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I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Kelly Crossley Show for students struggling to learn English in Boston public schools. Help may be on the way. Boston's failure to teach English has raised a red flag on possible civil rights abuses. And now it has the focus of the feds. The U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice are investigating immersion programs in the hub since bilingual education bit the dust. Do students drop out when they don't understand the teacher. And does the city have a duty to make sure these students learn. From there we go to Freeport Maine with a look at Coastal Studies for girls. It's the only semester school in this country that focuses exclusively on fostering girls interest in science. Up next education from students who are getting locked out of the system to those unlocking their academic potential. First the news from NPR News in Washington I'm Craig Wyndham.

The border area between Southern California and Mexico has been shaken by scores of aftershocks today from Sunday's strong earthquake on Mexico's Baja California peninsula. The quake is being blamed for at least two deaths. NPR's Mandalit del Barco is in Calexico California. She says there are a lot of broken windows and other damage in the business district there. Most of the businesses here the windows are knocked out. Shelves are probably over all the merchandise toppled over. The building code inspectors have been red tagged. Actually this whole block full of stores just as nobody will go in. Look at her get this aftershock that we can feel here. Basically the whole downtown area is shut down. NPR's Mandalit del Barco in Calexico California. Anti-government demonstrators in Bangkok are showing no sign of letting up in their effort to unseat the government of Thailand and force new elections. As NPR's Michael Sullivan reports the protest are beginning to take an economic toll shopping malls offices and small businesses in the commercial heart of the capital are closed for a third

straight day amid fears the protests could turn violent. Demonstrators flooded the upmarket shopping district over the weekend as their protest entered its fourth week. Thousands more today marched on the offices of the government election commission protest organizers accusing the commission of dragging its feet in an investigation of the ruling party and possible illegal campaign donations. The demonstrations have remained peaceful even festive so far but it's not clear how long they'll stay that way. The protesters mostly the rural and urban poor want Prime Minister to dissolve parliament claiming his government came to power illegitimately with help from the Thai military. Obviously it rejects those claims and the protesters demands. Michael Sullivan NPR News Bangkok. The space shuttle Discovery is on its way to the International Space Station after a pre-dawn launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Judith Smeltzer of member station WFIU reports Discovery's mission marks a milestone for women in space.

When Discovery arrives at the International Space Station on Wednesday it will mark the first time four women will be in space at once. The shuttle is carrying three women into orbit and over the weekend astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson arrived at the space station on a Russian Soyuz capsule. NASA's Bill Gerstenmaier says it's part of the maturing of the agency's human spaceflight program. I think this is a natural point in the program as we start to transition from from maybe just getting to space was a big deal. Now it's not only to get there but we want to go do things and do research there. Discovery and its seven astronauts will deliver a new science racks sleeping quarters and other supplies to the space station. For NPR News I'm at the Kennedy Space Center. Some positive numbers on the economy are supporting a rally on Wall Street today the Dow up 44 points the NASDAQ is up 24. This is NPR News from Washington. The Republican Party officials are visiting Salt Lake City this week another potential site for the 2012 Republican National Convention. NPR's Howard Berkes reports that while Utah is a conservative state holding the GOP

convention there could pose a problem for the expected presidential bid of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The Republican convention site selection team has three day scheduled for review of Salt Lake City's ability to host about 35000 people for a week. City boosters say their experience hosting the longer and bigger 2002 Winter Olympics shows they can handle the convention. But Salt Lake City is also headquarters for the Mormon Church and Mitt Romney's Mormon faith seemed to hurt his last presidential bid. Some evangelicals opposed Romney because they don't consider Mormons Christians. Party officials dismissed concerns about a possible Romney nomination a few blocks from his faith's Temple Square. Tampa is favored by some due to Florida's importance as a key swing state. The Phoenix bid has the support of former Vice President Dan Quayle. A decision is expected this summer. Howard Berkes NPR News Salt Lake City. The number of contracts for home sales has jumped sharply up more than 8 percent in February. Walter Maloney a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors says this month's numbers are also

looking good as buyers scramble to qualify for a tax credit. We've been hearing about a rise in home shopping activity over recent weeks with more reports now of multiple offers in additional areas so the march down it could really demonstrate that we'll be seeing additional improvements for home buyers responding to the tax credit. Maloney says the biggest increase in home sales contracts was in the Midwest where pending sales jumped nearly 22 percent in February. I'm Craig Wyndham NPR News in Washington. Support for NPR comes from the Ford Foundation working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide at Ford Foundation dot org. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. The federal government has zeroed in on possible civil rights abuses in Boston schools. The Department of Education's review is looking into how well or poorly the hub is teaching English to students who don't know it. A failure to help these kids is put in close to

