T.C. Williams Honor Students Help Immigrants With English, Homework
By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Three students -- a boy and two girls -- sat around a table in the T.C. Williams High School library one recent afternoon after classes. They chatted amiably, griping about their teachers and comparing notes on which new movies to see.
The small gathering was nothing short of extraordinary, school officials say.
Sophomore Diego Torregon came to T.C. Williams from Peru a little over a year ago. Seniors Annie Silverwood and Samantha Berg are National Honor Society members who come to the library to give students new to the country a chance to practice their English while also helping them with their homework.
"Oh, my gosh, your English is so good," Berg said to Torregon. "I've been in German since sixth grade and can't speak [it] as well as you do [English]."
One table away, senior Cecilia Lopez helped another new student understand her English grammar homework -- something that minutes before had seemed a hopeless muddle. Two years ago, fresh from Uruguay, Lopez had been on the other end, feeling overwhelmed, isolated and in need of extra help.
"I see so much of myself reflected in them," Lopez said.
Now, Lopez is in the National Honor Society and is president of the school's Latin American Student Society. She is also pursuing her dream of going to college. She has already been accepted to the University of Texas and the University of Richmond. She's waiting to hear from Harvard and Yale.
The simple conversations between the new students and their tutors are part of an intensive after-school program that school officials say is making a big difference.
The program is called Building Better Futures, and it is run by the nonprofit group Bienvenidos, a human services organization that supports the Latino community in Alexandria. It is funded by a grant from the nonprofit Campagna Center of Alexandria and other funds.
The initiative has lofty goals. Bienvenidos began the program two years ago when it discovered that most of the city's tutoring programs were for elementary school children. There was little for newly arrived high school students, and school officials were concerned about how the students would perform on high-stakes standardized tests.
The program aims to reduce the number of Latino students who make poor grades, get pregnant, drop out of school or end up in gangs. Its goal is to increase the number of Latino students who graduate from T.C. and prepare more of them for a successful college experience or rewarding career. Program officials focus on increasing English proficiency, improving school performance, enhancing social skills, raising self-esteem and increasing parent involvement.
It works, they say.
Last year, 35 students completed the after-school program. By the end of the year, all but three of them had substantially improved their grades and grade-point averages. Of the 30 students who took the Virginia Standards of Learning tests, 28 passed, even with their limited English. All 10 seniors graduated, six went on to college, and no one dropped out.
This year, of 51 students in the program, only four have a C average or below. Twelve of the students raised their grades enough to be able to participate in sports. T.C. Williams requires all athletes to maintain at least a C average.
"We were astounded that something as trivial as homework help could have such an impact," said Margaret Lorber, a parent liaison with the school district and a Bienvenidos board member. "But once the students can do the homework, they can pass the tests. Their grades just skyrocketed."
Beyond academics, however, the program works to ease the confusion and fear of being a newcomer to a strange school in a strange country and trying to learn a strange language.
"Finally, we have a program that works keeping kids in school," Lorber said "Now, there's a reason for them to stay. Not only are the expectations high, but these students now have a community here."
Krishna Leyva, 32, not only directs the program for Bienvenidos, but she is its heart and soul, supporters say. She's tough: Attendance is mandatory, and students must sign waivers to give her access to their records so she always has a handle on what's going on. But she clearly loves the students, and they respond in kind.
She says the students come to think of one another as family, and she jokingly refers to some of them as her adopted children. She listens to their problems, gives them rides home and helps them fill out college and financial aid applications. She's the kind of counselor who doesn't scold them when they mess up, but instead takes them out to lunch to find out what's wrong.
"Some of the kids I've seen, they may not have good relationships with their parents, or their parents are too busy and there's no supervision," she said. "When I have them here, they're all like family. They have a place to belong."
Students in the program come to the library twice a week for tutoring, and then spend two other days learning karate and studying Japanese culture.
And the honor students who tutor have gained some perspective on the challenges facing most new immigrants.
"My mom came to this country when she was 2. Her parents spoke Spanish. My mom and her sister went through school by themselves. There was no one to help," said senior Gabriella Espitalier-Noel, liaison to the program for the honor society. "I want to help."
The academic assistance and social support helped raise 16-year-old Danielle Lauchu's GPA from 2.5 to 3.27. "When I came two years ago, I was so lost," the Panamanian native said. "Now, I'm in all regular English classes. I passed all my English as a Second Language levels in one year. I'm looking forward to taking Advanced Placement classes."
Sometimes, students are not only struggling with the new language and culture, but reuniting with parents who are virtual strangers because they immigrated much earlier.
The Bienvenidos program has, for some, given students what they need.
"I have friends in gangs, but I have to stay focused on my future," Lauchu said. "Plus, I spend so much of my time here, I definitely don't have the time to be in a gang."
Keeping students busy, involved and engaged is exactly what Leyva is after. "This," she said with emphasis, gesturing to the huddles of students talking and working on homework, "is gang prevention."
One of her favorite students is struggling with that influence now. She came from a strict South American private school, and the freedoms of big American public high schools have been dizzying.
"She began to hang out with the wrong crowd; . . . she started to skip," Leyva said. The student's flirtation with gangs brought her 3.2 GPA down to below 1.0, Leyva said.
"I keep after her," Leyva said as the girl joked with her friends a few tables away. "I let her know that I believe in her, that I'm not going to give up on her.
"So many of these students," she continued, "all they need is for someone to take the time to show they care."
As the day's session wound down, Leyva embraced each student, kissing each on both cheeks. A new student from Yemen who speaks little English approached her in the crowd. In halting and accented English, he asked if there might be room for him, too.
Leyva sighed. It's not the first request for help from other newcomers, but the program is funded specifically for Latino kids, she said, and there is a waiting list. She said she would try to make it happen.
After all, she said, "bienvenidos" means welcome.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.