The following interview is with a retired elementary school teacher in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Over 30 years, her community transformed from 50/50 black and white to mostly Burmese, Hispanic, and black - with fewer than 15 white children remaining out of 400. 🧵
Over 30 years, her community transformed from 50/50 black and white to mostly Burmese, Hispanic, and black - with fewer than 15 white children remaining out of 400. 🧵
"You spent your whole career at one school. Can you describe what it looked like when you started?"
I was an elementary school teacher for 30 years at the same school. It's a Title I school - high poverty. I liked the school. I liked the families. I liked the neighborhood, so I just stayed.
When I first started, the demographics were 50% black and 50% white.
Gradually, more and more Spanish-speaking families - mostly Mexican, but some Guatemalan - started moving into the neighborhood. And you could actually see the change. You could drive down the block and say, oh, that's a house where Mexicans live, because there would be flowers planted. The yard was clean. The houses were kept up.
You could really see the difference between their property and the one next door that was not kept up very well - the majority black families.
At the beginning, they were actually a net benefit.
I was an elementary school teacher for 30 years at the same school. It's a Title I school - high poverty. I liked the school. I liked the families. I liked the neighborhood, so I just stayed.
When I first started, the demographics were 50% black and 50% white.
Gradually, more and more Spanish-speaking families - mostly Mexican, but some Guatemalan - started moving into the neighborhood. And you could actually see the change. You could drive down the block and say, oh, that's a house where Mexicans live, because there would be flowers planted. The yard was clean. The houses were kept up.
You could really see the difference between their property and the one next door that was not kept up very well - the majority black families.
At the beginning, they were actually a net benefit.
"What were those first families like?"
The children were polite. There was effort made to learn English. Typically a father would be working construction or landscaping, and the mother would be home with the children. The children were clean and well-behaved.
One of my first families - this was when I taught first grade - one little girl started getting in with the rougher kids. So I called her house. Her dad was home because it was raining. He answered the phone and was up at that school in less than five minutes.
He took that little girl out in the hallway and read her the riot act: I send you to school to learn. You don't get involved with the bad kids. That was the culture of those first families.
The children were polite. There was effort made to learn English. Typically a father would be working construction or landscaping, and the mother would be home with the children. The children were clean and well-behaved.
One of my first families - this was when I taught first grade - one little girl started getting in with the rougher kids. So I called her house. Her dad was home because it was raining. He answered the phone and was up at that school in less than five minutes.
He took that little girl out in the hallway and read her the riot act: I send you to school to learn. You don't get involved with the bad kids. That was the culture of those first families.
"When did you start noticing the student population changing?"
Roughly 15 years ago. The first Burmese people came to Fort Wayne around 2006, and between 2006 and 2015, Catholic Charities was settling large numbers of them in the southeast quadrant of the city - both Fort Wayne Community Schools and East Allen County Schools.
By the time they started bringing all those people in, more and more Spanish-speaking families came that were not as success-oriented. The kids were starting to be less diligent. A lot of that coincided with when the ELL programs arrived, because the accommodations removed the incentive to learn English. When they take a test, it gets read to them in Spanish.
There was no real pressure to become proficient.
Roughly 15 years ago. The first Burmese people came to Fort Wayne around 2006, and between 2006 and 2015, Catholic Charities was settling large numbers of them in the southeast quadrant of the city - both Fort Wayne Community Schools and East Allen County Schools.
By the time they started bringing all those people in, more and more Spanish-speaking families came that were not as success-oriented. The kids were starting to be less diligent. A lot of that coincided with when the ELL programs arrived, because the accommodations removed the incentive to learn English. When they take a test, it gets read to them in Spanish.
There was no real pressure to become proficient.
"How did the ELL program work in practice?"
The ELL teachers would pull small groups of kids out and take them to a separate room. Part of the program was playing games in English and eating candy.
So you got out of doing hard work and got candy. It was a great time to be in ELL.
And the accommodations compounded over time. For standardized testing, we would pull ELL kids separately. They got double the time.
The computers were set up to read any writing prompt to them in Spanish. All math was read to them in Spanish.
The last standardized testing I did before I retired, the kids would go in, turn on their computer, log in - and then log off without doing a single problem. Not even try. And they would smirk at me like, eh, whatever.
That attitude shift was stark compared to those first families.
The ELL teachers would pull small groups of kids out and take them to a separate room. Part of the program was playing games in English and eating candy.
So you got out of doing hard work and got candy. It was a great time to be in ELL.
And the accommodations compounded over time. For standardized testing, we would pull ELL kids separately. They got double the time.
The computers were set up to read any writing prompt to them in Spanish. All math was read to them in Spanish.
The last standardized testing I did before I retired, the kids would go in, turn on their computer, log in - and then log off without doing a single problem. Not even try. And they would smirk at me like, eh, whatever.