20 percent of the student body behind academically. Today we've assembled a roundtable of experts and practitioners here in the studio to talk about what is going on in the public school system. But first we're turning to Ruslan Ali. She is the assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education. Ruslan Ali welcome. Good morning how are you. Fine. I wanted to know if you could just start off by telling us how did this become a civil rights abuse. Well let me say first that we're not sure that it's a civil rights abuse. We are in the process of investigating Boston and its work with the students. And what brought your attention to Boston. Well the Mallee and the Massachusetts State Department had done previous investigation or in other words a compliance review of Boston and its findings revealed that there may be some shortcomings with regard to

students in the district. We are working with our partners at the Department of Justice for Some further inquiry and Iolo for our listeners as English English language learners. There's a lot of acronyms going on in this department. You know that's something that in 2009 I read that two cities in Massachusetts Somerville and was Durham had a settlement agreement now they did not admit to any wrongdoing but this was led to some investigation with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. And so I don't know if that started your investigation looking across the state or if this was just a part and parcel of it just trying to get clarity around it part and parcel there was no direct link to their districts but we certainly want to help the State Department can help Boston School District to meet the need to take English language learners.

Now part of that settlement meant that the areas had to improve the programs and improve that way. Particularly they identify students who need the help. Have you seen that happen. Yes. In their districts and we certainly hope to find things like that in Boston where students that need extra support to get them. OK now what does Massachusetts fall in the spectrum of your looking into these kinds of potential abuses. Are there other states that you have your eye on. Are we near the worst near the middle. Just wondering. Well again it's hard to make any presumptions about where Boston fit in the scheme of the country until we're finished with our investigation. Recently we launched a similar investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District. OK. Most recently Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan made a statement on the occasion of the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday in Selma Alabama. Using it to talk about we are really going to look

into these compliance issues and we this is what we mean by civil rights abuses that were on the occasion of a major civil rights incident in this country a historic incident that we want to make it clear that we're going to be looking at all of these abuses across the country have people heard that and understand what he means and that you're taking this quite seriously. Yes we think people have heard it. We as you mentioned on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday the secretary called for a reinvigoration of the Office for Civil Rights and any of the said over the past. It was not as if they're innocent it's unfortunate. Civil rights and ensuring that students are free from discrimination as it should have been. This is about what Congress intended about ensuring that students are free from discrimination based on their color or their race or their national origin or their sacks or their disability status.

And as the secretary has said as the president has referred to the most important civil rights issue of our generation that is transforming the way schools work in our country. I think we've seen in other areas. This is secretary's been pretty tough. We had something else happen here in our region. The firing of a lot of students teachers I'm sorry in Rhode Island he made it clear that if you know teachers aren't doing what they're supposed to do then you know he's going to have a tough stand so I'm taking his point that he means business when he says a civil rights abuses will be looked at very very closely. I do as well. OK. How do you conduct the review I'm just you know you can't tell us everything that's going on but how is the review conducted. And then when will we know if we're off the list or what direction we should go in as a state with regard to this. See compliance reviews first start with a notification process where we reach out to the superintendent and we reach out to members of Congress for.

The area that has been done in Boston in this case for us are teaming up with our colleagues at the Department of Justice. It begins with interviews with faculty Sometimes students a full on examination and the District's program for English Language Learners how it identifies students that need English language learners support. And then all the way through what they call reclassification how it seems that students that are learning the language in fact do learn the language and can access the core curriculum standards if you will. And when would we expect to have a report or can you say that it's difficult to tell. The this case is somewhat you. Unique because of the Massachusetts Education Department's findings to we how do you mean by that to explain that. As I mentioned the Massachusetts Department had done a compliance review of Boston right over the last few years and it has articulated some findings

indicating where there may be some areas some problematic areas. So we will use those findings to hone in the investigation. And this is a case that could mean that we get some interim findings very soon and they have a staycation is in fact completed quicker than elsewhere where there wasn't sort of preexisting findings made. I know this is not your job to look into what's good about these things but what does success look like and are there any states our communities that you can look at as a model for what could be achieved in places like Massachusetts. Well I do think that as part of our job this is certainly not a confined mission we don't want to penalize districts we just want to help ensure that students get the education they just are and finding those best practices both in Boston and across the country will be hugely important as we try and do just that model what works for other districts to follow and learn from

