Ep. 93: Zooming In on Adult Immigrant Education with Sara Lodgen
How to Contact Sara and The Welcome Project:
Sara’s email: sara@welcomeproject.org
Transcript:
Melissa Milner 0:09
Welcome to The Teacher As... Podcast. I'm your host, Melissa Milner, a teacher who is painfully curious and very easily inspired. This podcast is ever changing and I hope with each season, you find episodes that speak to you in your work as an educator. This is the fifth season of The Teacher As... and it's exciting to see the growth in how many educators are listening. Episodes are released every other week. If you enjoy The Teacher As... please rate it on Apple podcasts and leave a review. It helps the podcast reach more educators. Thanks for listening.
Sara Lodgen 0:41
Well, my name is Sarah Lodgen. I'm the newly minted as it is a new title director of multilingual programs at The Welcome project. We're an organization in Somerville, Massachusetts, that works with immigrant communities in Somerville and other cities around us doing education and advocacy work in a lot of different ways through a lot of different programs and projects. So, yeah.
Melissa Milner 1:10
Well, that sounds pretty interesting. Can you tell us more about what you do? Like, what is your typical day? What do you what are your responsibilities and goals and things like that?
Sara Lodgen 1:25
Yeah, I wish I had a typical day to tell you about. Well, so we offer three main education programs. One is the ESL program or English for Speakers of Other Languages program. So we teach English to typically about 150 immigrant students every semester, we follow that kind of school year calendar. And this is a program that's run by about 15 volunteer teachers that come in and teach at four different levels all the way from very beginner to high intermediate. And they're teaching English, you know, obviously, grammar, vocabulary, things like that, but also geared towards immigrant experiences in our community, so how to navigate healthcare, how to understand housing, and school systems, and different things that that people need to be able to, you know, survive and, and live in the community. And then we also have a second program called English for parents, which specifically teaches parents that have children in the Somerville and Medford school systems, that's where we are right now. But hopefully expanding in the future. And that is, because it's geared towards parents, again, they're doing basic grammar, vocabulary and things like that. But then they are also learning how to advocate for themselves and their children in the school system, how to navigate parent teacher conferences and school board meetings. And you know, what does special education mean? How to read a report card and a school calendar, and making sure that they're able to really fight for their kids if they need extra help in the classroom, or if they're having issues with bullying or education, you know, in terms of like learning, differences or anything like that. And then the third main program that we have is called the lips program, which is kind of a cheeky acronym, which stands for liaison interpreters program of Somerville. And that is where we train bilingual high school students to be interpreters, both for a lucrative career path that's open to them as bilingual people, but also as a way to advocate for their community, and help out at community events and do interpretation for people around them as well. So those are kind of the main the main programs we have, and this this kind of through line between all of the programs is also teaching and encouraging immigrants to understand principles of community organizing, gathering around issues that they care about, or things that they feel are important for them. And so that's a big part of what we do as well. And there are many, many other you know, smaller events and things that we do throughout the year. But those are kind of the main programs that that I am a part of.
Melissa Milner 4:27
So how are you a part of them? Are you overseeing? Are you hiring? Are you in there teaching? What would you do?
Sara Lodgen 4:36
Sure. So I'm more on the administrative back end. So I'm not a teacher, not a training teacher, although I was raised by two of them. So...
Melissa Milner 4:45
Yes, you were.
Sara Lodgen 4:46
So I am not in the classroom teaching. I did substitute teach a couple of classes this past year but only in a kind of an emergency situation. So I do the administrative work of contacting students, placing them in classes, making sure we have a space to teach in, hiring teachers, training them on our curriculum and our code of pedagogy and philosophy that we follow. And doing the kind of more strategic work up where we want our programs to go in the future. And then we have teachers, both volunteer and paid teachers, depending on the programs, who are physically in the classes, working with the students running the programs, day to day.
Melissa Milner 5:34
And so these, just to clarify, these students are in public school. So they're taking these courses on top of that.
