Multilingual Academy Provides Montville Township Students with Community and Leadership Opportunities

MONTVILLE, NJ - “Practice Makes Permanent” was the motto of the Inaugural session of the Summer Multilingual Academy at Montville Township Public Schools [MTPS].

A rigorous, confident, and culturally diverse district, the MTPS Multilingual Academy provided an opportunity for students, whose families speak a language other than English at home, to practice conversation, reading, and all forms of social communication in a relaxed, fun, and supportive community environment.

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“This was the Multilingual Academy’s first year, and it was phenomenal,” said World Language and ESL Supervisor Dr. Tamar Spitzer. “The kids had the time of their lives.”

Led by a team of dedicated English as a Second Language [ESL] Teachers, the MTPS Multilingual Academy provided a multicultural, multilingual, multi-generational experience for over forty (40) of the district’s Kindergarten to grade 12 students.

“Our teachers ran with this idea,” explained Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Andrea Woodring. “They saw an opportunity to support students while reinforcing both the learning of English as a second language, and the implementation of conversation in that language.”

Free to the MTPS district’s families, the Multilingual Academy “invigorated the skills our students learned during the school year,” said Lead Teacher, Andrea Mitsaelides. “‘Practice Makes Permanent,’ especially for our bilingual students in the domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing.”

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Mitsaelides, who is a MTPS ESL Teacher at Woodmont Elementary School during the academic year, noted that, “The smile in their eyes was immeasurable!”

The academy’s educational team structured the multilingual learning environment to reflect a fun, student-centered, camp-like setting.

The academy’s older students acted as leaders, supporting the learning environment, and serving as mentors for younger students. The experience not only supported the older students as they reinforced their own English skills, but it also provided students with opportunities for community engagement and leadership.

Throughout the summer, Mitsaelides posted photos of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 students in the Academy’s camp-like setting.

“Their photos on social media have made each and every one of them feel so proud and more proactive in learning,” said Mitsaelides.

Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Marathi, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Telugu, Turkish, and Ukrainian are among the languages the Multilingual Academy students speak at home.

“Our students had a blast making brave bracelets with their unique names, face-painting, tie-dying, practicing yoga, and jamming to a special performance by the incomparable Mr. Marra and his music school students from Lake Hiawatha,” Mitsaelides noted.

Music Teacher Dean Marra is a Woodmont educator who also owns Mr. Marra's Music School and Studios in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey.

In addition to the daily activities, the Multilingual Academy students Adopted-a-Shelf at the Montville Kiwanis Food Pantry.

“It felt great to be of service to the community,” added Mitsaelides. “The students felt the outpouring of love and support from the Montville community. Community support truly made the program a success.”

Held at Woodmont Elementary School, the MTPS Multilingual Academy assembled a first-rate team of ESL specialists from the MTPS district and beyond. In addition to Mitsaelides (Woodmont Elementary); Maria Micciche (Union Township Schools), K/1st grade teacher; Amy Yu (Cedar Hill Elementary), 2nd-6th grade teacher; Jen Flores (William Mason Elementary) , high school ESL; and Christy Choi (Montville Township High School), high school math. Daniela Antunez (Woodmont Elementary) was the Multilingual Academy’s bilingual paraprofessional.

“On the last day, one of our high schoolers was asked if she was excited it was the last day,” Mitsaelides recalled. “She replied, ‘No I’m not, I want to come back Monday. This was the best summer, Thank you.’”

With that being said, on the last day, there were lots of hugs and smiles full of confidence and preparedness for the upcoming school year.

Other than English, there are 46 different languages spoken in the homes of 24%, or nearly 840, of the MTPS students registered for the 2024-2025 academic year. In the fall, the Montville Township district will welcome roughly 3,450 students in grades PreK to Grade 12.

All seven Montville Township Public Schools will open for the 2024-2025 school year on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

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