experiences. And successes as well as mistakes of other districts. We think that in Boston like in most districts there are things that are happening that are right and we want to support the district in taking those programs to scale as well as support the district and finding where there might be some problems are and fixing those as well. So Boston like Los Angeles like so many places across the country are doing some good things. All right make sure that we bring attention to them. Well thank you so much Ruslan Ali is the assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education. Thank you so much for your time today. Thank you. All right joining us now are our other guests in the studio to continue this conversation mayor and we are taking Jenny Lopez Eileen. Yes. Marin or E.R. today is with the UMass Boston is with us Boston where she is director of the Mar Risiko guest home Institute for Latino community development and public

policy. She's also assistant professor of sociology. Eileen Dulles Reyes is with the Boston public schools. She is the assistant superintendent in the English language learners department and Jenny Lopez is a senior staff attorney and multicultural education training and advocacy incorporated. Welcome to you all. We want listeners we want to hear from you what has been your experience with the Boston school system. Do you see your kid falling behind or is your kid getting the academic support that he or she needs. We are at 8 7 7 3 0 1 89 70 that's 8 7 7 3 0 1 8 9 7 8. So let me start right off with Mary and ask you if you could explain what is bilingual education that's what we left behind here in 2002 and we moved to something else so that we're all on the same page. What was bilingual and now what do we have when we used to have was transitional bilingual education which you know very briefly what it does is that it uses the student's own language to build upon and make the transition

to a new language in this case English. And that was established in Massachusetts first actually in 1971 we were the first state in the union to have that mandated and it was done away by a referendum in 2002 which had a very different approach and basically said you have to learn English. And once you manage to have some you some base in English then you can begin to learn content under a transitional bilingual education some of the content what it was taught to students in their own language so that they could be acquiring English and content at the same time. That is proving to be a lot more challenging under the new moon. The new system Well it's more than challenging your Institute did a study looking at how it was working and to some degree what your institute produced brought the attention of the Feds to take a little closer look at what was going on here. So just briefly

what did you find. Well we found our study looked at the first four years after the implementation of the changes that were mandated by question too. So we looked at outcomes first enrollment and then outcomes for English language learners in Boston from 2003 to 2006. The first thing that we found is that there had been a decrease in the identification of English language learners for what as was just pointed out that was that was alerted us to there was that there was something going on because we knew that the numbers of immigrant children in this city were rising so there was really no real reason to have a decline in the number of immigrant students identified in the Boston public schools. Some of what we found for example is that there was there were problems with the assessment process. Boston was not implementing a full assessment. It was only implemented two out of the four tests that that children should have to be determined. English proficiency and.

For exams for tests to determine if a child needs the right understanding speaking reading and writing. And Boston was just implementing understanding and speaking at that time so that there were a lot of children that were not being identified because as you know people often can't speak their language and manage sort of like the social language a lot easier a lot faster than the academic language or human reading. So that was one of the first things that we found. All right well we're going to pick this up when we come back on the other side of the break because we're just getting into it. I'm Kelli Crossley and we're talking about the Boston public school systems and looking into how it's handling non English speaking students. And we'll be back after this break. Our phone number is 877 3 0 1 89 70 if you want to get into the conversation with the with. With with with with with

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I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're talking about the Boston public school system the federal government is looking into civil rights abuses claiming that the non-English speaking students are not getting the academic support that they are legally entitled to. Joining us to talk through this development near and or Yard today Jenny Lopez Eileen de los Reyes Marin REIT is with UMass Boston where she is the director of the Marie CEO gas stone Institute for Latino community development and public policy. She's also an assistant professor of sociology Island Ellis Reyes is with the Boston public schools. She is the assistant superintendent in the English language learners department and Jenny Lopez is a senior staff attorney and multicultural education training and advocacy incorporated. Now before the break we were talking with Mirren It was outlining that there had to be four factors in assessing students and many of those students who need the help. We're not getting all for the test being improperly assessed

and so therefore the numbers say there are fewer students that need it and when we know that's just not the case Eileen. In fact. A fifth of all of the students in Boston schools really need this kind of help. And Boston is on the hot seat to try to correct this problem right. Well we welcome the upper do in the to address the issue once and for all. They just don't report really identified the areas we needed to address amiably and we have been doing so the first thing is there and we have engaged in a very serious damage. They did remain approach to solving the problem. Can you sense in other words do them by still in the last room by classroom school by school so I have to say that we know where all of fairy tales are who waste them and why do you need to provide them with therapy safes. Let me remind our listeners that English Language Learners. Go ahead.