That attitude shift was stark compared to those first families.
"Can you describe what happened to the school's demographics by the time you retired?"
When I left a few years ago, out of a population of about 400, there were maybe 15 white kids.
The rest were Burmese, Spanish-speaking, and black children. The white families - very low income themselves - had moved to other schools.
The first Burmese kids were the Buddhist ones, the Karen and the Chin. That's a totally different demographic than the Muslim ones who came later. The first wave worked really hard.
I run into some of those kids now at doctor's offices - they're in nursing programs and things like that. It's not a surprise. Their parents wanted them to succeed.
Then that shifted, and it shifted quickly. One year you might have five or six little girls in headscarves.
The next year there are 30 of them, preschool through fifth grade.
When I left a few years ago, out of a population of about 400, there were maybe 15 white kids.
The rest were Burmese, Spanish-speaking, and black children. The white families - very low income themselves - had moved to other schools.
The first Burmese kids were the Buddhist ones, the Karen and the Chin. That's a totally different demographic than the Muslim ones who came later. The first wave worked really hard.
I run into some of those kids now at doctor's offices - they're in nursing programs and things like that. It's not a surprise. Their parents wanted them to succeed.
Then that shifted, and it shifted quickly. One year you might have five or six little girls in headscarves.
The next year there are 30 of them, preschool through fifth grade.
"How did the school culture change as the groups grew?"
The Burmese kids would only play with Burmese kids. The Spanish-speaking kids kept to themselves. The black kids kept to themselves.
And it didn't take long before the Burmese started forming their own gangs.
The last year before I retired, there were two or three incidents of premeditated fights - fifth graders arranging to meet in the bathroom, police being called.
You have to understand: a lot of those Burmese kids came from refugee camps where they didn't even have toilets.
They're survivors. When they run into established gang culture, they're not going to back down. So you end up with three ethnic groups all fighting for the same small crumbs.
The Burmese kids would only play with Burmese kids. The Spanish-speaking kids kept to themselves. The black kids kept to themselves.
And it didn't take long before the Burmese started forming their own gangs.
The last year before I retired, there were two or three incidents of premeditated fights - fifth graders arranging to meet in the bathroom, police being called.
You have to understand: a lot of those Burmese kids came from refugee camps where they didn't even have toilets.
They're survivors. When they run into established gang culture, they're not going to back down. So you end up with three ethnic groups all fighting for the same small crumbs.
"What happened inside the classrooms?"
The district's philosophy is mixed-ability classrooms - some high achievers, some low, spread equally. The idea is that the lower kids learn from the higher ones. They don't.
What actually happens is the high achievers get handed a tablet and put on an app while I work with beginning sounds with one group, vowels with another. The smart kids are bored. The low kids are ignored after the first session. Everyone loses.
One of the things that really turned me off: for teachers who didn't speak Spanish or Burmese, the solution was to seat a bilingual kid next to a non-English speaker and let the bilingual kid interpret all day.
You've just given two children permission to talk.
Do you think they're going to stay on topic? You've wasted both of their days - and the higher-performing kid has been pulled backward, not forward.
The district's philosophy is mixed-ability classrooms - some high achievers, some low, spread equally. The idea is that the lower kids learn from the higher ones. They don't.
What actually happens is the high achievers get handed a tablet and put on an app while I work with beginning sounds with one group, vowels with another. The smart kids are bored. The low kids are ignored after the first session. Everyone loses.
One of the things that really turned me off: for teachers who didn't speak Spanish or Burmese, the solution was to seat a bilingual kid next to a non-English speaker and let the bilingual kid interpret all day.
You've just given two children permission to talk.
Do you think they're going to stay on topic? You've wasted both of their days - and the higher-performing kid has been pulled backward, not forward.
"What did most of your colleagues think about what was happening?"
The majority of teachers are liberal, and a lot of them started from a place of genuine enthusiasm - these are children, let's get them proficient, let's make sure they become successful Americans.
But there wasn't a real push for high standards. They loved the kids, but they didn't hold them to any kind of standards.
And by the end of a school year, a lot of teachers were just going through the motions regardless of who was in the room.
In my building, there were maybe five or six of us who had a different perspective. We knew who we were.
The majority of teachers are liberal, and a lot of them started from a place of genuine enthusiasm - these are children, let's get them proficient, let's make sure they become successful Americans.
But there wasn't a real push for high standards. They loved the kids, but they didn't hold them to any kind of standards.
And by the end of a school year, a lot of teachers were just going through the motions regardless of who was in the room.
In my building, there were maybe five or six of us who had a different perspective. We knew who we were.
"You mentioned Catholic Charities. What was your experience with them directly?"
I called them early on when families arrived without furniture, without basics.
