On May 24, 2016 representatives from the The Department of Justice visited Stamford High School. The goal of the trip was to interview staff members, the Department of Language, and Mr. Escobar on their ELL training.  ELLs are students who are unable to communicate fluently or learn effectively in English, who often come from non-English-speaking homes and backgrounds, and who typically require specialized or modified instruction in both the English language and in their academic courses. In 2013-2014 there were discrepancies on how Stamford as a district classified ELL students and the Department of Justice demanded our services be reevaluated. There was a document put in place stating that by 2016 Stamford should have made positive changes and staff members be trained on how  pre-scheduling for  ELL students, how if a school doesn’t have many resources they can still meet the minimum requirements for teaching ELL students, and how to teach ELL students who also fall under needing Special Education.

We don’t know what the representatives will specifically be asking, and they can show up in any classroom, but Stamford High has done a great job to prepare for this visit. President Manka has assured me that “we are going to be fine.” Recently students have been noting that there have been more subs in the building, and this is due to the module training all of our staff have had to go to during school time. Almost all of staff has participated in this training and we are in the “single digits” when it comes to people left to go. This select few includes Manka himself, who will be attending the training during the end of June with other administrators.