Marshfield Schools' English Learner Program Serves 128 Students From Diverse Backgrounds
Program Director Highlights Staffing Model and Support Services During School Committee Presentation
MARSHFIELD - February 25 - The Marshfield Public Schools' English Learner (EL) program currently serves 128 students who speak eight different languages, with the largest numbers in kindergarten, first grade, and eleventh grade, according to a presentation at the Feb. 25 School Committee meeting.
Kate Lyons Mailloux, director of the EL program, provided committee members with a comprehensive overview of the district's approach to supporting multilingual learners.
"The overarching goal of ESL instruction is to advance our EL's language development as well as their academic achievements," Mailloux explained during her presentation at Furnace Brook Middle School.
The program includes 25 former English learners who are being monitored after exiting the program, plus an additional 40-50 students who either completed monitoring or arrived already proficient in English.
Students in the program come from diverse backgrounds including Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, India, Chile, Sri Lanka, Morocco, China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Spain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Romania.
Mailloux clarified terminology used in the field, explaining that "English Learner" refers specifically to students ages 3-21 who need additional support to access instruction delivered in English.
"These are students that are ages 3 to 21, enrolled in public schools, who are identified based on standard English assessments," she said. "We use the ACCESS for ELLs here in Massachusetts."
The district employs 4.6 ESL teachers serving kindergarten through fifth grade and 1.6 teachers for grades six through twelve. The program also includes educational support professionals (ESPs) and a bilingual family liaison who works with EL families during registration.
"She is bilingual in Portuguese, but she also works with all of the EL families when they first register. She's a really amazing resource," Mailloux said of family liaison Lucilia Kondry.
Marshfield uses a sheltered English immersion model, which Mailloux described as the most common approach in Massachusetts. Under this model, instruction and materials are in English with minimal use of students' native languages when necessary.
The program follows state guidelines for instructional time, with newcomers and foundational level students receiving 90 minutes of ESL instruction daily, while more advanced students receive 45 minutes per day.
At the elementary level, the program uses both push-in and pull-out models, while the middle school employs a hybrid approach with push-in support for ELA classes and standalone ESL classes. The high school offers two levels of ESL as credit-bearing courses.
Mailloux highlighted the recent launch of an English Learner Parent Advisory Council as a major achievement.
"We launched in October. And we've had two meetings so far that had 20 to 40 parents in attendance," she said. "We have 10 parents that are on the planning committee."
The district has also invested in translation and interpretation services, with two staff members receiving the highest level of certification from the National Association of Educational Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages.
In other business, Tom Miller, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance, reported that kindergarten registration numbers for the upcoming school year are significantly lower than last year.
"We had 201 as of March 1st last year, and we're currently at 145," Miller said.
He provided a breakdown by school: Eames Way with 36 registrations, South River with 27, Governor Winslow with 28, Daniel Webster with 19, and Martinson with 35. Governor Winslow and Daniel Webster are each at only half of their registration numbers from the same time last year.
"We've got to keep working on trying to get as many students in as possible because it really [impacts] when we're talking about budget," Miller emphasized.
Other highlights from the meeting included:
* The School Committee approved a Marshfield High School girls soccer trip to Barcelona, Spain, scheduled for July 10-18, 2026. The nine-day trip will include training sessions with professional coaches and games against local teams.
* Aimee McAlpine presented an overview of the district's professional development program, which includes one full day and multiple half-day sessions throughout the year. The district has offered 62 professional development sessions to date this school year.
* Furnace Brook Middle School showcased its new Adaptive Peer Leaders program, which pairs general education students with special education students for physical education activities and socialization opportunities.
* Superintendent Patrick Sullivan highlighted recent arts activities in the district, including an evening of jazz featuring both students and staff performers, and an "art throwdown" where students created music-themed artwork in one hour.
* Amy Scolaro, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, announced that the district received a $20,000 grant to support implementation of the new IEP system, which will fund technology purchases and professional development.
The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for March 11 at South River Elementary School.