Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is underperforming in offering appropriate bilingual programs, despite the fact that English attainment is an exceptionally strong predictor of long-term migrant student engagement and achievement. Instead of receiving linguistically appropriate care, Newcomer students are told to sit quietly in class on their phones so as to not disrupt instruction. Having taught English in an under-resourced school, I witnessed teachers allow students to spend their instructional time watching YouTube instead of learning class materials. The chief of the district’s Office of Language and Cultural Education, the agency overseeing English Learner education, claims that CPS is concerned about the lack of linguistically appropriate education. Broader implementation of AI tutors could reverse the tide for CPS’ students. But is anything changing?

Schools that have more than 20 non-English speaking students are required by Illinois law to provide Transitional Bilingual Programs, which should offer core subjects both in the students’ native language as well as English. Studies show that for English Learners enrolled in Kindergarten in CPS, achieving English language proficiency by 5th grade is an exceptionally important milestone indicative of long-term success. While Newcomer students face a set of challenges beyond mere language support, the benefits of English proficiency are abundant for the non-Newcomer, English Learner students: students who do achieve proficiency are more likely to report better attendance, higher math test scores, higher grades, and equivalent reading test scores – compared not just to the non-proficient, but also to their native English-speaking peers.

This past school year, 18,222 English Learner students are attending schools that report their program status and do not offer the bilingual programs they are supposed to. CPS press secretary Sylvia Barragan says that part of the reason CPS is not living up to its commitments to its English Learners is the lack of certified bilingual staff, and insufficient funding from state and federal agencies. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also cites funding issues, explaining that Newcomer students are settling in predominantly underserved, low-income neighborhoods whose schools struggle to provide for English-speaking students. While investing in bilingual staff is a worthy endeavor, in the meantime there are creative solutions that district leadership have not sufficiently attempted to exhaust. AI tutors offer a cost-effective solution to the CPS’ bilingual teacher shortage.

AI is revolutionizing education by leveraging real-time student data to enhance both teaching and learning. It works by analyzing details like how long a student spends on a question, how often they access help, and their overall performance, to create a “student model” that helps predict future performance and identifies the most effective teaching strategies. These models create personalized learning tracks, such as customized practice problems, that are tailored to each student’s current understanding and areas of struggle. This technology also helps teachers monitor progress more efficiently, identifying students who may be at risk of falling behind before they fully disconnect from the material. One frequent complaint of standardized testing by teachers is that annual test performance primarily illuminates trends over time, and doesn’t offer insights that can guide teaching strategies to meet current student needs. Software that collects and reports data to teachers immediately overcomes this roadblock to effective teaching.

For English Learners, the benefit is obvious: AI-personalized reading programs allow for students to learn critical language skills at their own pace while providing appropriately scaffolded worksheets and quizzes to enhance their English attainment. Amira Learning is one such tool that has amassed awards for its effectiveness and machine learning design: this computer and tablet application provides a virtual tutor, Amira, who listens to students read aloud and then provides real-time feedback on pronunciation mistakes and vocabulary support. Amira doesn’t require that teachers have special certifications to implement it in the classroom, and it only takes 2 hours to train teachers to use the software.

Last spring, I shared with my teacher the value Amira could provide our Newcomer students. It turns out that CPS is already enrolled and paying for the program. Nevertheless, my teacher was not provided access by district leadership. The problem appears to be more general, that school districts struggle to roll out Amira at scale due to difficulty training teachers and finding funds for the $20 per student annual cost. The neglect of available AI teaching technology might be understandable if a school district is already meeting the needs of its bilingual students. But in light of the bilingual teacher staffing challenges at CPS, inhibiting use of an already acquired program is unconscionable.