This was good to read. Maybe you could send this article to your school board and superintendent. We recently learned that some of our kids are in the bilingual program for 8 years. Graduate knowing little English. Our school board is trying to fix this.


Mundelein district challenges state over bilingual education
An English focus for Spanish-speaking pupils lifted scores but could cost $175,000 in funding

By Tara Malone

TRIBUNE REPORTER

February 27, 2008
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Amid controversy about the way bilingual students are taught and tested in Illinois, a tiny school district in the northern suburbs is waging a quiet campaign to allow schools to teach these students primarily in English.

Officials at Diamond Lake School District 76 in Mundelein say their decision to adopt an English-based program five years ago yielded higher test scores. But it could also mean the loss of $175,000 in state and federal funding this year -- enough to force trims in summer school and other programs.

So district officials hope to sway state legislators to rewrite the law that requires school districts to teach non-English speaking students in their native language. Complying with requirements for state funding is a prerequisite to getting the federal money.

The State Board of Education initially lauded Diamond Lake for the academic gains made by its bilingual pupils, then discovered the change in how the district was teaching them and suspended funding, said Supt. Roger Prosise.

"I'm not saying bilingual education doesn't work," Prosise said. "What I'm saying is, if another program is working, the district should be able to use the program without losing funding."

The matter is scheduled to come before state lawmakers this spring as part of the education caucus agenda, said Illinois Rep. Kathy Ryg (D- Vernon Hills).

"We're looking for more flexibility when the outcomes are good," Ryg said.

Prosise offered his district's experience as lesson No. 1.

In 2003, bilingual educators began teaching in English. The native language -- mostly Spanish in the 1,300-pupil Mundelein district -- is used only when children wrestle with a difficult lesson or new chapter. Pictures and hands-on lessons help connect concepts to words. The district caps class sizes at 16 to ensure pupils get the necessary attention, Prosise said.

In Elizabeth Duffy's 1st-grade classroom at Fairhaven School, a dozen children gathered recently on an alphabet carpet for a lesson about the book "The Carrot Seed." First, they matched pictures with words.

Carrot. Wheelbarrow. To pull. To sprinkle. Carrot seeds. Weeds.

"Mala hierba," Duffy told the group in Spanish. "Bad grass. We do not want weeds in our garden."

The picture association segued to reading of the book, then a rendition by pupils who mimed planting, weeding and watering, then a work sheet that asked them to complete sentences using the words.

Such activities help the 6- and 7-year-olds make lasting connections with the words in English and Spanish, Duffy said.

"If I say a word in Spanish, then I say it in English. And, if it's a new word, I'll say, 'Does anyone know the Spanish?'" said Duffy, who speaks both languages fluently. "In here, it's English with Spanish support."

Since the new program began, test scores have trended higher, especially in math, landing two of the district's three schools on the Illinois honor roll during the past two years.

[red]Among Diamond Lake pupils with limited English skills, 71.1 percent surpassed state expectations in reading and 78.6 percent in math last year, state report card data shows, compared with 67.6 percent in reading and 32.4 percent in math in 2005.[/red]

"You would think the state would be asking how we are achieving what we are achieving versus withholding our money," said Prosise.

The local debate is the latest round in the long-standing discussion about how best to educate children who speak limited English. Myriad research supports different approaches, including teaching largely in English, teaching in Spanish until children segue to English or teaching in both as part of a dual language program.

Illinois' requirement, which dates back nearly three decades, ensures that children learn the basics as they transition to English, said Robin Lisboa with the State Board of Education's English language learning division.

"The key thing is that, especially for those students who have no English proficiency, they need that native language support," Lisboa said.

The mandate applies to any school where at least 20 students share a native language other than English, be it Spanish or Tagalog. Schools that do not comply risk losing funding regardless of how students fare.

"When we monitor the bilingual program, we're looking at the services they are supposed to legally provide. We're not looking at how they are doing," said Matt Vanover, a State Board of Education spokesman.

The Diamond Lake district, in which approximately a quarter of the kindergarten through 8th grade pupils fit in this category, revamped its program in response to mediocre test scores. The decision went unnoticed until a state review last spring.

In June, officials refused the district's request for bilingual funding. Months of dialogue ensued. In January, Prosise submitted a new application. It is under review.

"We're working with the district so they better understand the requirements of the law," said Vanover. "We're not telling them to stop doing what they are doing. But for these students, legally, there has to be a native-language component."

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