SCHENECTADY — When Evelyn Diaz, 8, raised her hand in class to read the directions to a question, she stopped when she reached the word “ate.”

Diaz, a second-grader at Pleasant Valley Elementary School, speaks fluent Spanish, but still struggled with English, which is why she was enrolled in Drew Coffey’s English as a Second Language class.

Coffey, undeterred by the girl’s inability to read the three-letter word, took the opportunity to educate the six other students in his class on the correct pronunciation of the word “ate.”

He wrote “late,” “gate” and “rate” on the blackboard, which the children had no trouble pronouncing. After being told to drop the first sound, Coffey went around the classroom successfully soliciting each student to pronounce the word “ate.”

Coffey, who teaches ESL for elementary school students, has been with the Schenectady School District for 10 years. While he would take a job anywhere, he said, he’s glad to be teaching in a large district.

“This is a tenured position, which is rare in most districts, and we have a lot of opportunities for professional development,” he said.

There are more than 25 different languages spoken by children in the Schenectady City School District. Most of Coffey’s second-graders speak Spanish as their native language, but he did have one student from Guyana.

Coffey isn’t allowed to speak any language in his classroom other than English so that he doesn’t leave out any students. Instead he uses pictures, games and even puppets to teach.

Ryan Navedo, 8, said one of his favorite activities in Coffey’s class is Rock and Roll Man, a hand puppet with long black dreadlocks and a sparkly, gold shirt. Coffey uses the puppet while he reads from the poem “If We Were a Rock and Roll Band” by Shel Silverstein.

When it comes to educating immigrant populations, smaller districts often struggle where larger districts with more immigrant students have developed strong programs.

Small school districts that may not be used to immigrant populations, or have very few students with limited English skills, have to be creative when educating those students.

There are fewer than 1,000 students in the Duanesburg Central School District, and there are five students who require English as a Second Language instruction.

School districts are required by state and federal laws to provide free education to “Limited English Proficiency” students. Foreign students take the state’s English as a Second Language Achievement Test each year to determine proficiency with English and the number of hours of instruction they should receive per week.

In small districts such as Duanesburg, the biggest challenge is finding an English as a Second Language teacher willing to work part-time.

“It’s difficult in a smaller district when you don’t need a full-time ESL teacher. No one is interested in being a part-time ESL teacher, particularly if they have to drive outside the city,” said Christine Crowley, Duanesburg Central School District superintendent.

Crowley said the district was fortunate to be able to hire a teacher certified in both ESL and special education. The teacher, Kelly San Felipo, works as a part-time ESL teacher and part-time special education teacher, giving her full-time status and fulfilling the district’s needs.

In a smaller district, the job of an ESL teacher is always in jeopardy because the teacher’s goal is to get students familiar enough with English that they test at a proficient level and no longer need ESL services.

“The teacher is out of a job in the next few years, particularly if they do a good job,” Crowley said. “Most ESL teachers take that into consideration before accepting a position.”

The Schenectady City School District has no trouble hiring ESL teachers. According to ESL coordinator Ronald Hamelin, the district employs nine ESL instructors and contracts with Capital Region BOCES for three more.

The ESL program in Schenectady applies to all grade levels and includes 325 of the district’s roughly 10,000 students.

“We have an extensive ESL program here,” Hamelin said.

Rather than have Limited English Proficiency students sprinkled throughout the district, Schenectady uses a center model where all LEP students in a certain grade are in the same classroom.

“We think it serves children better. Kids from across the city come together, they work together and provide a sort of support system for each other.”

While the Duanesburg Central School District receives no state money for ESL services, the Schenectady City School District receives state and federal aid.

Hamelin said the district receives state foundation aid, which can be used for the ESL program, and also receives money through Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Last school year, that money was separated into funding for LEP students and for immigrants, which meant the district was able to pay for ESL teachers and other staff and for supplemental materials for those classrooms.

The district’s Title III money also pays for its ESL summer school program. Now in its fourth summer, it was the first ESL summer school program in the area.

Hamelin said the number of LEP students in the district enables the district to obtain more funding, offer more programming and hire highly qualified teachers. However, he said the number of LEP students affects the district’s accountability scores when it comes to meeting standards for No Child Left Behind.

Overall, he said, having a diverse group of students adds to the district. “The international flavor enhances us and makes us an incredible school district,” he said.

Crowley said the same is true for small districts.

“It’s a huge advantage to a smaller district where the students are not normally exposed to diversity,” she said. “In a larger school they don’t value that because they have diversity to begin with.”