Wednesday, January 13, 2009

Immigrant status law impacts class numbers

By: Perla Trevizo
(Contact)

Staff photo by Matt Fields-Johnson/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Martha Ann Robertson, English as a second language instructor for the Dalton State College Adult Education Program, teaches level one English to a small class of Hispanics on Tuesday afternoon.

Dalton State College lost about 55 percent of its English-as-a-second-language learners after a law went into effect that required proof of legal immigration status.

But school officials say they can’t attribute the entire loss to the law.

“Normally, we would enroll about 400 ESL students each quarter. Currently, we probably have about 180,â€