The number of New Orleans public school students learning English rose dramatically this year — by 35 percent. That's because of an influx of unaccompanied minors from Central America. Now some schools will receive extra funds to support those students.
The Recovery School District announced Monday it is giving out more than $160,000 to support English Language Learners. Those funds are divided among 16 charter operators and will pay for supports like technology, teacher training, and translated materials.
Bill Murphy oversees student support services at Cohen College Prep High School. Last fall the school enrolled 18 students who'd just arrived in the U.S.
"What we found was we needed to provide a program that simultaneously gave them a kind of very fundamental, functional understanding of English, just to help them get to and from school in the morning or how to just navigate American society," Murphy says, "while at the same time making sure that they get core content instruction in English but with supports in their home language."
Cohen College Prep will receive $10,000 to bolster its program. The funding goes into effect this fall.