Did you know that students in dual-language immersion programs—including those who are native Spanish speakers—outperform their monolingual peers on standardized tests beginning in middle school? (Thomas and Collier, “Why Dual Language Schooling”).
Holyoke Public Schools has many teachers, staff, students, and families to thank for Holyoke’s successful and popular dual language (Spanish/English) program, including Militza Semidei. Mrs. Semidei is a 24-year Holyoke Public Schools veteran who is one of the founding members of the district’s dual language program and currently serves as an English and Spanish literacy coach at E.N. White School.
Mrs. Semidei grew up in Yauco, Puerto Rico, with Spanish as her first language. She began learning the fundamentals of English in kindergarten but didn’t have an opportunity to speak English. Her mother believed strongly in the idea that being bilingual opens doors to the future, so she sent 14-year-old Militza to live with her aunt in Amherst for what was supposed to be a year. Her mother visited and liked western Massachusetts so much that she moved the entire family, and Militza later graduated high school from Amherst High.
Ms. Semidei graduated from UMass with a degree in communication disorders and began serving Holyoke students as a bilingual speech and language therapy assistant. Her first exposure to Holyoke was through her mother, who was a PreK teacher in the integrated program at Metcalf. She has since worked at Metcalf herself, as well as E.N. White, Morgan, and Lawrence schools, as well as at private schools and in the Valley Opportunity Council (VOC) program. She was drawn to Holyoke because she knew her bilingual skills would be highly valued in Holyoke and would allow her to best serve students.
Through a partnership between UMass and HPS, Mrs. Semidei had an opportunity to earn her master’s degree in second language development. She took the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) and was hired to be an English Language Teacher at Morgan, where she supported students with reading interventions and second language acquisition. She worked there for nearly a decade.
When Morgan began transitioning to operating under a school turnaround plan in 2014, Mrs. Semidei knew she needed to find a different position so she could balance working and being a mother to young children. She met with Principal Amy Burke, who pitched the idea of being a founding member of the dual language program at Metcalf. She was drawn to the thought of offering bilingual education in Holyoke, especially since she recognizes the many opportunities she has had as someone who is bilingual.
Now 9 years later, Mrs. Semidei is proud of her work at both Metcalf and E.N. White. Students in the dual language program learn to be bilingual, biliterate and bicultural learners. “We’re bridging two communities, two languages,” she explained. “When students have an opportunity to learn another language, they are becoming global citizens, which opens up so many doors for them.”
There are benefits for students who are already Spanish speakers to enroll in the Dual Language program, she explained.
“Being enrolled in a dual language program is especially beneficial for a Spanish-speaking student who is learning English,” she said. “Not only will the student be able to develop their skills in the English language, but they are maintaining and further developing their skills in their first language as well.”
In the dual language program, Mrs. Semidei has been a kindergarten, second grade and sixth grade classroom teacher, and now is an English and Spanish literacy expert teacher/coach. In this role, her primary responsibility is to develop teachers’ abilities to support students to read, write, and speak in both English and Spanish. Her work includes supporting teachers to implement best practices in early literacy practices for grades PreK-2, implementing the new language arts curriculum in grades 3-5, reviewing data, and planning instruction. A teacher colleague said that Mrs. Semidei “has extensive knowledge of language acquisition and dual language instruction. She also (strongly supports) HPS core beliefs and equity commitments…in our schools.”
In her free time, Mrs. Semidei loves to do arts and crafts projects and to travel. Her favorite places she has visited are Rome and Madrid because she loves the history of both cities. When she visits Madrid, she is able to reconnect with former Holyoke teachers who taught in Holyoke as part of an exchange program. She also spends time with her family, including her two sons who live locally.
Her greatest piece of advice to students who are learning a new language is this: “Keep with it. Learning two languages may seem challenging, and you may feel like you want to give up. But, if you persevere, you will see the benefits in your education and your future.”