So how did they gain a point. Students had arriving into the street. We now have an assessment in the form of that piece listening speaking reading and writing. And we also went back. Do there moment we stop us they sing they mean reading and writing and we have read this they had close to 6000 students to understand what are their needs and what services need to be provided. Well let me ask you this question because I've heard that part of this problem too is that parents often do not understand that they have some options and their kids have not been assessed correctly. Can you speak to that part of what we have done is that they knew a calmer assessment and counseling center. We have strengthened their portion of the end in terms of the counseling so that when parents come in they understand their full range. But all the names that are available. It is second place you anywheres.

We put all the dams. And as you said Alice a CII TB. These are sayings that we don't want any of that mean it's OK. I mean these are from other countries. Need a clear if explanation of what he said. A leveling of the street. I find what's ironic about this is that some of the parents the reason they didn't know was that they have a language problem. Hello. So we're talking about that right. It's crazy. It's both a language but over time and it's not if you don't let me tell you you do not know their language. But it's also a learning that called Peer of the academic system in the United States. These are sayings that make sense to OSS. But for New York commerce it is incomprehensible so why do we need to do first is to make that content company as it will to families so that they know what is best for their children. Now Jenny the reason that this has one of the reasons it's risen to a civil rights abuses it when we talk about these kids not getting assessed correctly what is it is lead to is a huge number of dropouts.

So there are just kids leaving the system because they can't they don't know what's going on they can't learn. And so now we're talking about infringing on their civil rights. That's right Kelly. In fact if you're looking at Boston and this is from information that Boston Public Schools itself provided to the state by the way. There were about 11000 kids that through one way or another either one identified weren't tested and therefore were not provided programs for English Language Learners kids that may need those programs. And yeah. And so what's happened this problem has dates back to about 2004 and that's when the first documentation of it happened between the state and the Boston public schools and there may have been an issue before that but that's the information that we have and so sure many of these kids have either fallen behind or dropped out of school or maybe languishing in regular ed programs without the academic language necessary to be able to

participate in content classes like math and science. Some of the work that you've done is really lead to the to the federal government taking a look at this more closely. I just want to quote from a letter that you wrote which was pretty tough. Address to some of the powers that be to alert them to the fact that civil rights abuses were happening and this cannot be tolerated. We can well imagine a range of excuses for continued delay. That may be offered but as such thus far successfully and quos managed to avoid basic civil rights obligations to thousands of English language learner students we also know that a more expedient course may be to continue to overlook the continuing educational carnage now entering its fifth school year in the name of new approaches and plans embodied in the race to the Top Fund. That's in the letter because the race to the Top Fund was something that Massachusetts was very much in the game for lost out on the first round meaning two hundred fifty million dollars out of the state. Now we're told that it didn't have anything I wasn't connected to this

but I have to think that if you're a state that's kind of messy about your civil rights. Having to do with large numbers of students something of that has to be taken into consideration. Well I would assume that that's probably the case. There's a bigger picture and I did look through the application in the comments. The reviewers comments and they have. I think Massachusetts has to do a little work before they re issue that that application and make it the best that they can but yeah it is a civil rights tragedy and travesty and it's the issue of it not only because of the numbers of students involved but also the fact that it dates back so many so many years and so yeah I think so after my last generation. That's right and for us it's a very positive endeavor the fact that the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is joining together with the Department of Justice to come in and take a look at what's happening in Boston I think it's an opportunity for the Boston public schools under current leadership. To actually do what needs to happen and I want to go back to you because you're a professor of sociology in addition

to all the other things that you do. What does it mean. There are people listening now saying OK I don't have a kid in this situation this you know this isn't anything to do with me. What does it mean to have these kids not getting what they need educationally for the rest of us. Well I think that the important thing here is really the success of these children because this is you know as you as we know we have a large number of the immigrants now in our population and I think that the critical piece here is what kind of education are we providing these students and what can we expect will happen once these students grow up and I think that it is critical that we provide the best educations particularly in a state like this that is so competitive. Dad where achievement is so rewarded. We need immigrant students to be at the top we need maybe as tools to be just as competitive and and that is what we lose by not having the services that they need right at the beginning and that's what we're talking about we're talking about early incoming

students that are beginning their educational careers in the United States. And that's the kind of support star they become taxpayers because they can enter into the economy the rest of it you know you look like you want to jump in on that. No I agree 100 percent with that I think it's important that we see this not as a problem that needs to be addressed but rather in terms of English language learner students coming into a system but rather than you know positives and they bring strengths that need to be bolstered and acknowledged and pushed along because at the end of the day these students become part of our society and we want it's in effect for everybody. Eileen I wanted to go back to you because I was reading that it's one of the problems is that the Law in Boston or Massachusetts is quite restrictive and it doesn't allow persons like yourself to be creative in how we solve. And provide resources rather not solve the problem to me just tell me it's not a problem. How to provide resources for these kids.

