Massachusetts legislators debate fate of bilingual education system
Rebecca Duran
BOSTON -- The fate of bilingual education in Massachusetts is now in the hands of the legislature, after Rep. Guy Glodis (D-Worcester) filed a bill to limit bilingual classes to a one-year immersion program before moving students into English-only classes. The bilingual education system currently allows for a student to spend up to three years in a transitional bilingual setting. At the discretion of school administrators, the program may be continued for up to seven years. "Bilingual education has become a disservice to the very students it was intended to help," Glodis said at a press conference yesterday afternoon. "Today's bilingual students are graduating to mainstream English at a dismal rate of 10 percent." Although Massachusetts students hail from more than 100 backgrounds, Spanish-speaking students constitute the largest number of students in bilingual education, Glodis said. "That group also has the lowest test scores, the highest dropout rates and the lowest college admissions rate," he said. "Clearly this service does not work.". Glodis pointed to the high failure rate of limited English proficiency students on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test as evidence against the current bilingual education program. Glodis' bill is modeled after California's proposition 227, which was passed with 61 percent of the vote in 1998. The bill replaces the current bilingual education system with a one-year rapid immersion system. It also eliminates native language classes. Glodis vowed to bring the issue before voters in the form of an ballot initiative if the bill fails in the legislature. Following the announcement, the Massachusetts Coalition for Bilingual Education condemned the bill, calling it "out of touch with the true facts of bilingual education." Organizations in the coalition include the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers, Latino Parents' Association, Massachusetts English Plus Coalition and the National Coalition of Advocates for Students. They say the current system has never been fully put into effect because recommendations made in 1994 by the Bilingual Education Commission were never implemented. The recommendations included enlarging the pool of certified bilingual teachers, providing better training for those working with bilingual students, supporting parent involvement and ensuring all funds allocated for bilingual pupils are spent on bilingual programs. Critics say a major flaw of the proposed legislation is that is doesn't allow students the opportunity to learn subjects other than English. While Glodis claims students often remain in bilingual classes for up to seven years, the opposition claims students remain in bilingual classes for an average of only 2.6 years. "I agree that students need to learn English, beautiful English," said Representative Jarrett Barrios (D-Cambridge). "And they need to learn science, math and social studies." Barrios added that using MCAS scores to determine whether bilingual education has failed is an inaccurate measure, because many students who speak only English failed the MCAS. Senator Diane Wilkerson (D-Roxbury) said the proposed bill was "unconscionable." She said considering the educational system expects other students to learn proper English over the course of 12 years, it is "ludicrous" to expect bilingual students to learn the language in one year. "It sounds easy," she said. "Put them in an English-only class and they will learn, but it's not so easy with the change in culture." Representative Marie St. Fleur (D-Boston), a Haitian immigrant, discussed her personal experience in bilingual education. "I came into a kindergarten class in Brighton after fleeing persecution," she said. "I came into the classroom and no one around me knew my language. I don't want to see another child go through those circumstances." She said her experience was probably easy compared to many middle school students who enter the United States after not receiving a formal education in their native country. Rep. Anthony Cabral (D-New Bedford) predicted the bill would come and go. He believes the proposed one-year immersion plan has no focus on accountability and results, calling the bill a "front for anti-immigrant propaganda." According to John Roberts, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, the proposed legislation is an "ill conceived idea." He said bilingual education needs improvement, but this action would be far too extreme. "Doing away with it would be a disaster," Roberts said. "Kids need to be able to adjust to a new language and a new school." He said efforts to abolish bilingual education were fostered by the right-wing to make it difficult for immigrants to adjust to society. |