This story is part of Atlanta Civic Circle’s ongoing reporting from our Community Impact Survey, which is gathering firsthand accounts from people across metro Atlanta on how federal actions are affecting them.
For almost 20 years, Natasha N. has taught in public schools — but now, the future of the immigrant and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students she serves feels precarious.
“The changes to the federal Department of Education and [the] climate around immigrants leave me uncertain of the programs that are funded and supported by the federal government,” she said in Atlanta Civic Circle’s community impact survey last month.
To better understand her perspective, we reached out to Natasha for a conversation. She asked to be identified only by her first name and last initial for this story, due to privacy concerns.
Natasha initially worked as a general education teacher in New Jersey public schools, then earned her ESOL certification after seeing the need to better support students who are learning English in addition to the general curriculum.
“Students who speak or are exposed to different languages other than English bring such a variety of perspectives to the classroom,” she says. “Having a second language doesn’t mean that they’re not intellectually capable… They want to learn English. If we can just add a little bit of humanity and compassion … that will create an environment where they can thrive.”
Natasha moved to Georgia over a decade ago and currently teaches elementary school students for Atlanta Public Schools, where her classroom reflects the cultural and linguistic diversity she was drawn to as an educator. Though she hasn’t yet seen any changes in federal funding or programming for her ESOL students, she says the anxiety around immigration enforcement has been palpable in her school.
“Our ESOL department had a meeting in which most of what was discussed is trying to create an environment of ease for our students,” she says. “The anxiety level was high regarding their immigration status and potential ICE visits.”
The teachers learned about their legal rights and those of their students, as well as what steps to take, should immigration enforcement actions occur at or near the school, Natasha says.
But they didn’t receive any guidance on how to reassure their young students, she adds. “From what I am aware of, I was not instructed to specifically speak to the students about it. I am on the elementary level. I think when it comes to high school students, that conversation might be different,” she says.
Beyond the emotional toll, Natasha worries about potential threats to federally funded programs, such as Title III funds to support education for English learners and immigrant students. “That does help with our supplemental programs for our ESOL students,” she says. “And so that is something where – we don’t know, with the changes in the Department of Education, where that might lead.”
While Natasha hasn’t heard of any concrete changes yet, things can change quickly in education, she says — especially at the federal level. “It’s just a wait and see at this point.”
What does she wish policymakers — and the public — better understood about her students? And what kind of federal support would help their educations?
Natasha pointed to a need for more consistent curriculum standards across states. Students in immigrant families often move frequently, across both school districts or state lines, she explains, so switching to a new curriculum can disrupt their education.
”That disconnect can create a gap in their learning,” she says. Federal curriculum standards could mitigate that by “making sure we have similarities in our standards.”
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