Well Bardolph Why do we need to do two in Boston in particular. Think of new put Odom's for English language learners that can be developed within the law. For example we need to expand the translational bilingual offerings particularly for children in middle and high school grades. That bad we must do we must also expand the way bilingual but over them so and explain that to a bilingual do way bilingual. But what I'm saying gauges students that no English and students who wouldn't want to learn another language for example Spanish. We students that know Spanish and need to learn English and these two groups the objective used to be bilingual and bicultural. Is that a permitted by law right. Absolutely it is. So we need to expand it the way offerings seem to be strict. So there are sayings that we haven't done that that are allowable we've seen the law and then we need to explore and strains and and for every program

that we create we need to evaluate that East working us it should be so the objective is to know where their base practices seem to be strict. And we know that we have to go to school saying that the street where but only dams are flourishing and we are currently engaged in conversations about doing so much on the valuation. It is not about implementing new programs. It is about implementing programs that work. About highlighting the best practices such as Rosslyn Ali said. Absolutely. Ok now I'm somewhere in my materials I know that there are there is a need for at least one hundred twenty more English language learner teachers people with specialties who know how to do this. Can you speak to that. What would that do. If we had those teachers right now one of them one of the main problems that not only Boston but the state is facing at this point is the shortage of teachers with the experience not only in teaching English as a second language but in really

you know scaffolding though the content acquisition of students that do not speak English as a first language. That is something that has been documented over and over now for many years and that is we cannot go anywhere without that taking place so that one of the key pieces that I am very hopeful in the race to the top is that it really focuses in. On issues related to teacher training and my hope is that the state will really underscore the needs of English language learners and the needs of teacher development professional development of teachers in this area. At this point we have children that are English language learners in classrooms with teachers that don't know how to teach and that is part of the problem that we're having in achievement and in the dropout rate and one of the things I wanted to say is that Boston actually in terms of dropouts and in terms of Boston has a problem in terms of identification of students and in terms of you know the

issue of the civil rights issue but in terms of achievement and the dropout rate actually other areas of the state are doing worse. Really Soledad we need to really keep in keep perspective on what you know what is happening in Boston and what is not and also what is what are problems that the whole state faces that are maybe highlighted in Boston because Boston has the most diverse group of students the largest number of English Language Learners. So you would expect the most you know the most problems to happen here. But in fact let me tell you there are other areas of the state where the issue of dropout is very very serious and so is the issue of achievement of English language learners because a lack of teachers. What do you see as the main cause of dropout may cause of your team against the dropout rate. I think. Well you know every thought really if a student does not know they languish and if they have no access to their content. Our students are very smart. If they have no access to them at the ADL they evolve

and they leave. I I have to say they are of the professional development that if you call today Boston or union hall malls for it said there are days. These three guys are doing professional development so we have 300 seizures in the street who come they get an early every Saturday to learn how to teach English language learners. They say so on their own time and they do what has the marriage start conversations about that all about. Abboud I got any gushy of many of these students and about a larger conversation so called competence you say the north knoll because we have years to make up for make up for it. Bar and I'm very proud to say that the teachers have responded that they both have responded and certainly this will bring them their knees there on

Saturdays. Listening to the shares and seeing what their difficulties are in their teaching of these students. Jenny in 2015 the nation is going to be. Majority minority and yet I don't think people seem to be getting that. I don't see that happening on the ground in responsive. You see where I'm coming from yeah I do and I do want to say that. It's concerning to me that Boston public schools you know we can go back to 2000 and for new talking 11000 kids that were left without services and services that they had a right to basic being taught English language English language development and that's that's a real problem. And my organization's works nationally and I can tell you that. We see Boston as one of if not the biggest unrivaled civil rights violation of these kids across the country and so it's an issue that needs to be that needs to be there needs to be dealt with. And the other piece of it is that. There has to be some way

that Boston beyond doing the identification training teachers all very necessary things things we have asked for hiring more English as a Second Language teachers but also go back and take a look at the kids who were not provided those services to begin with and make them whole. Some of them may have mated some of them may have dropped out and some of them may be in a classroom not understanding what's going on and they have a right to certain services and so I think it's it it's on Boston Public Schools to have the political will and put the resources in there to make these kids whole again. It's not quite the same thing but we did an extensive series here at the station about special of special education yes. And parents fighting for those resources for their kids and how the law is mandated the money but they haven't been able to get so a lot of kids are falling by the wayside. So there's a number of these areas that need some attention that are critical to the overall population's educational understanding of what's going on. So the streak has poured their

resources seemed to lace their 4.2 million dollars for two years that are going to providing services to English language learners and 10 million dollars. No money to bring that the shares and they held the shares and continue their professional development. When can we see the result of that a year from now maybe some of that too soon. We we have to begin a CND soled see maybe. OK all right well this is a conversation that we're going to that's going to be ongoing because it's a huge one and I am appreciative of all of you coming in to talk about it because it's actually did not know about the federal interest and that the state interest in it and what was going on locally so I appreciate all of your attention to this matter. We've been talking about the Boston public school system and how it could be failing its non-English speaking students. Marin we are today.

