Middletown officials detail growth, staffing and after-school supports for multilingual learners

MIDDLETOWN, Feb. 11 — Middletown Public Schools officials told the Board of Education on Feb. 11 that the district’s population of multilingual learners has grown sharply this school year and that staff are expanding in-school and after-school services to meet rising demand.

At a presentation led by Superintendent Dr. Vasquez Matos and Colleen Fitzpatrick of the district ML (multilingual learners) team, administrators said enrollment of students identified for ML services rose from 272 on the Oct. 1 count to 295 as of Feb. 11, and that two additional students were expected to enroll the week after the meeting.

The increase has prompted changes to bilingual designations. “Middletown High School and Beaman Middle School are designated as bilingual schools,” Fitzpatrick said. She added that with student growth at McDonough and Farm Hill, those two elementary schools “now qualify as well,” meaning they will require bilingual teacher assignments next year.

District staff described a mix of strategies to serve students: in-class co-teaching, targeted pull-out intervention, structured-literacy supports adapted for multilingual learners, and family engagement nights. Colleen Fitzpatrick said the district has layered professional development at building and department levels and is using a LEARN grant for coaching and building-level supports.

Rebecca Deat, who described running a 21st Century (21c) after-school program, said the Farm Hill/Beaman pilot uses arts, wellness and family-engagement activities paired with tutoring. “We have currently 30 of the 56 enrolled ML students at Beaman in our after-school program,” Deat said, adding that partners include Arts for Learning CT and the school-based health center.

Superintendent Vasquez Matos highlighted the long-term academic value of bilingualism, saying, “When they actually learn 2 languages, it becomes a superpower.” The board asked for a language roster; staff said the district identifies roughly 28 languages among students and noted Arabic as a growing population.

Next steps discussed included hiring another bilingual teacher, expanding after-school transportation (staff confirmed busing is provided for after-school programs), and continued grant-funded tutoring. Fitzpatrick said the ML team is training classroom teachers on co-teaching and on-stage-of-language-acquisition strategies to keep students in grade-level classrooms when appropriate.

Why it matters: the changes affect staffing, schedules and budget planning for the coming year. Board members asked for a school-by-school breakdown of ML enrollment and a list of the languages represented to inform hiring and family-engagement planning.

Staff and participants: Colleen Fitzpatrick, ML team lead; Carrie Brewster, ML staff (McDonough/Moody); Rebecca Deat, 21c/after-school coordinator; Lydia Balaccino, middle-school TESOL teacher; Jen Domino, bilingual teacher (Lawrence/Bealfield); Marissa Frisk, Snow/Wesley ML support; Liz Tavares and Pam Lowe, high-school TESOL; Nancy Alquist, grant-funded tutor; Nithya, tutor; Dr. Vasquez Matos, superintendent.

Clarifying details: Oct. 1 ML enrollment 272; Feb. 11 enrollment 295; two additional enrollments reported after that date (projected 297); Farm Hill/Beaman 21c after-school program 30 enrolled of 56 ML students; district reports about 28 languages represented; McDonough and Farm Hill expected to be designated bilingual next year.

Community relevance: McDonough, Farm Hill, Beaman, McDonough families and multilingual students districtwide; funding sources include LEARN grant and 21st Century (21c) grant.

Provenance: first discussion of the ML program at the presentation introduction and data (block excerpt) and concluding remarks from the superintendent and ML staff (block excerpt).