Since arriving in the Diocese of Columbus earlier this year, one of the highlights of my time has been visiting all 50 of Our Catholic Schools across 23 counties in Ohio.
During my recent travels, I happened upon a little gem nestled in the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus: St. Mary Magdalene. The Hilltop community, known for its rich diversity, is reflected in the student body at St. Mary Magdalene, as evidenced by 40% of its students speaking Spanish as their primary language.
That is just the beginning, however. Upon entering the school, it is wholly evident that this is a special place. The halls are filled with statuary and pictures at student height level, while prayers are written in both Spanish and English. The daily morning gathering is bilingual, culminating with a final prayer prayed in Spanish by 250 exuberant voices.
In speaking with Principal Courtney Caric, I was curious about how it evolved to the diverse school it is today. When she joined St. Mary Magdalene three years ago, she came with a vision, which complemented strides made at the school by the previous administration.
“[My vision is for] students in this school to have the same opportunity for an excellent education that I had at St. Catharine (Bexley),” she said.
This vision led to the hiring of fourth grade teacher Jen Maschari who “had a strong root belief that all kids have the right to have the best education with cultural and linguistic supports. She strives for excellence,” Caric said.
Maschari’s classroom is an encounter with a word-rich environment. Phrases, words and instructions are on every wall in both Spanish and English.
With nearly 50% of her fourth-graders speaking Spanish at home, Maschari recalled, “I realized that I didn’t have the tools to teach English language learners well.”
Doing what teachers do, she enrolled in the University of Notre Dame Alliance for Catholic Education’s Hernandez Fellows program to gain not only core instructional practices for her Spanish speakers but strategies for excellent pedagogy to assist all students.
“Because the majority of languages overlap, I’ve learned to use cognates, leveraging the Latin root of Spanish and English to assist with language acquisition,” she shared.
For example, Spanish speaking students use their knowledge of the word observación to understand the meaning of the English word observation. Maschari also learned to use sentence stems and pictures to help her students write.
“Kids are seeing words in their language throughout the classroom and it makes them proud of their culture, while English-speaking students are learning words in a new language,” Maschari said.
The Hernandez Fellows program has opened Maschari’s eyes in other ways, too. Because English is not necessarily the second language for her students, it is a new language, the acronym ENL (English as a New Language) rather than ESL (English as a Second Language) is used.
In addition, meeting and getting to know parents now is a regular part of her curricula.
“Family is very important to my students, and when I’m invited, I’ve found home to be places of pride and faith,” Maschari said.
She has parents who sew, do intricate tile work, garden, and one father plays rock and roll guitar! All these encounters she brings to the classroom, creating greater connection between learning and the home life of her students.
Principals in the Diocese of Columbus look for teachers to reflect the diversity of the student populations of their schools, but there is a national shortage of teachers from diverse backgrounds. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), the number of Black, Hispanic and Asian American teachers has increased over the decades, but has not kept pace with the rapid growth in student diversity.
The most recent data from NCES showed 79% of teachers in the United States identify as non-Hispanic White. That said, programs like the Hernandez Fellows program are invaluable in equipping teachers with the tools needed to help ENL students acquire a new language.
“The Hernandez Fellows program has been invaluable for me as a teacher and advocate,” Maschari noted. “There is a fire in me to serve and serve well, and to follow the Church’s call to welcoming all.”
To learn more about the work being done in the Hernandez Fellows program, visit https://ace.nd.edu/programs/enl/enl-hernandez-fellows.
Dr. Holly Peterson, Ph.D., is the assistant superintendent for academics in the diocese’s Office of Catholic Schools.