Jenny Lopez and Eileen Dollis Reyes thank you so much for joining us. We are today is with UMass Boston where she is director of the Maurice yoga stone Institute for Latino community development and public policy. Eileen Ellis Reyes is with the Boston public schools. Coming up it's our regular Monday feature local made good will be back after this break. Support for WGBH comes from you and from the Massachusetts Freemasons who believe that a man's greatness can be measured and it's not by his wealth or fame. You can learn more at the Massachusetts Freemasons website. Ask a Freemason dot org. And from 80 20 21 art and design of the 20th and 21st centuries Art Deco through contemporary fine art furnishings and more. April 9th through the 11th at the Boston Center for the arts more at 80 20 21 dot com and from the members of the WGBH sustainer program whose gifts of five ten or twenty dollars a month make up the most reliable source of income for the programs you love on the

new eighty nine point seven. Learn more at WGBH dot org. Why why why why. Eighty nine point seven coming up next the self-proclaimed egg headed Steve Almond and Emily Rooney. Stay with us. Point seven because it's a public radio choice that you won't hear anywhere else. The new eighty nine point seven w the sun has returned to Boston. And so of the sox sign up at WGBH dot org for your chance to win a pair of tickets to Fenway Park to watch the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees this Tuesday or Wednesday night at 7:10 complete rules of entry online at WGBH dot org. You're listening to eighty nine point seven Boston NPR

station for depth and understanding with the world and all things considered the new eighty nine point seven WGBH. I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Kelly Crossley Show. It's time for our regular Monday feature local made good where we celebrate people whose creativity and individuality bring honor to New England. This week we're joined by Pat Erickson. She's that executive director of Coastal Studies for girls and Freeport Maine. It's a 16 week deep immersion academic adventure for girls in the 10th grade. They are now midway through their very first semester. Pat Erickson welcome. Thank you Kelly it's really a pleasure to be here. Good. Well first I have to tell us how this all came to be Coastal Studies for girls. You know the idea was really ignited by young women in fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth grade who have so much curiosity so much creativity and just needed more of an opportunity more of an

avenue to explore and excel in the things that they're really passionate about. And. It's been a 10 year drain for you. How how did it come to you as something that would be interesting for girls to interest them in science and and why. Yes it has been a 10 year dream and it's it's really exciting because the pioneer class numbers 13 and is more extraordinary than we ever could have anticipated so we're feeling very jubilant about that. The dream really began through working with the summer science and wilderness program and seeing the opportunity for young women as they were like CNN Money's alive and curious and capable and then beginning to think about how could we delve a little bit deeper How could we really immerse them in science technology engineering math leadership to ignite what we felt was on the inside and tell us a little bit about you.

Are you a big time scientist with great interest in Cmin unease. You know I'm not a big time scientist but a lover of life I think and my passion with the program is partly the science and partly the leadership piece. And and for me I think it's about seeing the young women who grow in becoming confident in who they are and leaving Coastal Studies for girls. Ready to Make a positive difference in the world and if that's to pursue a science career I think that's fantastic but it's also about what leadership qualities that they that they have in that they've gained from loss. Can they use them to go out in the world and make a big splash in a way that does the world good. I look at some of your materials and you said we're looking for bold pioneers. I thought that was interesting. We are we're looking for young women who are adventurous and willing and feeling like they want to take a risk in try something new. OK so now explain to me how this works because it's a semester long right and they come from other schools so describe the process.

Yes we're actually very fortunate to have kids from seven different states so we've got some some Maine Vermont couple girls right here from Boston which is really cool. Some kids from Queens. One student from Baltimore one from Connecticut and one from California so our closest student is from Maine whose whose family lives two miles down the road and our furthest away student is from the Los Angeles area so a couple thousand miles away so they come from lots of different places. Our first group of kids hail from public private and home schooled environments. So we're very excited about the diversity that we've been able to create with the first term. And our curriculum has been written with the national standards in mind and what we need to do as we look for interested students and schools and families is to share our curriculum with them and then have individualized conversations with each of those schools and families and students to talk about how their curriculum at home would best match ours and how

we can transition them in smoothly. All the credits come actually from the sending schools with their approval or endorsement of the program that we're offering. So girls take a leave from their school or is it sort of like if you're in college and you go away for a semester it's the same thing. That's exactly how we got our template really from the college world and now there are probably a dozen high school semester programs who have been incredible role models for us because we're the New Kids On The Block. But we're excited to be the first only. Girls only girls residential science and leadership semester school the rest are all coed and are doing a fantastic job. But basically kids leave for 16 weeks. Our group arrived on the 14th of February we thought that Valentine's Day was a perfect beginning for the Pioneer class and the graduate. On the 5th of June and will start again in August late August through December with another 16 weeks.

