New London Graduates Must Know English To Graduate

New London's Board of Education has been getting attention recently for adopting a policy that will require all students beginning in 2015 to know English before they can graduate. As WNPR’s Lucy Nalpathanchil reports, the requirement reaches beyond the school district’s large student immigrant population.

A little more than half of New London tenth graders are proficient in reading and writing. Some point to the school district's diverse population as a reason.  Almost thirty countries are represented in the student body.

But Superintendent, Dr. Nicholas Fischer says the new graduation requirement, requiring students to achieve the highest level in reading on state standardized testing doesn't apply just to immigrant students.

"Only twenty percent of our population are English language learners. So we have a situation where only sixteen percent of our students are at the goal level which is the level of expectation that the state specifies. So we have a lot of other students who have similar needs."

Fischer says the policy is necessary especially after getting feedback from colleges that some New London graduates lack literacy and writing skills. He stresses the change isn't  meant to discourage students from knowing foreign languages.

"This is not about all kids speaking English or English only policy. This is about making sure students have competency in English reading and writing to be successful once they leave school."

The school district has already begun changing its curriculum and working with teachers on ways to improve learning so students can get their diplomas.

For WNPR, I’m Lucy Nalpathanchil