Sara Lodgen 5:43
No, so there's so the majority well, so the high school students, yes. So they are, so I should clarify, for the LIPS program, they are all high school students. A couple of them go to like charter schools or private schools, but mostly they're in public schools. And then they actually are getting paid for their time in our program as well. So kind of a job as well as a like program that they're doing taking classes. So they get paid hourly, for their time and for their time interpreting. And it is on top of their schooling. The other students that we have in the English for parents program in the ESL classes are all adult learners. So they some of them have jobs, some of them do not. Some of them are, you know, stay at home parents. Some of them are looking for work, some of them have full time jobs. So we offer classes in the morning and in the evenings to accommodate their schedules. And as well as in person and virtual, because sometimes, you know, in the English for parents program, for example, you know, you have someone who is taking a virtual evening class and their kids are running around behind them. So, yeah, so it's all about balancing, you know, what works for them and their schedules.
Melissa Milner 6:58
Cool. And is this like a private thing? Or is it funded by the state.
Sara Lodgen 7:03
So we're a nonprofit organization, we run on donations, and also some city government funding. So we get a lot of money from grants from the City of Somerville and other areas around us. But we're also largely funded by donations from private foundations from individual donors. And that's where, you know, our volunteer force comes from as well, just people who are interested in what we're doing and want want to help out.
Melissa Milner 7:34
So, now the genesis of how you ended up here, doing this?
Sara Lodgen 7:40
Sure, yeah. So I've had kind of a windy path professionally, as I said, and as you know, Melissa, raised by two teachers. So I've always kind of had education around me in some way. And after I graduated from undergrad from college, I worked in International College admissions for about five years. So I was in higher education, kind of seeing the back end of how things are run there. And working with a lot of students from all over the country all over the world, different backgrounds, on how to apply to college, and you know, how that process worked. And I was able to work with a lot of international students and families from all over the world who were navigating the US education system for the first time, which was really interesting to me. And I then also started getting interested in working with immigrants and you know, around immigration issues. So I went to grad school, and got a master's in international affairs, specifically focusing on migration, and then gender and intersectional analysis. Those are my kind of fields of study. And that is where I guess I found a local project because I kind of merged my interests in migration and working with immigrants and also my background and education and found that there's a way that I really could do both and be supporting immigrants through education. So it was kind of the perfect the perfect fit for me and I always want it to be also on the administrative organizational side. I am a very type A organized person. So I love, I love my spreadsheets. I love you know, doing all that backend stuff. So...
Melissa Milner 9:30
Yeah, it seems like a good fit for you.
Sara Lodgen 9:35
The thing I think that I didn't mention as much that might be interesting to people that listen is the who the volunteer teachers are as well, because that you know, we have 15 or so I'm thinking about it mostly because I had a meeting with them last night and was very energized by talking to all of them. We have 15 or so teachers also ranging in age and experience and and professional backgrounds. We have some teachers in their 20s all the way to teachers in their 70s. Some who are in graduate school, or are doing this as a volunteer position on top of their regular nine to five job, and some who are retired and wanted to kind of give back to the community and be a part of it and kind of everyone in between. Most of them are not teachers, they're not professional train teachers, they're lawyers, and it workers and healthcare workers and people from all over the community that really just want to make these connections with people. And they're really who keep the people who keep The Welcome Project to float. Without their help, you know, we wouldn't be able to run these classes. And they're so dedicated and so helpful. And...
Melissa Milner 10:48
So what do they do?
Sara Lodgen 10:51
Yeah, well, they're, they're teaching classes mainly. So they come twice a week. And either in the morning or in the evening for a couple hours for each class. And they teach English, they teach grammar, vocabulary, they have discussions with the students. We also operate through a popular education pedagogy, where we're really focusing on student experiences and their contributions to the classroom as well. And so we will often you know, ask students to explain something in their own language or like follow a path of their experience or something they want to talk about. So it's also a lot about building community in the classroom that will keep the students coming back and keep them learning English. And then there's always one on one conversations and help with other issues that our teachers do. Like one of our teachers last night was just telling me that he kind of privately tutored, one of his students for citizenship test, and that person just passed the citizenship test. So we're really proud of him as well. Yeah. And so they're, they do so much in terms of making these connections. I mean, they might be the only person that some of these people know in the US, and so they come to them for all sorts of issues and questions. And yeah, so we're really, we're really grateful for the teachers as well.
Melissa Milner 12:13
How about top three tips for gen. ed. teachers, in public schools, or private, who have students that are immigrants, and maybe their districts don't have a great ELL program. And they are, how can they be supported in the classroom?
Sara Lodgen 12:34
Yeah, for sure. Um, well, you know, I mainly work with parents of the students, so maybe my ideas are more geared towards them. But I think, first of all, just empathy and understanding for the challenges that they're going through, and the families in general, and they, you know, this includes the children. A lot of immigrants have really dealt with a lot of trauma, and a lot of adverse experiences in their home country is on the way here. And then also, while they're here, and so, sometimes I think, teachers see, you know, a kid acting up in the classroom, or not paying attention or something, and it can, it can appear to be a behavioral issue, or, you know, them not investing in their education or something like that. But it really sometimes comes down to these deep mental health challenges that they face because of what they've encountered. And, you know, we don't know and many of us don't ask, and probably shouldn't ask, you know, students have been through so you, you can never assume, you know, what their journey has been like. So that's a big one. And that goes for the parents as well. Because they're obviously dealing with a lot, even if even if kids you know, you're working with kids who were born in the US, but their parents are immigrants, the parents have, have definitely dealt with a lot in their, their journey here. Even if the kids have been shielded from it a little bit more. That's one, I think, understanding that how hard it is to learn a new language from scratch and having empathy for that as well. Translation to different languages is something that I think is really important and helpful. And that is something that we do a lot of work on is making sure that all of the materials that we put out, are translated into multiple languages and really, you know, tapping into the main languages that our students speak. So that while they're learning English, and obviously it's important to learn English, we're also understanding that when, when information is really important and crucial for them to understand fully. It really should be translated into their home languages. VNFs you know, Google Translate. It's not perfect, but it works. Honestly, it's getting better because people aren't giving suggestions and kind of tweaking the translations as we go. I have a colleague who's Brazilian and speaks Brazilian Portuguese and ice piece zero Portuguese, I know probably about five words now. And I'll translate something into Portuguese and she'll say, well, you're doing such a good job. You must know Portuguese now, like, I don't think so I just put it into Google Translate, but they know what they're doing. Obviously, it's better for some than others. We have a lot of Haitians in our programming and the Haitian Creole, because it's largely a spoken language, rather than a written language. Sometimes the translation is really not good. And you need somebody who speaks it fluently. But for things like Spanish, Portuguese, other languages that use the Latin alphabet, I think it's a little bit better as well. But yeah, it's really, you know, making information available in their languages, having empathy for what they're going through, and understanding also limitations that might exist in scheduling with parents. I know sometimes it's hard to get immigrant parents to a parent teacher conference, they might just not show up. And I think part of it is because of how nerve racking that is for them, to sit in a classroom and talk to somebody who they see as an authority figure in a language that is not their first language, and try to explain what their kid needs. I know some school districts have interpreters that will sit in classrooms, and some don't. But you know, it's very stressful often for them, and then also, their schedules just might be much more complicated than the families were used to.
Melissa Milner 16:26
Sometimes two or three jobs, and yeah,
Sara Lodgen 16:29
Exactly. Or they might, you know, they don't necessarily have grandparents around in the country to take care of their kids or a network that can help them with childcare. So you know, they might show up to a conference, but they have two little ones with them or something. And so it's really just understanding that there are a lot more challenges than you think of when you're a native born American like us. And so just having that understanding and empathy and really trying to reach out to those parents, and those kids, I think would go a long way.
Melissa Milner 17:02
It would be great to have some resources to be able to give to parents. You know, I'm teach in Reading, MA, and I don't know where there's something like your program for them, other than them having to hike over to what was it? Somerville?
