Governor Thomas Johnson High School is known for being one of the most diverse schools in Frederick County. One representation of this diversity is the Multilingual Learners Program (MLP), formerly known as the English Learners Program. GTJHS has 48 countries represented, 38 of these countries are represented within the MLP. With over 300 students, the program strives to have its students be able to speak English at the academic level.
Julie Doyle, the head of the MLP, says since the program has been active for the past seven years it has not changed, but “evolved”. Initially, the program was more trial and error, but now the MLP staff is more experienced with which classes to offer students. However, Doyle believes that there is still room for improvement. Areas of concern include: lack of growth, lack of representation and lack of understanding.
The lack of growth referenced is student performance on the WIDA ACCESS test. This test interprets how proficient a student is in the English language. Passing the test means students have a core understanding of English and can exit the program. The issue is that students are not doing well on the speaking portion of the test. Additionally, Doyle describes the program’s limitations to not having enough time to tutor students. Many students do not have the means of transportation that would allow them to stay after school to receive additional support. Furthermore, Doyle states that the program would also be more successful if there was more staffing and resources available to the program, after all there are only eight teachers in the program.
“It takes time to learn another language and there’s not a whole lot of time, at the high school level,” says Doyle. “Students don’t have time to master the language and then start taking graduation requirements.”
Since the Multilingual Learners Program is government funded, most of the decisions regarding its functions are left up to the school board. It was even the Maryland Board of Education’s decision to change the program’s name to sound more positive. As mentioned earlier, MLP faces a lack of representation, students do not always feel welcomed enough to join extracurricular activities or participate in school wide events. Kevin A., a student in MLP, would like more people to know that those in MLP are not lazy but are overwhelmed with the responsibilities they have. Some have to work long hours to send remittances or pay legal fees. A significant percentage of ML students are undocumented, having an experience that could prevent them from having the ideal high school experience. Although, this does not mean the program is not beneficial to students.
Kevin A. says, “It [MLP] has helped me grow as a person in my skills in English.” Kevin’s favorite part of the program is the teachers, who are more than willing to help the students meet their goals.
One teacher in particular is Helen Linares. She too was a student in this MLP and has been teaching at GTJHS for about three and a half years. Some of the roles Linares takes on includes being a counselor, a friend, a sister, and a mother. ML students may have come to Frederick with little to no relatives. They were sent here by their families for better opportunities, an experience that Linares can easily relate to. Linares came back to teach because she wanted to inspire more students to learn English and graduate.
“Some students, they don’t want to graduate, they just want to be here for one or two years because they feel like it’s not possible for them to graduate,” Linares discloses. “So then, that’s where I come, and I’m like, you see here I’m an example where I have been where you were, where you are. For the past three years I have been able to make an impact in their life.”
The ML would like more people to understand that this is a large program. Not every ML student is a Spanish speaker; some students speak Portuguese, French, or Dari. The MLP would like to be better understood and included in the TJ community. Every part of GTJHS is considered an important part of the community.
