A two-year investigation found that the district had failed to provide equal access to education for students and families who speak K’iché, an indigenous Guatemalan language.
NEW BEDFORD While many have access to computers, some did not have the luxury of simply switching over to remote learning this past spring.
Teachers and staff assisted New Bedford Public Schools English language learners (ELLs) and their families adjusted to this new normal of education, starting with remote learning this past spring and transitioning to a hybrid model for the fall. While many native English-speaking students were able to transition to online assignments and virtual attendance, many ELLs were still struggling to understand the technology component. Our focus was to help families, said Sonia Walmsley, Executive Director of Education and Pathways for NBPS. We went to their houses to help them out. Some didn’t even know how to connect computer to wall.