Natalie Griffin鈥檚 surprise pregnancy at age 15 could have derailed her high school career.
Instead, it forged her into the obstacle-defying educator she became decades later.
Thirty-five years ago, Griffin was a strong student, planning on becoming a nurse. Suddenly, her educational future was in doubt. Her Christian high school barred pregnant students from attending class, so her Bible teacher helped with lessons. Her dad filled in when he could.
It was difficult and piecemeal, but her parents drew a hard line: Griffin was going to finish high school and be the first college graduate in the family.
鈥淚t was never really a question of if but a question of how,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淚t all comes back to my people and them pushing me and believing.鈥�
I know what it鈥檚 like to have people think you won't accomplish something. So we operate under the mindset that it鈥檚 not too hard, that we can, and we will. We鈥檙e going to do it.
More than three decades later, Griffin, 51, now responsible for English learners in the Mineral Wells, Texas, school district, is the one pushing.
She pushes her students鈥攎any of whom come from low-income families and have had little formal schooling before arriving in the district鈥攖o realize their potential.
And she pushes her district to steer resources toward educating these students in their native languages, while building their English skills, even as some teachers worried these students could never catch up academically to their peers.
Under Griffin鈥檚 leadership, Mineral Wells, a 3,000-student district an hour outside Houston, defied those expectations, pulling off an achievement-gap-closing feat few school systems can claim: Its English learners鈥攃alled emergent bilingual students in Texas鈥攇enerally perform on par with, or even better than, their peers who are not still learning English in core-content areas like English and math, according to the results of the most recent state assessments.
In helping them get there, Griffin channeled her parents all those years ago, finding ways for her students to succeed despite big hurdles, especially a lack of qualified bilingual teachers.
鈥淚 know what it鈥檚 like to have people think you won鈥檛 accomplish something,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淪o we operate under the mindset that it鈥檚 not too hard, that we can, and we will. We鈥檙e going to do it.鈥�
A major shift in programming
Test-score data have validated Griffin鈥檚 faith in her students: 65 percent of all students in the district met grade-level standards in reading in 2019, a percentage matched by English learners.
That鈥檚 a 10-point jump compared with scores from the 2015-16 school year, just before Griffin, a former elementary school principal, was elevated to her current position.
鈥淔or so long, we weren鈥檛 doing enough for our bilingual students,鈥� Mineral Wells鈥� Superintendent John Kuhn said. 鈥淭his may be the first time in our district鈥檚 history we鈥檙e doing right by these students.鈥�
Getting there took a fundamental shift in how the district鈥攁nd larger community鈥攁pproaches English learners, who make up about 16 percent of its enrollment.
Before Griffin took over the bilingual education department in February 2017, Mineral Wells used an 鈥渆arly exit鈥� program for English learners. That meant students moved on from the program once they demonstrated some ability to speak and write in English, generally after about three years. Now, English learners stay in the program even after they鈥檝e met the bar for grade-level proficiency in core subjects like math and reading, usually exiting after about five to seven years.
Another important difference: With late-exit programs, students spend more time learning in their native language to support their academic progress, even as they improve proficiency in English.
Texas, unlike many other states, has never banned using bilingual education models to teach English learners. In fact, the state in 1973 passed a law mandating bilingual education in districts that have a critical mass of students from the same language background. The law says explicitly that educating students in their native languages is an important part of their learning.
That early and sustained acceptance of bilingual education laid the groundwork for Griffin鈥檚 efforts, she said.
鈥淲hat we saw for our kids was that when they left the early-exit model, they didn鈥檛 have enough comprehension of either language to keep building on,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淪o, when they keep learning [content] in their native language, they can better learn in a second language too.鈥�
Mineral Wells鈥� approach to English-language instruction, and its English learner students鈥� academic performance compared with their peers,鈥� is impressive, said Phyllis Jordan, the associate director of the think tank FutureEd.
Districts that use this approach typically expose students to more grade-level materials in their native languages, which can aid their understanding as they learn English, she said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a good strategy, and it sounds like it鈥檚 paying off for them,鈥� Jordan said.
Shifting to a late-exit program was ambitious and logistically challenging. Keeping students in the bilingual program longer meant adding seven more classes of English learners in a district already struggling to recruit and retain educators.
On top of that, Mineral Wells was under pressure from the state education department. A few years earlier, the state denied the district鈥檚 request for a waiver from a mandate that school systems have one bilingual teacher for every 20 students from the same language background. Mineral Wells had received the waiver every year for more than a decade, but state officials grew frustrated with the lack of progress in bringing on bilingual staff.
It was a wake-up call for district leaders. Soon after, Kuhn promoted Griffin, who grew up in Mineral Wells, and had spent her entire career in the district as a teacher and then a school leader.
Both were aware of the seriousness of the situation. In the short term, losing the waiver meant more state scrutiny. If nothing changed, Mineral Wells could face fines and even jeopardize its accreditation.
Instead, in just five years, under Griffin鈥檚 leadership, Mineral Wells increased the number of bilingual teachers by about two each year, from five to 12. That鈥檚 still short of the roughly 16 the district needs. But the state feels Mineral Wells is making progress and has reinstated its waiver.
The district succeeded where others fell short. Districts across the country have struggled to hire bilingual educators in recent years. A 2021 report from Jordan鈥檚 organization found 25 states, including Texas, had staffing shortages in that area.
鈥業t鈥檚 like finding gold鈥�
Griffin realized early that Mineral Wells is too small to compete with the big signing bonuses and larger salaries of nearby districts, including Dallas and Houston.
So her search for talent started within the district, where she encouraged bilingual teachers of general education classes like 4th grade math, life skills, and art, to pursue bilingual certification. She persuaded four others who grew up in Mineral Wells and were already working in the education profession to come back and serve the community.
She鈥檚 even dipped into nearby Mexico to find staff.
The district offered $5,000 hiring bonuses to bilingual teachers and poured more money into training and professional development. Griffin convinced district leaders to reimburse staff members who pursued bilingual certification, and to support flexible work schedules so they could take courses and exams without using vacation time.
The return on that investment has been 鈥渨orth every penny,鈥� Kuhn said.
Bringing bilingual teachers to Mineral Wells is 鈥渓ike finding gold,鈥� Kuhn said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a leader, you鈥檙e going to be confronted with challenges that appear to be insurmountable. Real leaders don鈥檛 believe that and find a way over that. That鈥檚 what she鈥檚 done.鈥�
Getting community buy-in sometimes isn鈥檛 easy or immediate
Kuhn and Griffin were initially wary that their conservative-leaning community might reject the idea of funneling more resources toward English learners.
President Donald Trump secured nearly 80 percent of the local votes in the 2020 election. Many in the community believe that immigrants to America should quickly learn English.
But if there have been detractors, they鈥檝e largely kept their opinions to themselves. And Griffin believes the results are hard to argue with.
鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 really have any proof to believe in what we were doing, but now, the proof is basically in the pudding,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淭he past way, it wasn鈥檛 benefiting us, and that鈥檚 easy to show in the data. Now, the data shows we鈥檙e doing what鈥檚 right for the kids.鈥�
Families have begun to recognize the benefits.
鈥淪he鈥檚 taken the program to a whole new level,鈥� said Brenda Leal, whose older son was part of the shorter, early-exit program and whose younger son got the late-exit experience. 鈥淚 hope that Mrs. Natalie stays in this position for many, many years to come, because her work is so important for this district.鈥�
