AMHERST — Coming to Amherst from Afghanistan in January, Crocker Farm School fourth grader Suliman Monmad says he misses his homeland, even with the dangers posed to his family by “bad people.”
Suliman expresses a range of emotions about getting to a safer place, and how, as a newcomer, he feels “excited, confused and then sad.”
“I am glad you are safe and you are here,” says Nadla Tavares Smith, an English as a second language teacher at the school, as she works with Suliman, and two others, Maria Clara Francas, a third grader from Brazil, and Jiahao Lei, a fourth grader from China, as they strengthen their English speaking skills during a group pullout class.
In just her second day at Crocker Farm, Maria relates to her teacher in Portuguese why someone would be happy, how she has already made three new friends, and then, in English, how being new to the school already feels “normal.”
As an immigrant from Brazil who taught herself English, Tavares Smith draws from her own experience when teaching. “I still have trouble with a lot of words,” she tells the students.
But she then explains that they will gain comfort by practicing English, while also giving them an opportunity to greet each other in their native languages. That greeting, she said, can serve as a way to welcome new students, suggesting the students join together to create a welcome poster for the lobby of the school.
For her work with improving students’ language skills, connecting to their families and building a school community, Tavares Smith is being recognized with this year’s Roger L. Wallace Excellence in Teaching Award, presented annually to a primary school teacher in Amherst or Pelham since 2013.
Retired educator Andrea Battle, a board member who helps coordinate the event named after the Fort River teacher who retired in 2012 after 39 years as a teacher, said Tavares Smith represents the best of the Amherst and Pelham elementary schools.
“She’s remarkable for social justice and her concern for immigrants and making them comfortable in the community,” Battle said.
A nomination letter from parents and teachers stated that Tavares Smith is not just an excellent teacher, but promotes and appreciates each student’s cultural identity. “She’s really good that way, and very empathetic because of that,” Battle said.
Tavares Smith has done work around social justice standards, interacting with families and anti-bias education with staff. Last year, she facilitated a Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) affinity group that met after school
A key, she said, is being respectful to student identity, noting that she never identified as Latina until she came to the United States.
“The students need to get caught up in terms of literacy, and my focus is on reading and writing and building conditions so they can talk about their own experiences,” Tavares Smith said. “They’re developing a new identity.”
Born and raised in Bahia, Brazil by a single mother, and one of six children, Tavares Smith said she has had a lifelong commitment to social justice, recalling the disappointment in having computer labs closed to her as a child. Her spark for education started in a secondary education program for youth and adults.
“I could see the power education has in giving access to different things, access to voting, access to reading prescriptions, even access to taking the bus,” Tavares Smith said.
She then did undergraduate teaching in a private school, public school and language school in Brazil, focused on Portuguese, Spanish and English. “Equity was driving me at that point,” Tavares Smith said.
Tavares Smith arrived in the United States in 2011 as part of an exchange program, staying in Stowe, Vermont, with friends, and that was where she met her future husband. She lived in Ireland for a year and also in Switzerland, coming to Massachusetts when her spouse got a job as a private chef in Leverett.
In January 2013, she started as an interpreter at Amherst Regional High School, at which time she was inspired to pursue a master’s degree in multicultural education, leading to her promotion to paraeducator. In 2017, she got an ESL position at the middle school, and a year later was offered the similar role at Crocker Farm.
“I love working with the little ones,” Tavares Smith said, observing that she coordinates on projects with Blanca Osorio-Castillo, her colleague who earned similar recognition in 2019.
The beginner group of three children who are pulled out from their regular classes will get instruction from her throughout the day, focusing on writing, grammar, syntax and vocabulary development. She said many of the students already have strong skills in their native languages.
“We should see their literacy and language as an asset,” Tavares Smith said. “I am teaching from an asset-based perspective where we can use what they know in their native language to develop their English.”
Her day also includes a block where she will teach English for everyday interaction, pullout reading with fourth-grade students at the intermediate level and “push-in” work where she joins the class alongside students. As students learn more English and become more comfortable with their skills, they will have fewer pullouts and more of these push-ins.
A big part of her day is also observing how students are doing, making sure they are learning and understanding. “A lot of students are not in the same place in their journey,” Tavares Smith said.
Making contacts with families is also important, even as she understands some parents and guardians work multiple jobs.
“I want students’ families to be seen, to be heard, and to be involved,” Tavares Smith said.
Tavares Smith said she appreciates Wallace’s legacy.
“He’s an inspiration to us and I highly admire him,” Tavares Smith said. “I feel so honored.”
Tickets for the ninth annual dinner, to be held Oct. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Willet’s Hallowell Conference Center at Mount Holyoke College, are $25.
To get tickets, call 253-5630, go to the elementary school offices or visit https://sites.google.com/view/rlweit/events
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
