Thread: IL:English focus for Spanish-speaking pupils lifts scores

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
Click here to find out more!

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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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi- ... 5937.story

tmalone@tribune.com

Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune

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

That is absolutely BS....millions of non-English speaking children have learned English phenomenally well through immersion, well before these leftist, ethno-centric educators decided to coddle the Spanish speakers. Me and my four siblings are a perfect example of the success of English through total immersion as are many of others. Thousands of Vietnamese and Laotian children (the Hmong don't even have a written language) came in the d1970's and they learned English through immersion at school. The children did very, very well academically, many excelling and heading to the top of the class by the time they got to high school. There was no "bilingual education' for these kids in Vietnamese nor in Hmong. They had the willingness to learn and they did.

I agree 100% legalatina, I learned English by total immersion. English was my third language.

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.




Certainly I am not the only parent here who knows that this is even how our English speaking children are taught to read and spell at the same grade level?

It's a very effective learning method and there is absolutely no reason why it should not be applied to ALL children, no matter what their native language might be especially since it is working so well with this particular group of students.

The kids are thriving using this method and it is a huge disservice to these little ones for educators to insist upon the use of a method which has been tried and is clearly not working.

This is the way I remember it. The kids went to school and learned English and then taught their non-English speaking parents at home. That way everyone learned to speak English. It worked very well. Thats why I can't understand why these people want kids to be taught Spanish in school and the people at home can't communicate with the general population. Its also a waste of money to teach little kids a "foreign" language in school. Languages should be taught in higher grades. And they should be selective. After learning English, older kids can learn a different language. But it should be "English first".

There's a big uproar around here. Here's the read:

Ramos: Sign me up to learn Spanish
By Nestor Ramos
nramos@argusleader.com
PUBLISHED: February 19, 2008

Every so often, out of the blue, I get a telephone call in Spanish.

I understand why this happens. I have a very Spanish name. My father was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I should speak Spanish. But on the grand linguistic continuum that runs from the Queen's English to vague grunts and gestures, my Spanish leans toward prehistoric.

Because I can't really understand them, I choose to believe that these calls are ill-directed telemarketing efforts.

"No, gracias." Click. Heaven knows what "special offers" I've turned down over the years. Free credit reporting for six months? "No, gracias." A refinanced mortgage of dubious fiscal sanity? "No, no, gracias."

I always feel a little guilty, though.

Like I said, I should speak Spanish. I come from a bilingual family; I grew up in a city with a large Spanish-speaking population; I took some Spanish classes in school - I have no excuses.

So the first thing I thought when I read about the Sioux Falls School District's plan to start a Spanish language immersion program at Rosa Parks Elementary School was "Sign me up."

Unfortunately, the chairs and desks are far too small. Also, it's probably illegal for a grown man to attend kindergarten. Sheesh - these people and their rules.

I never learned Spanish properly (in truth, my ability to understand the language outpaces my ability to produce words and sentences by far) because it's hard to teach a child a second language outside a school setting. It's a lot to ask of a parent who is also working a full-time job. And just try explaining to children why they should spend evenings learning a second language spoken by roughly zero people they've ever met. It's only later that they realize the opportunity they've missed.

Somewhat bizarrely, there's opposition to the program at Rosa Parks, both online at argusleader.com and voiced in the daily letters to the editor. There are those who see this as an affront to America - the latest attack in a full-scale assault on both the English language and the cultural traditions of the United States.

It's unlikely that those folks would feel the same were Russian being taught at Rosa Parks next year, or Chinese.

Riled by a persistent and loud chorus of television and radio personalities spouting racially charged rhetoric, they have framed a legitimate issue of import - immigration - as a culture war between the United States and Mexico.

Not long ago, my boss received a letter from a man in Huron who believed my name suggested I might be better suited to work on the loading docks. His letter managed to insult (A) me personally; (B) virtually everybody of Hispanic descent; and, (C) anybody who works on a loading dock - including my father, whose name I am proud to bear. Some culture warrior.

Besides, the Sioux Falls School District has not reinvented the wheel in service of some imaginary agenda. Dozens and dozens of school districts around the country have similar programs already in place, Rosa Parks Principal June Gaston told me last week.

Gaston has tried to learn Spanish as an adult.

"There's a block," she said. She's hoping to pick up a little of the language herself in the coming years.

Nobody is forcing anything on anybody here. Students who already attend Rosa Parks won't be obligated to enter the immersion program. Nobody will - it's entirely voluntary. And most of the school will still speak English.

So if you're afraid your child might fall behind without English-language instruction in kindergarten, or worried they'll be isolated from classmates who aren't in the program, there's a simple solution: "No, gracias."



there's a lot of debate regarding this issue. I expect to see more protests as there are many parents who feel the money could be better spent on other educational purposes at this stage. So many State cutbacks! I know my youngest have benefited with a life-long skill learning to speak, read and write Spanish between the ages of 5 & 10.

Excuse me if I have the same 'mentality' of say John Wayne, by wondering why we have 'Press 2 for Spanish' in this country, taking into consideration I was raised at the 'old school.'

Somehow, I can't help but think if we had everyone in the same book, on the same page... how much more effective and productive this country would be, regardless of it's color or ethnic origin ....

But, that's just my good old fashioned common sense mentality taking over and not amuck in the midst of all the chaos and confusion in the modern new way of thinking. Kind of makes one wonder who is at the root of all this confusion. Maybe the Master of Deception and Confusion ?

I was talking about the Devil, and not Prince Shrub. Oh, hard to tell the difference isn't it ?

To A Better Day America !

_____________________________

Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death ~

In order to be granted US Citizenship, one is supposed to have a basic command of the English Language, but as usual, it's not the legal immigrants that are making demands for bi-lingual education.

If you want to come to this country , learn English before you get here. It's not our responsibility to teach you in Spanish until you get up to speed.

Also, i'm quite sure we have children from other countries in our school systems who also speak English as a second language. Why is it then that only the hispanics are demanding their children be taught in their native languauge of Spanish until they are proficient in English. I have never understood that.

Perhaps one day this will be our policy in every school across this country. No more bi-lingual education!