Thread: TX: Bilingual Ed. Investigation

TEA investigating bilingual education

By Jennifer Killin
Del Rio News-Herald

Published February 2, 2007

Lagging performance in the school district’s bilingual programs has led to an investigation by the Texas Education Agency according to TEA officials.

A letter received from the agency addressed to San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Roberto “Bobby” Fernandez, states the district was identified for a “Stage 3” intervention Oct. 23, 2006 and a notice of an impending on-site inspection was formally announced Jan. 12, 2007.

TEA spokesperson Debbie Graves Ratcliffe said four investigators conducted that investigation over the course of three days in mid-January.

She said they were sent to inspect all of the district’s schools and review the programs’ curriculum as well as participating student data.

Fernandez said Thursday that the bilingual program was identified by TEA several years ago when changing accountability measures statewide required every student sub-group to meet heightened expectations.

He added that while the district’s bilingual students are making progress year-to-year, the state’s expectations of those same students also raises every year.

Parent Fidel Morales, Jr. said Thursday that he is concerned that no one from the district is talking about the investigation.

“This is stage 3, this is serious…what happened to stage 1 and 2 and why are we just now finding out about this,” Morales questioned.

Morales also said he wondered why so many teachers and principals were reluctant to talk to him about the investigation.

“These people fear for their jobs…they can’t be whistleblowers,” Morales said.

No specific reason for the investigation has been given by TEA for the investigation other than faltering scores.

The purpose of bilingual education, according to the state, is to help students with limited English proficiency master the state curriculum and to teach English to all participating students.

Morales, whose son graduated last year and was not involved in the bilingual or English as a Second Language programs, said he has a theory about why the district is under investigation.

Morales said he’s heard from local educators that those fundamentals are not happening here.

“This bilingual program, they’re teaching Spanish instead of English,” Morales said.

Fernandez said he could understand why some parents would come to that conclusion.

“We realize that the primary purpose of the program is to teach all students English, but there are a variety of way to accomplish that,” Fernandez said. “Of course we are going to teach a child in their native language until they master the English language.”

Fernandez said this is done to ensure bilingual students continue to excel in core subject areas.

The bottom line, Fernandez said, is that students across the district are doing better, but there are still areas in need of improvement.

The outcome of the investigation could result in escalated agency oversight, and/or sanctions under the provisions in the Texas Education Code, but TEA’s findings will not be revealed until sometime in March, Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe added that 25 other Texas school districts are undergoing the same investigation, nine of them along the U.S. / Mexico border.

A school board meeting is set for Monday at 7 p.m. in the administration building on Wildcat Drive to discuss the issue. That meeting is open to the public.

Let me tell you something about school districts. It's not just teachers teaching kids in Spanish. There's going to be administrative personnel in charge of programs, and their office support staff (nice pay, no classroom chores), many of them perhaps 'teacher on special assigment' - for some it will be a rung in a career ladder that may lead to principal or even superintendent. Yes, there's goodies to be had, budget share, grant money, etc. And this is true for whatever the current K-12 fad is, not just bilingual education, ESL (English as a Second Language), or whatever they are calling it these days. When it's 'SSL' maybe we'll get a turn at the trough.

“This bilingual program, they’re teaching Spanish instead of English,” Morales said.

Fernandez said he could understand why some parents would come to that conclusion.

“We realize that the primary purpose of the program is to teach all students English, but there are a variety of way to accomplish that,” Fernandez said. “Of course we are going to teach a child in their native language until they master the English language.”

how are these kids ever going to learn english if they speak spanish at home, school and probably with their peers? one hour lesson a day is totally inadaquate!
since these people really aren't interested as a whole in learning english it shows they are here for what they can take from the stupid gringos! ALL ILLEGALS and their anchors need to be deported! just like they would do in mexico!!

They don't learn English at all. These goons like McCain, Giuliani, Bush, Kennedy, etc. don't realize that even though they want to make these illegal immigrants US citizens with their amnesty, the majority of these new "US citizens" will never be, nor want to be, Americans. That's why you can't do it.

Amnesty won't work. Bi-lingual and ESL programs don't work. Immersion into our culture, English being a part of it, is the only way to go.