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Mariel Novas **What is SIFE?**

Students who are English language learners in the United States face many challenges, both academic and social. Within the subgroup of ELL's, however, there exists another group of students - those with interrupted formal education (SIFE). Through this case study, we will examine what it means to be a SIFE student and how we can better support SIFE students in our classrooms.

A Massachusetts Working Group on SIFE (made up of ESL teachers and leaders from across the state) has developed a working definition of SIFE to help guide the development of statewide policy and practice: 

"SIFE (Student with Interrupted Formal Education) refers to an English language learner, who is typically a newcomer between the ages of 8 and 21 and has experienced an interrupted education or has little to no schooling experience. Interruptions may be due to gaps in academic history, possibly caused by unavailability of schooling, civil unrest, immigration, transience, trauma, or other factors that would limit the student’s ability to perform and achieve in a Massachusetts classroom with students of a comparable age group.

 Moreover, a Student with Interrupted Formal Education may have experienced limited schooling, characterized by a non-rigorous quality of education in the home country, which is incomparable to schools in Massachusetts. This may include a shorter school day and/or school year, and a weak curriculum. Also, students may have been educated by teachers who were not high school or college graduates.

 Based on assessments, the student’s academic level is a minimum of two years below grade level in literacy and numeracy and lacks the general knowledge and/or practical life skills required in a typical Massachusetts classroom." (Hartwick and Perez, 2012)

For a more in-depth look at the characteristics of SIFE students and the work of the state working group, feel free to study the presentation below:





**Our Case Study: Luis**

Luis was ten years old when he arrived from the Dominican Republic in August of 2011. Upon his arrival, his teacher noted that he lacked literacy in reading and writing in his native language, and that he was having significant issues adjusting to school. Following extensive data collection and one-on-one interviews with Luis and his family, Luis' teacher determined that he was a student with interrupted formal education (SIFE). Luis is part of a small, 3rd and 4th grade Newcomer classroom, alongside other SIFE students as well as students who come with strong academic backgrounds in L1. However, although he is receiving intensive language and literacy support in this self-contained classroom environment, Luis' district (Lawrence Public Schools) does not have a formal system for identifying and supporting SIFE students. Through this case study, we aim to understand Luis' story better and generate some hypotheses about challenges that SIFE students like him face when they arrive in our classrooms. Ultimately, we will make some recommendations about how teachers, schools, and districts can better support SIFE students like Luis.