At DSST: College View High School, multilingual learners are not just learning a new language—they’re using it to make sense of the world and speak up within it.
In one classroom, a unit on U.S. immigration policy sparked powerful conversations and deepened students’ critical thinking. After the 2024 election, students began asking pointed questions about immigration, policy changes and how decisions at the federal level might affect immigrant communities. Their teacher, Maura Mathieu, saw an opportunity to channel that curiosity into a research-based unit rooted in both history and current events.
“We started with the Chinese Exclusion Act,” Mathieu explained. “It helped us understand how U.S. immigration policy has always been discriminatory, with different rules for different groups of people depending on where they are from.” From there, the class pivoted to today’s headlines, beginning with the deportation of 238 Venezuelan men and others from Latin America.
To understand the story, students studied recent events in Venezuela, read news articles about the deportations, and even explored the reputation of El Salvador’s CECOT prison. Currently, they’re focused on the controversial case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“My goal is that students are able to read, listen to or watch multiple sources and synthesize the information,” Mathieu said.
The students are deeply engaged, asking questions like “Is he really in a gang?” and noticing how different outlets describe the same person in dramatically different ways.
“Today, one student pointed out that the White House Press Secretary keeps calling Garcia an ‘alien’ and a ‘terrorist,’” Mathieu said. “Identifying an author’s purpose, analyzing specific language choices and synthesizing multiple sources are all skills that students need to be successful in their other classes and on standardized tests.”
Through this work, students have continued to build essential academic skills, such as using transition words to contrast perspectives, while also developing the confidence to challenge assumptions and advocate for truth.
Meanwhile, in another class for emerging multilingual learners, the theme of voice and creativity continues—this time through mythmaking. Students have been studying Greek mythology and are now writing their own Hercules-inspired stories, complete with original monsters and epic challenges.
“They’re so creative,” Mathieu said. “One student created a tiger that knows your fears and exploits them. Another invented a crow that can control fire.” As they write, students are learning to use dependent clauses and complex sentences to elevate their storytelling. When the stories are finished, they’ll pair up to share their stories out loud and then the author will “autograph” a copy of their story for their partner.
Whether tackling current events or ancient myths, these multilingual learners are gaining the tools to express themselves, connect ideas and advocate for their communities. Their voices—and the stories they’re telling—are a powerful reminder of why multilingual education matters.