OK tell us some of the subject matter in the curriculum and then what is a typical day life for girls in the program. Oh those are great questions. The girls take marine science and leadership so those are the real foundations and cornerstones of the program. Then they'll take English in history so we do a world history this semester. We're doing French and Spanish and mathematics. So what happens is the students are engaged deeply in marine science in leadership and then the other core courses of the curriculum are done so they don't lose pace with their sending school when they're with us so that the intent is to have them return to their homes and schools and communities are more capable in all these fields but with a particular emphasis on marine science and leadership. Now why marine science I mean just because that's your interest are just that particularly. Well we're in the most amazing location in Freeport Maine with a view of Casco Bay and we start every day with a solar reflection on the

shores and watch the tide or or the fog or the rain come in so it's just a beautiful place we're located out on Wolf's neck farm which is a six hundred twenty six acre piece of shoreline with a forest and field in rocky shore and salt marsh so it's the perfect place to learn this kind of thing and the goal is really to increase girl's interest in awareness in the fields of science and marine science being such a lively and engaging thing to study is right at our doorstep. I have to say I was one of those science people that just barely got through. And it may well have had something to do with you know not. Having just the right teachers with the attitude that could encourage somebody like me that was probably on the fence maybe I could have been more interested in it. But I'm fascinated with my friends who have been scientifically oriented or interested in that in college and certainly in high school I just wasn't so I that's why I thought the setting of this really is is inviting.

Oh I'm glad you mentioned that too. There's a lot of people who say that an interesting Lee as we look for young women they they maybe have an inclination toward the sciences or they may not be exactly sure but if they're looking to live in an all girls environment or be in a residential space to really think about community they're there as their stewardship in their view of the world who they are who are they becoming. Science is a piece of what we do but it's woven in with the leadership aspects so tightly that it's it's kind of a package deal so we have some students who come to us and said I'm just beginning to explore my interest in the sciences and someone said I know science is the thing I want to do. And we're looking for girls from the spectrum of all those kinds of places to join us. Well you know I'm you're preaching to the choir because I'm a graduate of Wellesley College a fantastic single second. Institutions are iffy so we know all about women and leadership and we appreciate that. That's a wonderful run. Colonel Melroy from from Wellesley took our flag to the International Space

Station in 2007 so before the school was even open we were six million miles away. So she did because that's what Wellesley women do. That's. What my point is that there I was being the not so great science student as I said to you and my best friend in college was knew from the beginning that she was going into medicine and she did and she is now a physician. I love this piece that you have in your materials. It's entitled What is inspirational or asked the question what is inspirational and your answer is you arrive at Coastal Studies already gifted and the community helps you uncover elements about yourself that you have forgotten. There is inspiration in the morning sunrise the mist on the water the pounding of your heart the swish of a kayak paddle the spray soaring overhead the journaling the discussions the close friendships you will make the mentors you will meet the quiet the stars and in your aspirations. The way you bring home a clearer that way. The way you bring home a clearer vision of who you are and what you want to become. That's just beautiful. I want to

go. I'm glad you mentioned that we're going to do some some adult women programming in another couple of years we're going to have some summer availability and I have to say every week somebody steps through the doors. Who is not 14 or 15 or 16. But more are age incest. Why didn't this exist for me and I want to come and my reply is just hold on. It's coming your way. All right now I want to know specifically what you're hearing from those 13 pioneers what are they saying about their days at the Coastal Studies school. They are inspirational. We actually just finished our first ever parent day on Saturday and so invited. Parents and grandparents and teachers and mentors and supporters from the kids homes and schools and the girls were really phenomenal they pretty much led the whole day. Shared all of their experience many of their experiences up until now with the parents and lead all of them through

a really fantastic day that began at 9 o'clock and ended about 7:00 p.m. and they are they're curious and intelligent and creative and articulate and able to share the gains that they've made already in the ability to be comfortable with the setting that they're in. One student in particular came to me after her presentation and she said you know I knew when I came to Coastal Studies for girls that I was going to need to present and be in front of people and I was really nervous about that. But I was really excited at what I did today because I was able to stand up and her her topic was actually Marine Science and she was speaking so knowledgably about something that she was passionate about. And I think felt very victorious. Another story that comes to mind is as we've spoken about the day begins with a solo on the shore and we had one local student who came to me maybe a day or two after the program began and said you know

