Lawrence teachers return from Dominican Republic immersion, push for culturally responsive resources and family outreach

Eleven Lawrence Public Schools educators who participated in a district-sponsored immersion in the Dominican Republic described classroom observations and proposed concrete steps to bring those lessons home.

Moderator Jacqueline Pena opened the panel, which included teachers and coaches from several Lawrence schools. Panelists reported seeing highly communal classrooms, call-and-response instruction, and curricular expectations that emphasize literacy early (several said the Dominican system expects students to be fully literate by third grade). One panelist noted that the difference in pacing for topics such as fractions can contribute to learning gaps when students arrive in Lawrence and are placed at grades that assume different prior instruction.

Teachers advocated for district-level supports to make cultural resources easy to access: suggestions included a cultural-note insertion in the ML (multilingual) weekly bulletin, a principal monthly bulletin item, and a central library of vetted books and materials for classrooms. "We should have those resources easily available for all the staff members," one participant said, describing plans to gather links and materials for LPS staff.

Panelists also emphasized family engagement. Several recommended adopting WhatsApp for routine school-family communications because many Dominican families use that app and audio messages help parents who cannot take scheduled calls. The panel recommended multilingual counseling and social-emotional supports for newly arrived students, and better intake communication so teachers can know "where a student was in school before" and avoid inappropriate over-referral to special education.

Jacqueline Pena closed the session by thanking district leaders who supported the trip, naming Superintendent Ralph Carrero and Deputy Superintendent Carlos Santos, and noting the work needed to turn immersion learnings into professional development and classroom practice.

Next steps suggested on the record include compiling shared cultural resources, piloting WhatsApp-based family outreach, and scheduling follow-up professional development and principal briefings to roll out recommendations.