On her first day in my third grade classroom, Lucia wouldn’t look at me when I introduced myself in English; tears streamed down her cheeks. When Lucia’s mom began speaking to me in Spanish, I quickly shifted to Spanish. Immediately, Lucia smiled at me.
“Hola soy Lucia. Me gusta ir a la escuela y siempre he sacado buenos grados, pero siento que aquí no lo haré,” she said. (Hi I’m Lucia and I love school and I’ve always had good grades, but I feel like I won’t here.)
Lucia is not the only one feeling this way. This year alone, there were five newcomer students in my class of 33. Each student brings a different level of English proficiency, requiring individualized support to help them succeed in the classroom. Across Colorado, there were approximately 8,000 newcomer students in 2024, many of them Spanish speakers.
When these students transition to a U.S. school, they have to quickly acclimate to a new school system and learn a new language to understand the academic content. Yet, teachers like me often are not equipped with the knowledge nor preparation to support these students.
In Aurora where I teach, I am required to complete a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education credential to support students like Lucia. The credential is designed for licensed teachers to gain a deeper understanding and skills to provide culturally and linguistically responsive instruction for all students.
While a good start, the credential is not enough to equip teachers in supporting newcomer students.
Colorado has made good progress in supporting students who are new to our country, but there is room to grow. One idea is for all schools in Colorado to adopt the Newcomer Toolkit from the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of English Language Acquisition.
This comprehensive plan includes collecting and analyzing prior school academic data, screening and assessing students on their English language proficiency and content knowledge, whether they are gifted and talented, and if they’ve experienced trauma, and determining appropriate placement and services.
As part of implementing a newcomer toolkit, we must also assess our students’ academic ability in their native language. This information would help me develop an appropriate plan to support Lucia, instead of treating her like a blank slate.
Once Lucia settled into my class, I tested her reading and math skills in Spanish. She was right when she said that she loved school: Lucia was reading at an eighth grade level and was at a fourth grade math level as a third grade student.
With my administration’s support, we provided Lucia and resources in English and Spanish for her to continue to excel academically, as well as assess her for the gifted and talented program based on her math results. Based on these scores, we provided Lucia with translations of reading passages and math problems, as well as sentence starters to organize her thoughts orally and in writing.
Every day, Lucia got a 40-minute intervention to support her English language acquisition and participated in a beginner English Language Development class. She was also able to take the Colorado Measure of Academic Success in Spanish.
Any plan of support must include books and materials in a student’s native language. This could look like doing a compare and contrast lesson on Dia de los Muertos and Halloween, or giving a student “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid” in Spanish. In math class, this could mean translating math story problems into a student’s native language.
Acknowledging holidays and traditions from our students’ backgrounds is equally important if we are to affirm students’ identities. In my class, this includes creating a “Pieces of Me: Stories of Our Culture” classbook, where my students write a story and create an illustration about their favorite tradition. Through this project, Lucia and others get a chance to share their cultural backgrounds, work on this project with their family, and publish it.
Now a fourth grader, Lucia is reading in English and is adjusting to school in the United States. I was lucky enough to be able to provide her with extra support in Spanish, but that is not the case for every newcomer student.
Students in Colorado shouldn’t have to depend on luck to receive an education they deserve. A thoughtful, comprehensive plan would ensure just that.
Katia Necoechea Madriz, of Denver, is a third grade English Language Arts and English Language Development teacher, grade-level chair, and fellow advisor in Aurora Public Schools. She is a 2024-25 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow.
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