New ELL manager joins Worcester ed team

WORCESTER – The school system welcomed its new manager of English learners Tuesday, according to the superintendent, who once oversaw the new hire when they worked together at South High Community School several years ago.

Carmen Melendez comes to the position having most recently worked as head of North Attleboro High School’s guidance department, according to Superintendent Maureen Binienda.  She also had a side consulting business with the Providence school system, working with Latino families, she said.

Prior to those positions, Ms. Melendez had been head guidance counselor at South High, where she worked under Ms. Binienda when the latter was principal at the school. While Ms. Binienda acknowledged Ms. Melendez does not have experience working as an English as a Second Language instructor, "she’s worked with ESL students her whole career," and in particular was instrumental in getting South High’s ESL students to participate in the school’s Advanced Placement programs, she said.

The state’s public educator licensure lookup shows a Carmen Melendez-Quintero being licensed as a guidance counselor and principal/assistant principal.

Ms. Melendez takes over the district’s English  Learners department from Bertha-Elena Rojas, who stepped down from the position at the end of December. According to Ms. Binienda, only two qualified candidates, one of whom was Ms. Melendez, ended up being interviewed to become Ms. Rojas’ replacement.

"It’s hard to find ELL directors across the state," she said.

Ms. Binienda added that she had mentioned the opening to Ms. Melendez before Ms. Melendez applied.

The district’s ELL services are an important part of the school system. As of October, 34 percent of enrolled students in Worcester were English language learners, and 55 percent spoke a first language other than English, according to state records. On top of the large number of students the English Learners department serves, Worcester for nearly a decade been working toward fulfilling the terms of an agreement the district struck with the U.S. Justice Department to come into compliance with laws pertaining to providing adequate services and resources for English language learning students.

For the past year, Ms. Binienda said, the School Department has been trying to satisfy the last few articles of that agreement. In response to orders from the Justice Department, for instance, the district has ramped up recruiting of ELLs at Worcester Technical High School, and hired 20 new ESL teachers with plans to hire 15 more over the next three years.

Ms. Melendez will join the district’s deputy superintendent, Susan O’Neil, as the lead administrators overseeing the compliance work with the Justice Department, Ms. Binienda said.

"We all work together on it," she added, mentioning several other central office administrators who are closely involved in the process. "I think (Ms. Melendez) is a great team leader."

The superintendent said Ms. Melendez was also a standout employee at South High, where the former guidance head created a program that helped the school’s Latino families navigate the education system.

"The part I really admire about her is that if there’s something she needs to learn, she makes it her job to learn everything she can about it," Ms. Binienda said, adding that her "particular passion is for ELLs."

"I think the community will really welcome her."