Our program supports students and parents who speak a language other than English. Our students come from approximately 50 different language backgrounds.

The Kalamazoo Public Schools Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) Program provides English as a Second Language Instruction and Bilingual/ESL content support. KPS also has a dual-language immersion program (Spanish and English) located at El Sol Elementary School.

In order to maximize services, several bilingual centers with full-time staff have been established. Students who need bilingual services and support are encouraged to attend one of the centers. Services are provided at non-center schools on a limited as-needed basis.

Read this story in Spanish, French or Arabic.

“She just wants to provide a life for us that she couldn’t provide for herself.”

As Bibiane Niangi spoke about her and her husband Flory Muanda’s  decision to move their family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United States in 2015, her daughters Alphine and Jeannecia translated for her. 

Alphine and Jeannecia are a sophomore and junior, respectively, at Loy Norrix High School. 

In Congo, Bibiane pursued an education in economics only to be met with obstacles. Congo is the largest country in central Africa, a region that is often misconstrued as being war-torn. 

“It wasn’t like we were living in the active wars, but we felt the economic effects of it. There were less opportunities that were less likely to succeed,” said Bibiane, who became a U.S. citizen this spring. As one of 12 children, Bibiane had to make sacrifices, putting her education on hold to work “extreme hours to help support my family.” 

A common narrative for many families across the globe, Bibiane and her husband long planned to come to America, which would not have been possible without the Diversity Immigration Visa lottery in Congo. Currently, the DIV lottery allows for 55,000 people a year from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to come to America to build better lives. 

Arriving in America came with struggles as well. For example, Bibiane’s family lived with other family members until she and her husband found stable jobs. In order to ensure the “American Dream” for their daughters, other sacrifices were made as well. Bibiane and her husband sacrificed the promise of pursuing their own educations and dreams to provide a better foundation for their daughters’ futures.

While Bibiane and her husband could not pursue the educational aspirations they once had hoped for, educational dreams are why they chose to live in Kalamazoo. 

“I want better education for my kids, better opportunities. I want my daughters to become important people who work good jobs and are educated people,” Bibiane said. The Kalamazoo Promise guarantees just that — a solid, educational future for her daughters.

Bibiane, and many KPS parents like her, have sacrificed being close to extended family members — parents, siblings, nieces and nephews — to give their children a promising future. However, despite all of the sacrifices they have made, there is one they will not compromise on: keeping their home culture and language alive. 

Jeannicia and Alphine can navigate school in English, but they also are literate in French and can speak Lingala, a Bantu language from Congo. The family also cooks and eats Congolese dishes on a daily basis. 

And, like many other parents, Bibiane says watching her daughters achieve academic accolades makes all of the difficult sacrifices worthwhile.

Cutline: Jeannecia Muanda, Bibiane Niangi, and Alphine Muanda share a laugh.