levels,” said Tutwiler. “With this program, our students are much better prepared for fall remote learning.
“I was also interviewed by these students and loved their questions and the interactions it allowed for both of us. We look forward to more LEAP programming for these students in the fall.”
Access to technology was cited by Saris as one of the biggest challenges with the LEAP program this summer. After the district provided computers to the students who had been identified for the program, LEAP found that 40 percent of them lacked an Internet connection.
So, LEAP used its funds to set them up with a hotspot connection through Verizon. As the district has entered into a contract with Comcast to provide an Internet connection to students in need this fall, Saris said many of their LEAP students will be switching over before the start of the school year.
Still, despite the challenges, Saris said she considers this summer’s launch of the program in Lynn to be a success, while citing high attendance and engagement among students.
“The teachers helped us set up our computers and Internet,” said Roisy, a Marshall student who took part in LEAP. “We got to interact with and interview different people. That was my favorite part. It’s pretty cool to interview people with interesting jobs and learn about what they do.”
LEAP for Education, which aims to help low-income and first-generation students succeed in education, career and life, is working with the Lynn Public Schools and Thurgood Marshall to plan for ongoing programs in the fall.
