I was fired for fighting for ESL classes for kids, says New Jersey teacher

A former Wood Ridge School District teacher has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired after repeatedly raising concerns about students not receiving mandatory English as a second language instruction.

According to a lawsuit filed Oct. 9 in Bergen County Superior Court, Natalia Lorenzo, an ESL and World Language teacher, claims the district violated the New Jersey Fair Worker Protection Act, which protects employees who report misconduct by an employer.

The district has no comment on the lawsuit, Wood-Ridge School Superintendent Tony Albro said Tuesday.

According to the complaint, Lorenzo began working for the school district in 2019 and has consistently performed her duties satisfactorily.

In November 2023, Lorenzo raised concerns when the absence of an ESL teacher at Catherine E. Doyle Elementary School allegedly led to a violation of mandated instruction for multilingual students.

For several months, Lorenzo reported the problems to her principal, saying the lack of ESL instruction violated New Jersey education regulations, according to the lawsuit. She said the school specifically ignored guidelines that require multilingual students to take at least one period of ESL instruction.

The complaint alleges that Lorenzo was phased out from teaching ESL classes after the complaints were filed. In May, she was told her contract would not be renewed because of the students’ declining scores, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks punitive damages, back pay, reinstatement and a court order requiring the district to correct its ESL practices.