After about the second call, it was clear: their job is to get people here, get them into an apartment, and show them how to sign up for benefits. After that, they're done. Not our problem.
Every Spanish-speaking family I met, the very first conversation was: I need clothes. I need a backpack. I need food.
And the answer from the schools and the social services system was always, here's everything you're entitled to. After enough years of that, it just wears on you.
And I'll say this too: some of those fathers were lovely men. Hard workers. I'd meet them and think, I know you're a good man, your kids are well-behaved - and I also know that for every job done under the table, that's an American who could be doing that job and getting off welfare.
We have to have rule of law. You can hold both of those things at once.
I called them early on when families arrived without furniture, without basics.
After about the second call, it was clear: their job is to get people here, get them into an apartment, and show them how to sign up for benefits. After that, they're done. Not our problem.
Every Spanish-speaking family I met, the very first conversation was: I need clothes. I need a backpack. I need food.
And the answer from the schools and the social services system was always, here's everything you're entitled to. After enough years of that, it just wears on you.
And I'll say this too: some of those fathers were lovely men. Hard workers. I'd meet them and think, I know you're a good man, your kids are well-behaved - and I also know that for every job done under the table, that's an American who could be doing that job and getting off welfare.
We have to have rule of law. You can hold both of those things at once.
"What would you want Fort Wayne parents reading this to know?"
Be involved. Pay attention to what's going on. Your assumption when you drop your kids off is that something good is going to happen for them that day. That assumption needs to be tested.
Right now, Fort Wayne Community Schools can't get enough bus drivers because the kids are so out of control on the buses that nobody wants the job.
There are no consequences for the behavior. My freshman grandson has had two remote learning days in the last three weeks because of it. My sixth grader had one just this past Tuesday.
These kids are losing instructional days because the system can't staff a bus route.
My grandson's biology teacher this year - his mom kept pushing because his grades were slipping and he claimed he was turning work in.
Turns out he was, and the teacher wasn't grading it. They had a meeting, the principal agreed the teacher was in the wrong, and two weeks later the teacher quit to install ponds.
Now a succession of substitutes is teaching freshman biology - a couple of them not even native English speakers. The kids have to turn their work in to a third party to be graded because the substitute can't do it.
That's the situation. And the only way you find out is if you're paying attention.
Be involved. Pay attention to what's going on. Your assumption when you drop your kids off is that something good is going to happen for them that day. That assumption needs to be tested.
Right now, Fort Wayne Community Schools can't get enough bus drivers because the kids are so out of control on the buses that nobody wants the job.
There are no consequences for the behavior. My freshman grandson has had two remote learning days in the last three weeks because of it. My sixth grader had one just this past Tuesday.
These kids are losing instructional days because the system can't staff a bus route.
My grandson's biology teacher this year - his mom kept pushing because his grades were slipping and he claimed he was turning work in.
Turns out he was, and the teacher wasn't grading it. They had a meeting, the principal agreed the teacher was in the wrong, and two weeks later the teacher quit to install ponds.
Now a succession of substitutes is teaching freshman biology - a couple of them not even native English speakers. The kids have to turn their work in to a third party to be graded because the substitute can't do it.
That's the situation. And the only way you find out is if you're paying attention.
"What do you think the root cause is?"
It goes deeper than any one organization. But the political will to face what we've allowed to happen just isn't there - from either party. They're all getting rich off it one way or another.
What I know is this: the United States used to set the standard for education. If you took out all the poverty kids and the non-English speakers, our kids can compete with anyone in the world.
But you bring in all of these compounding problems, and the schools collapse under the weight of it. The successful kids don't get what they need.
The unsuccessful kids don't get what they need. Everyone just gets passed along.
I'm frightened for my grandchildren. I know what life was like when I was growing up. I know what it was like for my own kids.
What I see now - I don't know what the solution is, except that people need to keep speaking out. Keep fighting for Americans.
It goes deeper than any one organization. But the political will to face what we've allowed to happen just isn't there - from either party. They're all getting rich off it one way or another.
What I know is this: the United States used to set the standard for education. If you took out all the poverty kids and the non-English speakers, our kids can compete with anyone in the world.
But you bring in all of these compounding problems, and the schools collapse under the weight of it. The successful kids don't get what they need.
The unsuccessful kids don't get what they need. Everyone just gets passed along.
I'm frightened for my grandchildren. I know what life was like when I was growing up. I know what it was like for my own kids.
What I see now - I don't know what the solution is, except that people need to keep speaking out. Keep fighting for Americans.
Thanks for reading
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Replies
It is still all by plan. Why does anyone think bh0 brought in common core math? And, the Sec. of Ed, let it happen. No resistance. Let in one roach and the rest come, too.Plus populate.
Shut it all own! Why do we feel obligated to teach illegal kids....spending our dollars on them?