Officials with the Tisbury School are exploring the idea of offering a new Brazilian Portuguese class at the K–8 school.
With many students from Portuguese-speaking backgrounds, some parents and teachers say that non-Portuguese-speaking students have a difficult time interacting with their peers. And with an Island with a considerable Brazilian population, being able to speak the language would be beneficial when entering the local workforce.
Tisbury School committee chair Amy Houghton says the idea came from a recent school committee meeting, where a group of advocates asked whether the school could offer the language.
“You look at what [the class] could mean for building bridges between the community members, and also opportunities for people who want to look at staying on the Vineyard and raising a family,” Houghton tells The Times. “So many jobs rely upon people being able to speak and communicate in English and Brazilian Portuguese. So for me it seems like a no-brainer that we should do that.”
According to state statistics from the department of education, about 54 percent of students at the Tisbury School have a first language other than English.
Houghton says that conversations about the program are still in their infancy, including when it might be offered, and the costs and class size associated.
She says that the school’s foreign language teachers will have to be consulted as well. “There are many considerations that have to be put in place before we can launch a pilot project,” Houghton said.
She adds that the idea is fueled by the school’s Spanish teacher’s plan to retire.
“We in Tisbury have an opportunity, I would say, to add Brazilian Portuguese to our school because … our Spanish teacher is leaving. [The school has] posted for the Spanish position, and not had much success in getting a Spanish teacher,” she said at a Thursday All-Island School Committee meeting.
Houghton said that she would like to see Spanish remain at the Tisbury School, and says the school would have to decide whether to make Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese a joint offering.
“Ideally, we would like to do a combination of Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, so that you could have the option, and see how the course runs,” she said on Thursday.
