ELLs

My mother isn’t home

/ Julie Nariman / 6 Comments

Like all public high schools in New York City, my school is operating remotely. Overall, it’s going well, yet it’s also easy for students to disappear. 

To find these students, I’ve started to do home visits with my assistant principal Yan. We look up the addresses, create a route, and set off on our journey. We usually don’t announce our visits. 

Such was the case with Xavier.*  As he was new to our school this year, I had never met him in person, and we didn’t even have a photo of him. Xavier had done a few assignments in September and October, but had since drifted away, completing nothing and never coming to online classes. When we called his mother, she seemed confused: “He’s on the computer all day!” 

We arrived at Xavier’s apartment on a sunny Friday afternoon, crunching through a layer of snow on the sidewalk. We hit the buzzer until a neighbor let us in. Continue reading →

The Smell of Oranges

/ Julie Nariman / 5 Comments

orange peelAs the principal of a high school that serves newcomer English Language Learners, I track many pieces of students data: progress with English, attendance, participation in clubs and sports, grades, test scores, etc.

Yet sometimes, a seemingly insignificant moment teaches me more about my school than any piece of official data.

Last week, I was walking past the cafeteria while my students were eating lunch.  I heard the normal sounds of lunchtime: over 300 students talking loudly, the occasional shriek of laughter or flirtation.

And, the smell of oranges.  Continue reading →

Sitting alone in the cafeteria

/ Julie Nariman / 4 Comments

20180406_181850.jpgNothing makes me sadder than a kid sitting alone in the cafeteria.  Sometimes, a student is sitting alone by choice—he or she simply prefers to be alone, perhaps reading a book, or taking a break from interaction.

Other times, a student sits alone because he or she is new, and is the only person who speaks his or her own language.  The High School of Language and Innovation is a school for newcomer English Language Learners.  Most new students that have a large same-language, same-culture group—Spanish, Arabic, Bengali, Albanian, French—will be quickly adopted into the group.  If a student speaks a language like Vietnamese or Chinese, which are both small populations in our school, they might be alone if their 1-2 compatriots are absent.   Continue reading →

I want that Mister to see me in Social Studies class

/ Julie Nariman / 7 Comments

20180503_085219.jpgLast week, I saw my school through new eyes.

We had a visit of 11 first-year teachers from other high schools, part of a new teacher support initiative in the Bronx. My school was one of 15 schools chosen for the visit with a focus on teaching methods for English Language Learners, as the majority of our students are newcomer immigrants who are learning English.

I told my leadership consultants, Ariel and Shya Kane, about the visit. “First-year teachers? They’re going to compare themselves if they feel insecure,” said Ariel. “Set them up to not compare, and look at your school with a beginner’s mind so they can learn.” Continue reading →

I think we’re all going to get 100% in this class

/ Julie Nariman / 1 Comment

economics class

Today I visited a 9th grade Economics* class.  Students were working in groups helping each other figure out a word problem.

“How do you get a good grade in this class?”  I asked a group.

“Oh, it’s easy maam,” said Hassan.**   “You just have to pay attention to the teacher, do your homework, and when you have a question, you can’t just sit there and be quiet, you have to ask the other kids.”

“So how do you think you’re all doing?” I asked.

Hassan looked around the room, tilting his chair back, then looked at his group.  “I think everyone in this class is going to get 100,” he said confidently.

I liked Hassan’s answer. Continue reading →