This year Fondy High has more Spanish-speaking students than last year, according to ESL teacher Ms. EJ, with the number increasing from 122 to 159. It has brought some changes, such as the announcements that are played in the morning are now also played in Spanish, and most of the signs that announce something also having a copy in Spanish.

“The reason why there are more teachers and more adaptations to Spanish is because some of the students have a very low level of the English language,” Ms. EJ said.

“It has been a big change for translators and ELL teachers, more work for us, because we have had to adapt,” translator Ms. Gonzales said. “We have to attend up to twelve classes a day, to help the students assigned to us.”

While each translator has about 20 students, the service is not for all students. “Most of them have a very low level of English, and some have been in the country for less than six months,” Ms. Gonzales said. “This change should have happened a long time ago, since there have always been Hispanic students at the school.”

Students said they have noticed a difference as well. “Many of my friends and teachers also noticed the big difference there was, regarding the increase in students, and for both teachers and students it is a big change since the new changes were very obvious, such as the announcements in Spanish,” senior Nahomi Godoy said.

Another change they have had is that now there are some classes that are bilingual, which speak Spanish and English, apart from the Spanish classes. While no one is sure whether the number of students will continue to rise or fall, these students continue to bring small changes to the school.