Many people think immigrants only settle in a few states. This article about a town in Vermont with a school population of 759, shows that children from 19 countries with 14 languages are learning English. DP

By Matt Sutkoski, Burlington FreePress

burlingtonfreepress.com: WINOOSKI -- The city's school district saw a large increase this fall in the number of students who are learning the English language.

The surge in non-English speaking students is a challenge for the school district, Associate Superintendent Mary Martineau said, but it is also rewarding the city and its students by giving people a view of the broader world.

About one-quarter of Winooski's 759 students are English language learners, Martineau said. That's up from slightly fewer than 10 percent of the student population in 2003 and a little more than 15 percent from last year. Refugees are drawn to Winooski's relatively low housing prices and high numbers of rental properties, she said.

Students in Winooski hail from 19 countries and speak about two dozen languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Dinka, Nepali, Swahili and Urdu.

Winooski school officials said the city has likely the highest percentage of non-English speakers of any district in Vermont. Martineau offered the statistics Wednesday as she gave the Winooski School Board an update on the school's English Language Learner program. Board members said they were pleased by the work the teachers were doing. Panel members asked for more details on whether the city is bearing a disproportionate cost in educating the immigrants.

Winooski this year received a $34,638 federal grant to educate immigrant children and another $28,000 federal Refugee Children School Impact Grant, Martineau said. Also, under the state's education finance laws, the English learners in the school prompt the state to adjust local funding, somewhat reducing the effects the students have on local taxpayers, she said.
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