I met Miguel* one summer when his mom, who was enrolled in an English as a second language (ESL) class with my sister-in-law, attended our family’s Memorial Day picnic. He easily blended in with the rest of the preteens kicking around a soccer ball and talking about all things pop culture. It turned out he lived two blocks from West View Elementary School, where I teach second grade, but he was not a student there. Instead, he was bused 20 minutes away to a school outside his community simply because it housed the ESL teachers contracted by the local intermediate unit.
Miguel’s story is not unique, and it highlights a larger, urgent issue: Pennsylvania’s failure to fully fund its schools is forcing multilingual learners (MLs) out of their own neighborhoods to receive the education they deserve.
My district, North Hills School District, is working to better serve all its students. With a 113% increase in MLs over the past six years, nearly 200 elementary students will now be redistricted across two schools instead of one. This change keeps students closer to home while ensuring they receive the necessary ESL services.
However, implementing this multi-school model requires additional staffing and infrastructure whose costs must be covered by the district’s already underfunded budget. Under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal, North Hills would gain approximately $700,000 through increased education funding and proposed savings on cyber expenses.
The problem isn’t isolated to one district. Just 12 miles south, the situation is more extreme. This year Carlynton School District, with a total student population of approximately 1,250, enrolled 239 ML students, an 111% increase from the 113 students enrolled the previous school year. Assistant Superintendent Jeff Taylor, who used to be assistant superintendent in my district, shared that “the cost to hire certified ESL teachers, provide translation and interpretation services, purchase tailored instructional materials, and provide professional development to staff is not sufficiently accounted for in the current state funding formula and stretches a district’s budget, which creates the potential need of diverting resources from other essential programs.” Under Shapiro’s budget proposal, Carlynton would gain approximately $540,000 through increased education funding and proposed savings on cyber expenses.
That chance meeting with Miguel occurred six years ago and yet it continues to replay in my head as I think about the other MLs I never had a chance to meet, teach or build community. Shapiro’s budget takes us one step closer to a constitutional school funding system, providing Pennsylvania public schools with close to $1 billion in increased education funding, including adequacy funding to underfunded districts, as well as cyber charter savings.
To truly support MLs, Pennsylvania must invest in increasing the number of certified ESL teachers and providing essential instructional resources. Currently, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, which my district is part of, offers the five courses required for a program specialist certificate, which costs $2,500. Providing microgrants for teachers who commit to remain teaching in schools with MLs widens the workforce and is a wise way to grow our own ESL teachers. A teacher like me could become certified in about a year, without a negative impact on personal finances, while making a huge impact on student learning.
Additionally, the funding also will help schools pay for instructional and translation materials. All students are entitled to an education with learning tools that meet their needs and are in alignment with standards and best practices of the time. Forcing school districts to choose which essential program to fund and potentially cutting vital resources from Pennsylvania students is not in the best interest of anyone.
Now is the time for Pennsylvania to show MLs and their families that they are valued and their education is important. The message is clear: Every child deserves to learn in their own community. Every child deserves the resources they need to succeed. And every child deserves to feel at home in their school. It’s time for Pennsylvania to step up and make that a reality.
* To protect privacy, Miguel is not my student’s real name.
Meghan Amayo is a 2024-25 Teach Plus Pennsylvania Policy Fellow.