Sara Lodgen 17:16
Yeah
Melissa Milner 17:17
Yeah. You know, like, they're not going to want to hike to Somerville to get those, you know, parent, education things. But,
Sara Lodgen 17:24
Right, of course, and some school systems are more resource than others. And I think it just depends on the number of the immigrant population and the commitment by the government to write hello, because Somerville specifically does a really great job, they have bilingual parent liaisons in every school that are there as kind of like an easier to reach person that might be more relatable than a teacher or principal, for people to reach out to, they translate all their materials. And it's still even hard with all of that, to reach some parents who just don't know what's available for them. But yeah, in terms of school districts more, largely, there needs to be a lot more outreach in other languages to show them what is available and what support systems are there for them. Because they might just not know and it might exist, and they, you know, especially if they're from a country or a community that isn't a large community in the city that they live in, or the town they live in, then there isn't a neighbor that speaks their language to say, hey, like, I went to this program, and they helped me out with whatever I need, right. So it really just varies, you know, town to town, city to city. So that ellipse program is a little bit different. So that's not run by volunteer teachers that we have a interpretation instructor who owns an interpretation company, locally, and he teaches interpretation skills to the kids, teaches them professionalism, as well, because honestly, a lot of these kids already know how to interpret because they're doing it for their parents, they're doing it for their rivers, but to know how to do that in a professional manner and show up and really, like understand all the vocabulary that they need in their languages, understand how to act professionally. He does a lot of that work with them and then brings in language coaches from his interpretation company to work with students in individual languages. He speaks like eight languages and could do it himself. Yeah, that's very impressive. But in order to split the students up into their language groups, and do that all at the same time, he brings in coaches. We currently work with students who speak Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and Nepali. And so they'll split into those four and go over kind of different role playing scenarios and go over vocabulary that they might not be used to help them be able to interpret in different situations.
Melissa Milner 19:48
Would they be sitting down with a parent at like a parent teacher conference?
Sara Lodgen 19:53
That's one of the things they could do yes, they typically what they do more so is interpreted community events for organizations that want to be able to include people from different countries, you know, into their events, they'll they'll stand up and do interpretation for that.
Melissa Milner 20:10
Yeah. Because I mean a parent teacher conference. That's not everybody's business...
Sara Lodgen 20:14
Right. Right. Yeah, that, you know, if it's not your student, yeah. And we're lucky that, you know, in, in Somerville, and in these cities, they tend to offer interpretation at conferences anyway. So there have adult professionals that do that. Obviously, we're not sending teenagers into like doctor's offices to interpret for people. But it's more at least, like larger scale community events. And then they also do different projects like we are partnered with a project that goes into community areas, apartments and houses of people that live close to highways, where there are high levels of pollution, and are encouraging families and people living in these areas to take part in this study where they would install an air filtration device in their house and see if that helps with health met different health metrics. Because, you know, pollution typically, disproportionately affects people that are low income people of color. So our kids will go in and just translate and try to get speakers of other languages to understand the program and to take part in it. So there's all kinds of different things that they do. Yeah.
Melissa Milner 21:22
Very cool. That's... and that's a great thing to put on a resume too.
Sara Lodgen 21:25
Yes, absolutely. And interpretation I've learned is very lucrative, you know, kids can make you know, if they then go and get a interpretation certificate, they can make 80 $100 an hour doing interpretation work, which is really fantastic for them, especially as young people. So yeah, hopefully, some of them you know, in the future will take that up even as a side gig in college or something.
Melissa Milner 21:51
I know you speak English and Hebrew, what other languages do Do you feel like you're pretty confident in, if any?
