Uplifting the Experiences of ELL/Bilingual Teachers at Morristown High School and their Latine Im/migrant Students by Mellie Torres, Ph.D.

Author: Mellie Torres, Ph.D.

Abstract

This research blog highlights the experiences of teachers of ELL/Bilingual students at Morristown High School (MHS). Historically a White, affluent suburb, Morristown has undergone significant demographic changes since the 1960s. Currently, the  Latine community constitutes approximately 30% of Morristown’s population. This increased presence of Latines in Morristown presents both opportunities and challenges for educators, as classrooms reflect the growing diversity of the local community.

I draw on data from the  Morris Project (2015-2016), an in-depth mixed-methods research study about the Morris School District as a model for student diversity. Specifically, this blog is based on a focus group with ELL/Bilingual teachers at Morristown High and a recent follow-up interview with a veteran teacher. Findings highlight: 1) how peer colleagues, school, and district leaders support the work of ELL/Bilingual teachers at MHS, and 2) the assets and challenges faced by Latinx im/migrant students. Overall, I provide valuable insights for district and school leaders, and educators, especially for those in communities across the Garden State that, for the first time, are experiencing significant and often rapid growth in their  Latine populations.

 

Introduction

Unlike traditional destinations for Latines in NJ – such as Newark, Union City, and Paterson,  Morristown is one of the wealthiest towns in the state. Often referred to as “Hoboken West,” the vibrant, upscale downtown area has over 100 restaurants, from casual eateries and coffee shops to fine dining. The downtown also offers entertainment options, including the Mayo Performing Arts Center, premier shopping, and fitness centers. Morristown’s median household income is $115,409, and the poverty rate is 9.2% (Census Reporter, n.d.).

Over the past several decades, Morristown has become home to a burgeoning Latine im/migrant community. According to the U.S. Census (n.d.), about a third (29.3%) of Morristown’s 20,732 population identifies as Hispanic/Latino. The remaining population includes 4.7% Asian, 9.2% Black, and 58.2.% White residents). Naturally, the student population of Morristown’s schools reflects the widespread growth of the Latine community. At Morristown High, almost half (45%) of the students identify as Latino/Hispanic (NCES, n.d.). 

In this research blog, I uplift the experiences of ELL/Bilingual teachers at Morristown High School (MHS) with Latine im/migrant¹ students. I begin with a brief overview of the Morris Project and the participants of this study. I then provide information about Latine migration to Morristown, the Morris School District, and Morristown High School. Lastly, I present the perceptions of ELL/Bilingual teachers regarding their Latine im/migrant students, as well as the support they receive from fellow educators, school administrators, and district administrators in their efforts to educate these students.

The Morris Project

The Morris Project (2015-2016) is an in-depth study of New Jersey’s Morris School District and its potential to serve as a model for diversifying elementary and secondary schools. The study was led by Paul Tractenberg, Professor Emeritus at Rutgers Law School, and involved advanced doctoral students and Ph.D.-level researchers. Over two years, the research team conducted site visits, interviews, and focus groups with parents, teachers, former and then-current district administrators, school staff, and community members. The study was funded by the Fund for New Jersey, the Mills Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Morris Educational Foundation, and private donors.

Learn more about the Remedying School Segregation Report (Tractenberg et al., 2016) here.

Participants of the Study

As a research consultant for the Morris Project (2015-2016), I conducted interviews and a focus group to elicit the experiences and perceptions of select high school staff and local community advocates who serve multilingual youth and families in Morristown, specifically those with Latin American and Caribbean roots. I interviewed eleven participants: 8 teachers and staff (including guidance counselors, social workers, and a school administrator), and three representatives from local community-based organizations. I also conducted a focus group with 12 teachers from the MHS ELL/Bilingual and World Languages department. Most recently, during the summer of 2024, I held a follow-up interview with a veteran teacher who is also a member of the school outreach team for multilingual families. This essay is based on the focus group with MHS ELL/Bilingual teachers and the follow-up interview conducted during the summer of 2024. 

