A Quarter-Century of Change, 1975-2000

Language minority students have always been present in Saint Paul Public Schools.  Until 1975, however, they did not receive special instructional services from trained school staff.  During the 1975-1976 school year, 60 Southeast Asian refugees were served in a special intensive English program called TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  This marked the beginning of special programs for English language learners in SPPS.  

The ELL population grew slowly at first, and then exploded in the early 1980s when large numbers of Hmong refugees resettled in the Twin Cities area.  Although the population has grown steadily during the past quarter of a century, it has more than tripled since 1985, when the average mainstream teacher for SPPS began working in the district.  In other words, the student population of SPPS has undergone a dramatic transformation during the tenure of most teachers in the district.

Expanding and Fine-Tuning our Programs, 2000-Present

In the late 1990s, ELL programs in SPPS began to move away from the “pull-out” model that had characterized ELL services in the past.  While pull-out programs focus solely on developing students’ English language proficiency, content-based programs strive to promote students’ mastery of academic content while they become proficient in English—subject areas are integrated with language objectives.  As David and Yvonne Freeman, both leading scholars in the areas of biliteracy and bilingual education, argue, “because people learn language as they use it, it is logical to have them learn English as they study meaningful content, rather than to have them study English language as a separate subject apart from meaningful content” (ESL/EFL Teaching: Principles for Success, p. 32).

As ELL programs moved from pull-out to instructional collaboration models, the TESOL classes that served newcomer students (levels 1 and 2) were transitioned to the Language Academy program.  In the former model, TESOL classes were comprised only of English language learners—each TESOL class was taught by an ESL teacher, and curriculum was focused on English language development rather than on content areas such as math or science.   ELL students in TESOL classes had few opportunities to interact with their mainstream peers, and did not always have access to the same school services (gym, library, etc.) as their fellow students.

The implementation of the Language Academy model (1999-2000) addressed all of these issues—in Language Academy classrooms, students interact with both native English-speaking peers and fellow English language learners; they develop English proficiency through content areas, and are taught by both a licensed ESL teacher and a licensed content-area teacher; and they are fully integrated into the school community.     

In addition to the Language Academies, the ELL department has developed and  expanded a number of programs to support the unique and varied needs of English language learners.  These are  described in the ELL Programs section.

Trends for Immigration in Minnesota

As Minnesota becomes home to greater numbers of immigrants and refugees, Saint Paul Public Schools will continue to enroll larger numbers of students who speak a language other than English at home.  The following demographic information suggests what the future will bring.

• The number of “new” and/or “growing” languages spoken in SPPS continues to rise—especially Karen/Burmese. In the coming years, 140,000 Karen/Burmese will emigrate from the Thai-Burma border; many are refugees who will be resettled in the United States.
• During the 2005-06 school year, the number of Karen/Burmese students increased 100%, to more than 220 students.
• In 2004-05, Minnesota was second only to California in the number of refugees resettled—11% of refugees who arrived in the United States settled in Minnesota (5,826 individuals, according to federal figures).
• Of the 15,456 immigrants in Minnesota in 2004-05, 41% were refugees.
• As refugees continue to arrive in the coming years, they are highly likely to settle where they have family members and/or where there are thriving immigrant communities. Minnesota will continue to be a state that receives large numbers of refugees.
• Resettlement agencies in Minnesota predict that future groups will include Somalis, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Nepalese.
• Minnesota’s nonwhite and Latino populations are projected to grow substantially faster than the white population.
• In 2000, 9% of Minnesotans identified themselves as nonwhite. This is projected to rise to 13% by 2015 and 16% by 2030.
• In 2000, 3% of Minnesotans identified themselves as Hispanic; this is projected to rise to 6% by 2030.
• Caucasian and non-Caucasian population trends for Ramsey County are projected below (Native American populations are not included as part of the ELL population):