I'm from this area and I haven't taken the time to sit on the shore and feel the beauty that I'm surrounded by every day. And I'm so appreciative of this opportunity because it's right here for the taking. So those are examples of the kinds of things that girls are saying and they're writing is. Incredibly impressive some of which now is is on our website which is Coastal Studies for girls orgy and and the girls are beginning to blog and there are photos there and they say it better than any of us who work with the organization because it's in their words and their passion is evident. We're speaking with Pat Erickson who is the founder of Coastal Studies for girls in Freeport Maine and she's talking about a program that makes some of us adults want to go for girls in the 10th grade. Now why the tenth grade. Another great question. Young women as seventh eighth ninth graders are still in that space where they're beginning to think about what it is that they

want to be but be curious and open enough to the possibilities. So we felt that something great was a little bit too young to be away for an entire semester and to delve as deeply into the academics as we felt was important. Freshman have have just landed in high school and are beginning to figure out all of that juniors and seniors are beginning to think about college career choices life choices and sophomores are in that wonderful pliable open space. And so the goal is to impact young women at a time and place in their lives that will positively impact the choices they make after they graduate. So how are you feeling now birthmother that you are through this concept and now this school. What how do you feel personally mostly speechless. It's interesting to be thinking about the fact that it's finally happening and to and to have interaction daily with these young pioneers and most of the times

I'm I'm speechless and when I'm not I'm a little bit teary you know I look at these accomplished capable young women and how articulate they are and how proud I am and in our faculty is in our in our board is in our our board chair is who without or without. Edith Aronson. Vision as well and hard work this never would have happened so we're all just sort of standing on the sidelines and and feeling victory I guess what with this first this first class what a young Pat Erickson how would she have benefited from Coastal Studies for girls. Gosh I grew up in a small rural town in northern Wisconsin not having seen the east coast until I think I was probably 20 or 21 years old. I think it really for me us where a lot of the motivation comes from. It's about. A spectrum of opportunities that a lot of students don't have available to them. And so it's about exploration and discovery of yourself of other people of the world

around you. And I think I would have benefited by being in this kind of environment knowing that a single gendered environment exists that existed for me maybe I would have gone to Wellesley if I had known that when I was in high school now that it existed. And I think it would have increased my my curiosity and my confidence to know that I could become anything I wanted and that's what we envisioned for the students that are with us. I want to let our listeners know that it's not just you and your visionary moment with these girls you have some fantastic guest speakers coming mention a couple of those which you were really pleased by that it certainly is a team effort and we often joke. But real you know really that it's taken a village and it's taken a you know a gaggle and I heard in a positive to create culture studies for girls and so our founding board the staff members the individuals the donors the organizations that have been a part of this are our countless volunteers who haul rocks and paint the farmhouse and plant the flowers outside. There are a number of people

that have that are to thank for this vision coming to life. Our guest lecture series is pretty exciting. We've had an oceanographer from the Bigelow lab for ocean research. We've had great conversation with Bill McKibben who is a very familiar author and environmentalist. A senior research scientist from the lab who was out on a boat for a number of years. Brian Skerry the most recent one is a National Geographic photojournalist who just put on an amazing show of underwater life. And then a very fun one who is Roger Richmond a 3-D macro photographer as we all sat in the Freeport library and he came to do a private showing and there we were in our black 3-D glasses and the girls just getting quite a hoot out of seeing macro photography in a three dimensional way and those are just a few of the people that have been with us for this. This first semester What do you say to people who are you know you can't see a vision

of some a different way to approach education because what you what you put together here is I mean you've got a really tough curriculum this is you know it's fun and games but you're learning stuff these girls are going to be very seriously informed at the end but yet it's fun and it's taking advantage of the landscape there. It is and that's a facet think where the magic really happens is in the immersion in the study in the rigor. But then the crazy things that happen that balance that out and makes the girls want to learn and want to be there. All right. Well suddenly sign me up. We'll save a space for that Erickson thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so learn more about Coastal Studies for girls you can visit Coastal Studies for girls dot org. You can keep on top of the Calla Crossley Show by visiting our website WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley. This is the Calla Crossley Show. Today's program was engineered by Jane pic and produced by Chelsea murders. Our production assistant is Anna white knuckle be we our production of WGBH radio Bostons in PR station

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