ALBERTVILLE CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM February 16, 2024 eet WeAISTEt Tanai bnRENTAL ETM mE {Lam writing to you asthe Superintendent of Albertville City Schools (ACS) to request your assistance in addressing. ‘crucial challenges that are significantly impacting ACS and the overall educational environment within our district. ‘To provide you with context, ACS serves approximately 5,800 students, Of these students, 65 percent, or 3,770 students, are Hispanic, Among this demographic, 1,975 students, comprising 34 percent ofthe total student population, are classified as English Leamers (EL) and are learning English as a second language. These students encounter considerable Jnurdles when it comes to effectively communicating in English, lt alone achieving academic success ACS teachers navigate these language barriers daily and urgently need the State's assistance. While a few districts statewide may encounter similar challenges, most do not experience them tothe extent that we do. These barriers are substantial, and without sufficient suppor, our teachers are tasked not only with teaching state standards but also with Aelivering instruction in a manner where itcan be understood and ultimately leaned, ACS and schools in similar situations urgently need additional resources to support K-2 classrooms, particularly in the form of aides. * By providing a bilingual aide in every classroom, we would be able to offer more personalized support to | students and also ease the considerable challenge for our teachers of educating students who are not proficient in English + Schools with a significant EL enrollment deserve the same level of support as priority schools when it comes to placing an aide in every K-2 classroom. This is especially important for our teachers in these schools, ‘who consistently grapple with educating students who struggle with English language proficiency. + Moreover, ACS also has experienced teachers leaving the district fr other systems that do not face the same challenges, further emphasizing the urgency of addressing the resource exp. ‘Secondly, we request your support in advocating for an amendment to the Alabama Literacy Act that would provide ELs who do not pass the third grade reading assessment with the opportunity to advance to the next grade without ‘facing the possibility of Being held back. + Albertville Elementary Schoo! is facing the prospect of cetaining nearly 100 out ofits $02 thd grade students, ‘with 8096 ofthese possible retentions being English Learners. I this oceurs, the third grade student count ‘could increase to almost 602 students next year. + We should not have to penalize these students for their language learning journey particulary since mastering a ‘new language takes time and should not hinder their academic achievement. Thirdly, we desperately need a teacher unit mechanism established to accommodate the influx of students arriving during the school year. + Immigrant families are arriving to ACS daily, further straining the resources allocated to serve our students + Since September, our kindergarten enrollment has risen from 467 to 495 student today, resulting in class sizes ‘of 21 to 22 students per class, exceeding the 16 and no more than 18 students per class guidance. Continued on pae 2.