Columbia Public Schools invests in teachers with help from ARSI grant

By Sophia Donis

As Director of English Learners (EL) for Columbia Public Schools, Shelly Fair is met with the difficult task of determining how to best utilize federal funding. With about 1,620 EL students across the district, the decision-making process is not taken lightly.   

”I really look at what the needs are in the district. I would say the number one need we have is more teachers who are trained to work with Englisher Learners,” Fair said. 

Since Fair joined CPS in 2013, she has been pushing for an increase in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) certified teachers. The certification allows educators to teach English to non-native speakers and is added on to an existing teaching certification.  

The need for more ESOL certified teachers is not an issue specific to one school year or district. All districts have varying numbers of EL students and EL teachers. For example, CPS has about 1,620 EL students and 46 EL department teachers. Of those EL students, about 450 are newcomers across grades K-12.

"This is a struggle we’ve had for years, not just since the Afghan families moved here. When you enroll over 100 students in a short period it has an impact not just on an EL teacher or the EL program, but on the schools overall,” Fair said.  

The impact became especially apparent when Missouri welcomed more than 1,800 Afghan evacuees across the state through Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) at the end of 2021 into 2022. Local resettlement agencies and other partners across the state, including schools, rapidly increased capacity to meet the needs of these newcomers. 

To continue to serve Afghans and other refugee students in schools, the district is utilizing the Afghan Refugee School Impact (ARSI) Grant through MO-ORA's Refugee School Impact program. The program provides grants to school districts who serve school-aged refugees and other Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) populations. For the 2023-2024 school year, MO-ORA distributed $824,405.96 worth of ARSI funds across Missouri school districts. 

Based on the parameters of the ARSI grant, Fair explains the district can’t simply go out and hire more EL teachers. Instead, CPS is utilizing ARSI funding to cover a portion of the tuition costs for teachers to get their ESOL certification. Fair says the federal funds are “so valuable and so needed” because it allows the teachers to have some breathing room when it comes to covering education costs. 

Fair acknowledges it’s a huge ask to encourage teachers to get their ESOL certification, which can take up to 24 credit hours. Outside factors like differing financial situations, lack of free time, and overall job requirements make it difficult for teachers to further their education. 

"It's a challenge for a full-time teacher who’s teaching and has extra curriculars and is supporting their students every single day to commit to going back to school for 2.5 years to get a certification in something else. I do appreciate that and I know it. I’ve been there. I was one of those teachers and I did it and it was difficult,” Fair said. 

Currently, seven district teachers are enrolled in ESOL certification classes and another three intend to enroll for the Fall 2024 semester. Fair notes she can’t attribute a number to the amount of certified teachers needed, but says they need as many as they can get. 

At the end of the day, the motivation for teachers to further their education with the help of the ARSI grant is the same for why teachers are here in the first place: the students.  

“English Learner students are amazing, and I don’t say that just because I’ve been doing this for 22 years. You can watch growth and progress happening in front of you. They are eager to learn, and it’s amazing to watch them learn the language as it’s happening right in front of you. There’s nothing like it,” Fair said.