Morristown’s Latine Population

“How do you say Montenegro in English? Morristown. This common saying refers to the important contribution of the Colombian town of Montenegro, in Quindío, the heart of the coffee zone, to Morristown’s Latine community. Migration from Montenegro from the late 1960s marks the initial arrival of Latines to Morristown (Botero, 2013; Loboguererro, 2015; Quito, 1999). According to a pioneer of the migration, “La gente venia para mejorar, no porque estuviera en la miseria. Lo que se ganaba acá en una semana era el doble de lo que se hacía en Colombia en un mes” (Not that they were living in misery, but the people came here to progress. What you can earn here in a week is double of what we made in Colombia in a month) (Botero, 2013). This quote suggests that Colombian im/migrants to Morristown were in search of economic mobility and prosperity, not accessible in their home country. 

Since Colombian migration in the 1960s, Morristown’s burgeoning Latine community has expanded and includes im/migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Over the past three decades, Morristown’s Latine population has more than tripled from 2,000 in 1990 to about 7,000 in 2023 (U.S. Census, n.d.) and represents about a third of the town’s population. 

Explore Map of Zip Codes with the Highest % of Hispanic/Latino Population in Morristown
here.

Morris School District and Morristown High School

The Morris Township School District is the only NJ school district resulting from a forced merger of two school districts in suburban Morris County. In 1971, an NJ Supreme Court order mandated the merging of Morristown and township schools to promote racial integration. The district encompasses three neighboring municipalities: Morristown, the county seat, Morris Township, and Morris Plains. 

Morris Township, Morris Plains, and Morristown, the three communities within the district, have distinct racial, ethnic, and economic demographics. According to recent Census data, , the majority, about 80%, of residents in Morris Township and Morris Plains identify as White (n.d.-a, n.d.-b). In contrast, Morristown has a more diverse population: 58.2% identify as White, 29.3% as Latino/Hispanic, and 9.2% as Black. Economically, only 3.2% of residents in Morris Plains live below the poverty level, compared to 5% in Morris Township and 9.2% in Morristown (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.,n.d.-a, n.d.-b). 

The district’s 5,708 students reflect a cross-section of the three communities. Racial and ethnic demographics indicate that: 4% of students identify as Asian or Pacific Islander, 6% as Black, 17% as Hispanic/Latino, 68% as White, and 4% as Two or More Races. Approximately 14% of families with children in the district have incomes below the poverty level (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.).

Morristown High School (MHS)

As the district’s only public high school, Morristown High School serves students from Morristown, Morris Township, and Morris Plains. With a diverse population of about 1,900 students, the school’s mission is “to prepare its graduates for a wide variety of post-secondary experiences that require a well-developed global competency.” (MHS Profile, 2024-2025). The student population’s racial and ethnic background is: 4.1% Asian, 8% Black, 45% Hispanic/Latino, 41% White, and 1% of Two or More Races (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). Over a third (34.5%) of students are from low-income families, based on eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch.

MHS Latine students are a diverse group regarding their birthplace and multilingual proficiency. Currently, about 40%—roughly 350 out of 900 Latine students—are first-generation im/migrants enrolled in either ESL-only or full-time bilingual programs. The remaining students fall into the 1.5, second, or third-generation categories. These MHS students are predominantly, and often exclusively, English-dominant, shaped by their longer generational ties to the U.S. Immigrant generation classifications are: 1st and 1.5th generation both consists of foreign-born individuals, 1.5 generation individuals came to the U.S. at an early age; 2nd generation includes U.S.-born individuals who have at least one foreign-born parent, and 3rd– generation denotes U.S.-born individuals with two U.S.-born parents, and at least one foreign-born grandparent.  

