Thread: Do illegal immigrants affect our local schools?

http://www.ridgecrestca.com/articles/20 ... feat03.txt

Saturday, July 29, 2006
Do illegal immigrants affect our local schools?
BY The Daily Independent Staff
Published: Friday, July 28, 2006 5:17 PM CDT
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Ruth Justis/rjustis@ridgecrestca.com and Nathan Ahle/editor@ridgecrestca.com

The effect that illegal immigration has on California stretches even to the youngest segments of the population - our children.Of the estimated $9 billion cost to the state's taxpayers for supporting illegal immigrants, almost $7.7 billion of the cost is dedicated to educating the children of illegal immigrants.Nearly half (47 percent) of students in California's K-4 programs are Hispanic, and at the local level, the Sierra Sands Unified School District is working to strengthen bilingual education.The district is obligated to provide an education to all area children, and Hispanic education and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs are active at all district schools. These language classes represent the greatest expense the district has in educating non English-speaking students.ESL classes are most prominent at Pierce Elementary School, where the percentage of English learners is higher than the state average. According to the school's last performance report in November, 144 Pierce students speak a native language that is not English, with the majority of those students speaking Spanish.All other elementary schools in SSUSD feature “english learner” levels of less than six percent. Middle schools feature percentages under 10 percent, as does Burroughs High School. Mesquite Continuation High School has a 12 percent “english learner” rate, but only 17 students fall into this category.

Shirley Kennedy, Director of Curriculum for Sierra Sands Unified School District, said there are 18 different languages spoken by children attending local schools, but no child is singled out because of their nationality or ethnic background.

The law does not allow the school to question the immigration status of any child.

“A child is a child. We do our best to provide whatever they need to succeed academically,” Kennedy said.

The district offers a variety of categorical programs, that meet the specific needs of each student in the district, that are supplemental to the core curriculum. One such program is for English Language Learners.

“The EL program is funded by state and federal categorical funding. In 2005-06, we received $327,000 in state funds and $35,152 in federal funds for the EL program. This money is used for salary/benefits, materials, books/supplies, intervention, translatins, preofessional development, and parent involvement to provide supplemental services to core instructional programs,” Kennedy said.

Sierra Sands provides the program for all students, whether they are the children of pilots from other countries, who are here on a temporary basis, or part of a family which has emigrated from another country.

Each child is given an assessment test to determine their level of proficiency in English. The results of the test guide the staff in placement of the child, who may require a complete day with an EL teacher, or only partial help. Currently, the district has 1.66 teachers who work exclusively with EL students, Kennedy said.

Over 90 percent of teachers in the district are trained in CLAD (Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development) or SDAIE (Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English), Kennedy said. CLAD and SDAIE equip teachers with specific skills for assisting the non-English speaking or English-as-a-second-language child to quickly assimilate the language. If the child requires additional help, he or she is placed in a classroom with an EL teacher.

Each school site within the district has the EL program in place. Currently 478 students are designated English learners, however, not all are immigrants. Immigrants are defined as foreign born and entered a U.S. school in the last three years. In 2005-06, SSUSD had 81 students that spoke 18 different languages under this definition. It generally takes a student three to five years to become proficient.

“EL is only one of the services we provide for our children. We also have services ranging from special education to GATE (gifted and talented) students. EL is a very structured program and the children adapt quickly. Improved test scores and continual monitoring show that the children do well with it,” Kennedy said.

Parents are also involved with the programs at Sierra Sands schools and often give presentations on their native culture at parent night sessions.

“It's not unusual for 100 parents to show up,” Kennedy said.

Teachers often include multi-cultural lessons in the classroom, especially if there are students of other nationalities. All the children benefit from learning about other cultures and languages, Kennedy said.All Sierra Sands materials are produced in both English and Spanish, including district notices and fliers sent home, and the district's Web site features reports produced in Spanish as per state regulations.

Although the Trona Joint Unified School District has provided English language classes for non-English-speaking students in the past, there are currently no children requiring additional help, Superintendent Charles Raff said.

Should the need arise, a teacher would be provided.

Why do US citizen taxpayers have to pay to educate the children of Mexico?

Originally Posted by patbrunz

Why do US citizen taxpayers have to pay to educate the children of Mexico?

If our governmet spent half the money the poor suffering ppl in Darfar ,as they do the illegal aliens from Mexico, they would not be in the terrible shape they are in now.

Talk about poor, suffering, and needy, the citizens of Darfar and Conga are the ones who needs our help.

The law does not allow the school to question the immigration status of any child.

The law, the law..?? What about THE LAW that does not allow them in the country??? What good is "the law"???? I don't understand this law!!! Why in the hell, would you not be allowed to know the immigration status?? Looks to me like that would be helpful, whether or not you educated them. What if their parents disappear or deported? What about a LOT of situations?? The insanity marches on...