When Queenie Li came to Scarborough High School, she was the only Chinese student. Now, six of her cousins from China go to school with her.

“It was very different for me when I was a freshman,” said Li, a 20-year-old senior who has been joined in Scarborough by many people she knew in China, as well as Asian-Americans from different parts of the country.

The growing diversity Li has seen at Scarborough High School is one of the hallmarks of her generation – those between the ages of 16 and 25 years old who have been dubbed “Generation Next.” In an ongoing series of stories, The Current has examined the interests, concerns, passions and trends of members of this generation in Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth and South Portland. While the diversity that is a characteristic of this generation is less pronounced in Maine than it is in other parts of the country, evidence of it can be found in local schools, where English as a Second Language classes have been growing.

In January, Maine Public Broadcasting aired a program called “Generation Next,” for which journalist Judy Woodruff spent a year traveling around the country interviewing members of the generation she described as “the most racially diverse in history.” Of the 42 million members of the generation, 17 percent are Latino, 14 percent are African-American and 4 percent are Asian.

“Pretty soon the minority will be the majority,” she said.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics report, in 2003, 1 in every 5 students had at least one foreign-born parent. According to the PBS program, 1 out of 8 “Generation Nexters” is an immigrant.

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At Scarborough High School, 40 of the 996 high school students – nearly 4 percent – are not Caucasian. In the 1999-2000 school year, the percentage was less than half of that.

“I have friends from California, Florida, and they all came to Maine,” Li said, referring to other Chinese-born young adults she knows. “We seem to be getting more people,” she said.

One of them is her cousin, Kawai Ng, who moved here three years ago from China. Ng said the opportunity for a better job and better education were the driving forces behind his family’s relocation to Maine.

Ng and Li both take classes in English as a Second Language. According to Leah Zuch, ESL teacher, the program provides a sanctuary for the foreign students where they can feel more relaxed.

However, integrating with the rest of the students isn’t too difficult for them, according to Zuch. “They’re friends with each other, but also with people from other classes,” she said.

Ellen Brady teaches English as a Second Language classes in Cape Elizabeth schools. She described the school’s program, which has tripled in size since she started seven years ago, as “full immersion,” meaning she works with the students on both the academic and social adjustments that need to be made.

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“Kids seem to flourish,” Brady said.

According to Camilla Dantas, who moved to Scarborough from Brazil two months ago, cultural references and slang have made it difficult to communicate. “I was still nervous when I talked to my friends,” Dantas, 14, said, despite having taken four years of English in her native country.

Zuch said she has noticed students having the most difficulty with the two years of U.S. History classes required at the high school. “All that’s really new,” she said, whereas students born in America have been exposed to a lot of the information already.

South Portland High School Principal Jeanne Crocker said her school does not just depend on ESL instructors to help the foreign students acclimate. It has begun professional development for all teachers to help them meet the needs of students who are adjusting to both the language and the culture of America.

But possibly the best way to create a hospitable environment is with welcoming classmates. Zuch, Brady and the Scarborough ESL students all noted the enthusiasm American students have for their foreign-born classmates. “Most of the students are very nice and accepting,” Zuch said.

Li talked about how the ESL students have shared their cultures with other classmates by traveling to different classrooms and giving presentations. “They were kind of excited,” she said, “and they liked the food.”

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Though other students can be helpful in easing the adjustment to America for their immigrant classmates, Crocker pointed out how having students from different cultures with different perspectives and experiences positively affects the American high schoolers.

“We are certainly a much richer, diverse student body than we have been before.”

Crocker said when she started as a teacher in South Portland there were barely any non-white students. At today’s high school, she said, about 8 to 10 percent of students are non-white, and there are 38 students in the ESL program.

“We’re growing quickly,” she said of the “positive spikes” in diversity that the school has seen in recent years, which, she believes, is starting to more accurately reflect the nation as a whole and has enhanced the school community.

“It’s a more interesting place to access education,” Crocker said.

Ethnic Background by School Administrative Unit from Maine Department of Education

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Cape Elizabeth:

1999-2000: 98.15 percent white, 0.41 percent black, 0.98 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.46 percent Hispanic

2004-2005: 96.2 percent white, 0.7 percent black, 2.0 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, .9 percent Hispanic

Scarborough:

1999-2000: 98.33 percent white, 0.38 percent black, 0.97 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.31 percent Hispanic

2004-2005: 96.7 percent white, .6 percent black, 1.7 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.8 percent Hispanic

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South Portland:

1999-2000: 95.32 percent white, 1.16 percent black, 2.65 percent Asian/pacific Islander, 0.76 percent Hispanic

2004-2005: 92.2 v white, 2.7 percent black, 3.6 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.5 percent Hispanic

Maine:

1999-2000: 96.82 percent white, 1.01 percent black, 0.99 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.76percent Hispanic

2004-2005: 95.3 percent white, 1.8 percent black, 1.3 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.8 percent Hispanic


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