Catholic Schools Week Supplement

‘A whole new world’: Haitian students find a home at Central Catholic School

Central Catholic School third-graders Cedric Georges, left, from Cape Haitian, Haiti, and Avery Cook, center, participate in a lunchtime guessing game on Jan. 10 with their teacher, Rachel Brubaker, right, and classmates. Cedric and his older sister, Sabrina, moved to Indianapolis from Haiti with their mother, Rose Georges, last August. Haitians speak French, and the children did not know any English when they immigrated to the U.S. five months ago. The family attends the traditional Latin Mass at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)

By Mary Ann Wyand

“A R Star” is printed in bold letters on the front of his T-shirt.

Central Catholic School third-grader Cedric Georges is proud to wear his Accelerated Reading Award shirt at the Indianapolis South Deanery grade school.

It signifies that he earned the most points of all the third-grade students at the school in the reading and ­comprehension skills program for the month of December.

That’s quite an accomplishment for Cedric, who couldn’t speak or read a word of English when he came to the U.S. from Cape Haitian, Haiti, with his older sister, Sabrina, last August to live with their mother, Rose Georges, in Indianapolis.

Math is his favorite subject, Cedric said during the lunch break on Jan. 10. He also likes to read, especially if the books are about dinosaurs. His favorite sport is soccer.

Cedric and Sabrina, who is a fifth-grader, smile often and have many friends at their new school.

Sabrina also had to learn English and is doing very well in her studies. She enjoys math, and likes to teach French words and phrases to the eighth-graders and girls in her own class during recess.

“First I go to Atlanta and then I come here on Aug. 15,” Sabrina explained during her English as a New Language (ENL) class. “Here I came into fifth-grade again. I know a lot of things I didn’t know when I was in Haiti. Here we have more teachers.”

It’s truly remarkable that Sabrina and Cedric are doing so well in just five months at Central Catholic School, their teachers said, but they are intelligent children who like to study and their mother helps them with homework.

“Sabrina and Cedric were very well-educated in Haiti,” campus director Sara Browning explained. “They already had a love of learning when they came to us, and we’ve been able to accomplish a lot with them using the Accelerated Reading program. They have a self-instilled desire to learn.”

On their first day at Central Catholic School, all the students were “so open and welcoming,” Browning said, and the teachers were excited about this unique opportunity to experience a new culture and language.

Resource teacher Missy Marsh teaches English as a New Language to Hispanic students and found that the curriculum also works well for French-speaking children.

“We really have grown and learned together,” she said about the opportunity to teach the Haitian children.

“They have flourished in the Catholic school environment,” Marsh said. “They’re very respectful and they cherish the fact that they get to come to a Catholic school. It’s a miracle that they have been able to do so well.”

Marsh attributes part of their success to their mother.

“She puts a lot of time into helping them,” Marsh said. “She takes them to the Shelby Library and makes sure they have books to read. She quizzes them on their writing in the English language. It’s very important to her for her children to succeed here. She has said numerous times that she is glad her children are here.”

In only five months, Marsh explained, Sabrina and Cedric can read and speak English, and even understand some slang words. They enjoy watching TV and continue to adapt well in a new culture.

“They have been able to educate some of our other students about their culture,” she said. “They bring in pictures and give reports and speak in French. It’s very interesting to have them bring a part of themselves to Central Catholic School. Our Hispanic students do the same thing. They work hard to bring a part of their [Latino] culture to the other students who were born and raised in the United States.”

Third-grade teacher Rachel Brubaker said she marvels at the fact that Cedric learned to understand English so quickly.

“He goes to the ENL class and also has [federally funded] Title I tutoring,” Brubaker said. “His [Accelerated Reader] goal was 12 points, and he earned over 29 points in the second quarter by reading books and taking quizzes on the books. He is reading a little below his grade level, but understanding and passing the comprehension tests is a huge feat for him.”

Cedric has a positive attitude and always works hard in class, she said. “Even when he doesn’t do his best, he still has a smile on his face because he took a test and tried hard to get an ‘A.’ He is a competitive student in his own way.”

As a teacher, Brubaker said, “it is fulfilling to be a part of his education and see his progress, and to know that he has gone above and beyond what is expected of him. He is ahead academically and socially as well. He has lots of friends.”

Veteran teacher Lynn Scheetz enjoys having Sabrina in her fifth-grade class, and has learned some French words and phrases from her Haitian student.

“Teachers have ‘light-bulb moments’ with kids,” Scheetz explained. “Every day, with Sabrina, we have many ‘light-bulb moments’ because it’s exciting to see a whole new world open up to her and see how she has integrated herself with her friends. … She’s working so hard.”

For the first week, Scheetz used two French-English dictionaries to communicate with Sabrina in class.

“Within the next week, Sabrina was really trying to use English,” Sheetz said. “Occasionally, I would use a French word to help her translate a little bit, but she had the desire [to learn English]. They’re very intelligent kids, and their mom has been the perfect parent. She gives extra-special attention to their homework.”

The other fifth-grade students like to help Sabrina as peer tutors, Scheetz said, and occasionally will use the French-English dictionary to try to figure out what she needs to say. They also have taught her about American culture.

When Scheetz asked her what she likes to eat, Sabrina said “pizza.” And when asked what kind of music she likes, Sabrina responded, “Hannah Montana.” †