 

Theme: Teacher Colleagues, School Administrators, and District Leadership Fostered a Culture of Care and Support for Teachers of Multilingual Students at MHS

Morristown High School ELL/Bilingual teachers highlighted the importance of the support they received from colleagues, school administrators, and district leaders in their efforts to educate multilingual students. For instance, they shared that colleagues, both teachers and current administrators, provided guidance, caring support, and ongoing and unwavering commitment. A novice teacher explained:

“One of the biggest supports that I had was our supervisor. I think our administration here is very concerned with the bilingual population. They are very willing to help us work those things out, . . . but just having administration behind you and colleagues that, at a moment’s notice, would come and help you figure something out—and other people that understand where these students are coming from.” 

In addition to school leaders and administrators, teacher colleagues provided ELL/Bilingual teachers with resources and guidance from their professional experiences. The novice teacher added:

“It’s amazing how my colleagues share resources, how they guide you. I had an awesome mentor last year. She’s here. It’s just – when you get the support, you feel like you’re not alone and you feel encouraged as an educator. You’re like, “Oh, I can do this. I can empower kids. I can inspire kids.” Especially if you have someone else to go to and ask any questions, like if you’re not an experienced teacher. “Have you ever seen this before? What has been your experience on this matter?” So, I feel like having each other, one another as a group, has been, at least for me has been a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

As they reflected, content expertise, guidance, and emotional support from experienced and dedicated administrators and peer colleagues helped these teachers feel confident, invigorated, and have a strong sense of community at MHS in their work with multilingual students. 

 Likewise, a veteran MHS teacher explained how current leadership differed from previous years in “getting it” and being responsive to support teachers of multilingual learners. They said:

“As one of the few people at the table having been at the high school for a long time, the current administration I think is getting it versus years ago. I don’t think they were there. Like they understand that there’s needs that we are just meeting or that we still need to meet, or how are we going to meet them? Whereas years ago, they just didn’t know. They didn’t know where to grab. I feel like the administration is like, ‘Let’s try this.” Oh, it didn’t work. Let’s try something else.’ But at least they are throwing stuff at it to see what sticks.”

This veteran teacher explains how current school leaders have a deeper understanding of the needs of multilingual students. They shared that school leaders also demonstrate an increased receptiveness to a range of strategies to address the challenges faced by these students, compared to previous years. Similarly, another teacher highlights the commitment expressed by both district and school administrators to support the work of teachers of multilingual students. They explained:

“Right. Maybe that’s it. The problems I think are the same, right? What we’re seeing now, maybe we’re seeing more of it, but ten years ago… I think maybe it was lack of action whereas I feel like now, there’s an action. I think the administration wants to make things better. I think that’s the case from the top all the way down to us teachers. I don’t think it’s just [at the] high school. I think it’s all the way from central office to here.” 

This teacher suggests that, unlike previous years, there is a more pronounced and active engagement from district and school-level leaders to improve the educational experiences of multilingual students at Morristown High. Overall, Morristown High teachers expressed appreciation for the emotional and professional support, consistent commitment, and guidance they received from district and school-based leadership, as well as from their colleagues, in their work with multilingual learners.

 

Theme: ELL/Bilingual Teachers’ Insights into the Academic, Social, and Personal Lives of their Students.

In this section, ELL/Bilingual teachers offer a glimpse into the lives of the Latine im/migrant students at Morristown High School. First, ELL/Bilingual teachers talked passionately about the strengths of their students. For instance, a teacher said:

“A lot of them, I think, that’s where they get their strength, because to have the fortitude to go through all of that, and you have to work, and you have to take care of yourself. Your family is back in a different country, and you get up every morning and you come to school to put your best foot forward, then go to work and do it day in and day out. I think that’s a very big strength for them. That’s going to carry them.” 

For this teacher, Latine im/migrant students are diligent, motivated, and committed. They suggest that their students learned these values from their traumatic migration experiences and difficult life circumstances in the U.S. Other ELL/Bilingual teachers highlighted the respectful behavior of their Latine im/migrant students. They explained:

“They tend to be very attentive and very respectful in their own way. It’s very rare that I’ll have a student be disrespectful. They’ll hold the door for you. If you drop something, they’ll help you pick it up…. Yeah. Maybe old-fashioned is the word. Like ladies first. We walk in, “Ladies first”. They hold the door. They might be a little rowdy in the classroom, but when it comes to those social graces, they’re much more mature. They like to do things for us, too.”

They appear to be referencing the concept of educacíon. Educacíon is a cultural belief that centers on obedience, respect, good manners and behavior, and morals (Reese, Balzano, Gallimore, & Goldenberg, 1995). Overall, these teachers viewed their Latine im/migrant students as helpful, respectful, hardworking, and enthusiastic about learning. Another teacher shared their perspective about the strengths of their Latine im/migrant students. They said:

“They appreciate things. They appreciate what you do for them, and they are more willing to try things than I would say the mainstream. I feel like they’re more open to try new things. They may kind of be a little scared of it at first, but they’ll try it. Regardless of being scared they’ll actually try it.”

They highlighted their students’ appreciation for teachers’ efforts and greater openness and willingness, than their language mainstream peers, to engage with new experiences, even when those experiences felt intimidating. 

The ELL/Bilingual teachers also acknowledged the academic, social, and economic challenges faced by their Latine im/migrant students.  For instance, they referred to the varied educational backgrounds of their students, which ranged from little or no prior formal schooling to adequate or occasional schooling. A teacher, who is also a liaison to the Latine community, explained:

“In the recently arrived group, you will have kids that have gone through formal schooling up until the point they got here; some that went through formal schooling up until sixth grade and then haven’t gone to school in five years; and then some that have gone through very little schooling.”

Other teachers concurred and explained how more recently arrived Latine im/migrant students did not have any schooling at all, and are “practically illiterate and they cannot read,” compared to their peers from previous years. As such, the literacy abilities of this group of Latine im/migrant students were low or nonexistent. 

ELL/Bilingual teachers also noted that many of their newcomer Latine im/migrant students were unfamiliar with U.S. classroom conventions, such as raising their hands, taking turns, and engaging in discussions with peers. A teacher explained that these students often struggled with the expectations of being a student, stating:  

“It’s because they just don’t know how to do a classroom. They don’t know how to interact with a classmate on an academic level. They only know how to interact with them socially and joking around. That mixed in with what’s expected in a classroom is a recipe sometimes I think for bad things to occur or a bad outcome. So, I think that is the biggest challenge. I think most of them, if not all of them, want to learn, but they don’t know how to do school.”

This teacher suggests that although these students are motivated to succeed, their limited understanding of classroom conventions often becomes a barrier to learning and academic engagement.

Additionally, ELL/bilingual teachers talked about the social-emotional challenges of their students, including psychological stress and trauma. For example, a teacher stressed that students’ lived experiences with trauma impede their abilities to “do school.” They explained:

“They have all of this turmoil, so you have to get past the turmoil for everything to kick in on how to do school and how to act in school and how culturally different it is and everything they went through, the emotional scars, the physical scars.” 

According to this teacher, the fragile social-emotional state of ELL/Bilingual students may be due to exposure to trauma in their countries of origin. They added:

They have been exposed to seeing people murdered in front of them. I mean, really horrible stories that you don’t think anybody should be exposed to, let alone children. Ten years ago, eight years ago, it was one or two students in the program, and I think now it’s way, way larger a percentage. 

They may have been specifically referring to unaccompanied Latine im/migrant youth who had recently arrived from Honduras and Guatemala, two of the most crime-ridden and poverty-stricken countries in Latin America, in 2015 – 2016. During this period, the fastest-growing group of Latine im/migrant students at MHS was from Honduras and Guatemala. The school’s bilingual social worker confirmed the fragile socio-emotional state of the unaccompanied Latine im/migrant students and described them as “even more traumatized than any other population I’ve ever seen.”

Additionally, ELL/Bilingual teachers discussed the economic hardships and familial responsibilities of their Latine im/migrant students. They indicated that often their students worked to contribute financially to their families and take care of younger siblings. An ELL/Bilingual teacher explained how such duties were more than those expected of a “typical teenager.” They said:

“We have a lot of students who have full-time jobs and then try to make it to school at 7:40 in the morning. Some of those same students who have jobs also have to make sure that their little brother and little sister get ready for school.”

These comments were echoed by another teacher who explained that many of their Latine im/migrant students worked in restaurants or cleaned homes with their parents. They added, “They have no free time. They don’t have the time. They can’t be teenagers.”  Latine im/migrant students often had caretaking and financial responsibilities that prevented them from enjoying the freedoms of being teenagers. 

In this section, ELL/Bilingual teachers reflected on both the strengths and challenges faced by their Latine im/migrant students at MHS. They observed a diverse range of literacy skills and familiarity with U.S. classroom conventions, which shaped students’ learning experiences and academic engagement. Despite these challenges, ELL/bilingual teachers highlighted the respectfulness, resilience, and determination of their Latine im/migrant students. 

Given the precarious socio-economic realities of their Latine im/migrant students, teachers expressed their hopes for the future of their students. A veteran teacher shared:

“For 95% of our kids, they don’t have an option. Maybe 98%. They graduate, they go to work in a restaurant, continue doing their life. Their life could be better because they would feel better… My dream is that those kids, when they leave here, feel that they were prepared for something better. My dream is that somebody in this year will have the resources for giving them something technical, something that can make a difference in their lives and their parents’ lives here….Maybe they would really commit to learning English and getting these skills and see a future.”

While acknowledging the often-limited post-graduation paths of their students, this teacher emphasized the potential of technical training to enhance their social and economic mobility. 

They also hoped that by acquiring technical skills and improving their English fluency, their students would become more optimistic and envision a brighter future.

Similarly, other teachers were concerned about the post-graduation plans of their im/migrant students. They reiterated the value of technical education as a path to expand post-high school opportunities for their Latine im/migrant students. For instance, a teacher mentioned the importance of encouraging students to pursue vocational-technical programs during their initial years at Morristown High. They said,  

“Even as a freshman or sophomore, tell them about the Vocational Tech option. Push that on them because then they still graduate with more than just a high school diploma and they can still get a job… I think we need courses like the tech courses. We have bilingual science, but technology?”

They also expressed the need for the school to offer bilingual technical educational programming. Their comment suggests that technical education programs at Morristown High might not be accessible to multilingual learners.

Summary and Discussion  

This essay highlights the experiences of a group of ELL/Bilingual teachers at Morristown High School and their work with Latine im/migrant students. With empathy and care, the teachers shared the strengths and challenges that their students face. They described their Latine im/migrant students as respectful, motivated, and hard-working. These students also had adult responsibilities, such as caring for younger siblings and full-time employment, and had often experienced trauma. ELL/Bilingual teachers at MHS also shared how their colleagues, as well as district and school administrators, cultivated a caring and supportive community. This professional and emotional advice, mentoring, and direct actions empowered ELL/Bilingual teachers at MHS, helping them feel more confident, inspired, and motivated in their roles as educators. 

While the majority of the data used in this essay is based on a focus group that I conducted about a decade ago, the follow-up interview with a veteran MHS teacher during the summer of 2024 complements these data. During the interview, they confirmed that these data still reflect the experiences of Latine im/migrant students and their teachers at MHS. They also shared that the district has expanded supports for multilingual learners, including the Newcomers Program, and a district-wide literacy coach dedicated specifically to students whose primary language is Spanish. The Newcomers Program serves students who are beginning to learn English and who have limited or interrupted formal education. Even so, increased im/migrant surveillance and enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the rescinding of protections for undocumented students, as well as the lingering aftermath of the COVID pandemic, have no doubt exacerbated the challenges of Latine im/migrant students at MHS.

Overall, these findings provide important lessons for supporting educators and students in school districts with increasing numbers of Latines, both im/migrant and from elsewhere in the United States, who are settling temporarily and permanently across New Jersey.

 

REFERENCES