New York State is in the process of reimagining its graduation standards to potentially trim down its Regents exam requirements, but for now, high school students are still required to pass several of the standardized tests to graduate.
Even students who recently arrived in the United States from abroad have to take them, regardless of their level of fluency in English, in subjects including math, science, and history — meaning they’re learning both academic subjects and the English language at the same time. That’s what resonated with Brianna Calle and Dayris Pena, two East Hampton High School seniors who started a bilingual peer tutoring program earlier this year.
They have been joined in their volunteer effort by Nicole Velez and Emily Flores, also seniors, and are spending lunch periods and study halls helping fellow students who primarily speak Spanish. It happens to have been the first language spoken at home for Brianna, Dayris, and Emily.
“New students come in every week and every month,” Brianna said in an interview. “They may be six months behind in math work and they still need to understand it for the Regents in June, so we work with them during their lunch periods or whenever we can. They’re learning the material they need to succeed. . . . We’re there to support the teachers and the students.”
Students in English-as-a-new-language programs make up 22 percent of the total student body across the East Hampton School District, according to Tiffany Patterson, the administrator who oversees these programs. “This number has increased in recent years with the arrival of many newcomer students who are learning English for the first time,” she said. “The high school building received the most newcomer E.N.L. students both this year and last school year. Spanish is the home language of the majority of our E.N.L. students.”
Emily has found success using real-world examples of geometry to help her peers comprehend that subject, such as painted yellow lines in the streets that illustrate what it means to be “parallel.” “It helps them see things more clearly,” she said.
Dayris said she has been encouraging students to get involved in after-school activities. “I gave them a gentle push” and explained some of the school activities, such as the Bonac Lights event and the March Madness festivities. “Before, they weren’t as aware, and were maybe a little shy to get involved because it is a new school for them.”
Nicole said that “having the opportunity to help and make that transition easier” was a natural fit for her skills. She has helped students learn how to use graphing calculators, which can be extremely complex and unfamiliar. “It’s a learning barrier” that she’s working to eliminate, Nicole said.
“Knowing I can help them makes me feel great . . . like I’m not just sitting around watching students struggle,” Emily said.
Ms. Patterson and Sara Smith, the school principal, said they are “extremely proud” of Dayris, Nicole, Brianna, and Emily, who are acting as ambassadors in a way.
“Some of our building-wide goals are to break down the barriers that may be created among students who are newly arrived and those who were born and grew up here, to try and meet in the middle,” Ms. Smith said. “These students — without even knowing it was one of our building-level goals — saw that need on their own. Not only did they see the need, they did something about it.”