Bassan Murad and his family moved to Kalispell from Lebanon over a year ago. Originally from Syria, war forced him, his younger brother, mother and father to move.  

14-year-old Murad is enrolled in Kalispell Middle School, where he enjoys playing soccer, basketball and hanging out with his best friend he met in math class.  

While Murad loves the mountains and nature in Syria, the snow and colorful trees of Northwest Montana were nothing to complain about. He has gone on four hikes in Glacier National Park so far with his class.  

Murad is in the Kalispell Public Schools’ English Language Learners program. He was one of several students who attended an event organized by two students at Glacier High School on Dec. 18 to meant to foster connections between students whose first languages aren't English, and their classmates.   

Marlo Carpenter and Quinn Berkram organized the event held in the Edgerton Elementary library after noticing students enrolled in the language program can feel disconnected from their schoolmates.  

The two juniors were motivated to organize the event aiming to bring together students across the school district, whether enrolled in the language program or not, to learn about one another and connect.  

Tables were adorned with various arts and crafts activities, including paper snowflake making, coloring and number games as close to 100 students, families and teachers packed the library chatting, laughing, drawing pictures and cutting construction paper. 

Positioned along the windows were poster presentations crafted from students in the language program describing their home countries. Some shared differences they observed between schools back home and in Kalispell. Bosnia, Spain, Ukraine, Venezuela, Columbia and Ecuador, were depicted on the decorated posters.  

The English Language Learners program has grown over the years in tandem with Kalispell’s growing population, which includes more non-English speakers immigrating to the region.  

Gabby Eodice, the English Language Learners teacher at Glacier High School, said that in the last four years there has been a large influx of multilingual students to the district.  

“It’s kind of something that’s new to us in Montana,” she said.  

Formed just this year, Edgerton Elementary’s newcomer program welcomes incoming students who speak limited English.  

“We kind of build off of what they have and help them be successful in the classroom, learning English, both through content and through conversation,” said Kathryn Streit who teaches the program.  

While helping students with language skills, the program is also intended to support teachers in educating students with limited English. 

“It’s not perfection. It’s not having everything translated just right. It’s just being able to feel safe and loved,” Edgerton Principal Jen Stein said. 

Currently, there are 19 students enrolled in Edgerton’s program from kindergarten to fifth grade, an increase from four the year prior.  

Stein, while wearing a Minnesota Vikings light-up Christmas sweater and matching socks, chatted with students and families at the event. She said that holding the program at one of the six elementary schools keeps resources from spreading thin while also building community amongst the enrolled students.  

“Speaking English all day when it’s not your primary language is exhausting. So, it’s a great opportunity for them to build that community,” Stein said.  

She said newcomers are primarily from Spanish-speaking countries.  

Berkram and Carpenter are both former Edgerton students, and Stein was ecstatic to be approached with the idea in a region that is not historically diverse.  

“To see kids know that belonging and inclusion is so important for everybody,” Stein said. “To celebrate people’s differences instead of being afraid of them, is pretty incredible.”  

Carpenter and Berkram, a part of the DECA program, which is a business club, and intend to present their event as a project.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].