Sara Lodgen 21:59
Well, I don't really feel like I'm competent in anything at this point. But I tend to say Hebrew at an intermediate level, although I think that that's I'm waning, as I get farther away from it. I think I spoke my best Hebrew when I was 13. And it's really, ya know, since that I took Spanish in cotton, not in college in high school, and have been kind of self studying and also speaking to more people in Spanish through this work. So I consider myself to be intermediate in Spanish. Although I think I understand more than I can understand what's being said. But then it takes me a while to come up with the words to respond. Writing is easier than speaking. And then I've been also learning Swahili. So my fiance is from Kenya. And he speaks Swahili with his family kind of intermittently with English. So I am have been self studying Swahili, although I don't think that I'm competent yet. But that's great, though. Duolingo says that I'm doing a great job. So yeah,
Melissa Milner 23:04
That's amazing. Yeah, that's great. So what are you zooming in right now in your work with what's really what are you really focusing on?
Sara Lodgen 23:14
So man, well, getting the semester started is a big one right now, because our classes all begin in September and October, depending on the program. So I'm working a lot with the volunteer teachers for the ESL classes on getting ready for the semester, tweaking anything that we need to in the curriculum, making sure the students have the information they need coming in both the returning students and the new students that we have this semester. And those are all adults. Yeah. So those are all adults, they range pretty much from 18 to 75, in terms of how old they are, so it's really very varied. And they come from all over the world speak all different languages. Of course, we Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole are still our main languages. But then we have students from Egypt, from Albania, from Ukrainian from Afghanistan, like really all over the place. So yeah, so getting ready for that, that semester, as well as then the English for parents classes in the lips session, recruiting the youth, all of that. And also really taking a critical eye at the curriculum and trying to integrate these ideas of advocacy and community organizing through the curriculum as well. That's something that we're we're working on right now.
Melissa Milner 24:34
You just mentioned recruiting the youth to do the lips program. How How do you do that? Is it social media?
Sara Lodgen 24:42
I wish it were social media, but we're not on Tik Tok. We're not that cool. Maybe maybe that would be great. But yeah, it's a lot of outreach through the school systems. First of all, where the students are both through ELL dip Hartman's and through teachers that I like I've been emailing, club leaders for different clubs that might have bilingual students in them to try to get the word out, doing kind of tea and job fairs and events and tabling at them. We also so our offices are located in a public housing development. And we work closely with the housing authority for the City of Somerville. So we do some recruitment there as well to get teenagers that live in in the public housing to be more involved. Radio stations, you know, there's like a Spanish and Portuguese language radio station. Some of it honestly is getting to their parents and getting them the information we do share on social media and on our website, as well. But it's a little bit harder to get the, you know, 1516 year olds to follow us on on Instagram. But we do do that. Maybe we'll move to tic toc eventually. And it's emailing, you know, doing outreach really to other organizations as well that teens are a part of other after school organizations in our area that work with teens, recreation centers, things like that. Really trying to try to get them from anywhere. And then it's word of mouth, you know, after a certain point.
Melissa Milner 26:16
That alone is a job. Yeah. And then you do a whole bunch of other stuff too. Like, yeah, that's a lot.
Sara Lodgen 26:22
Yeah, it's it's definitely a lot. But we're really, really thankful that The Welcome Project has a long history and a good reputation in our area. We've been around since the 80s. So we're a long standing organization, very well known in the community. So it's nice, we're not coming out of nowhere and trying to explain who we are people have relationships with us and are really happy to help with what we do. So that's helpful.
Melissa Milner 26:50
It's amazing work you're doing. I think it's awesome. And I'm very proud of you because we forgot to mention that I did, obviously, like I had, I had Sara in fifth grade. And then she was in the musicals and that whole thing,
Sara Lodgen 27:07
Co wrote, co wrote the musicals... choreographed.
Melissa Milner 27:10
Cowrote the musical... choreographed. So Sara, and I go way back and I'm just very proud. I'm not surprised at all that what you're doing. It's amazing.
Sara Lodgen 27:23
I appreciate that.
Melissa Milner 27:23
So thanks for taking the time out to talk to me.
Sara Lodgen 27:26
Yeah, of course.
Melissa Milner 27:27
For my blog, transcripts of this episode, and links to any resources mentioned, visit my website at www.theteacher as.com. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram @melissabmilner and I hope you check out The Teacher As.. Facebook page for episode updates. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap.