Porterville bilingual policy questioned
Valerie Avalos-Lavimodiere
PORTERVILLE---A group of about 100 parents is voicing concern about the lack of bilingual programs and parent involvement in recent decisions made by Porterville Unified School District. Members of Associacion de Padres have asked the district for more bilingual classes for Limited English Proficient pupils, and for a plan to assure these pupils do not fall behind. "There's so much focus on teaching English that it's at the expense of other core areas that are critical to that child's education," group member Raul Pickett said. "If you're just teaching them English, they miss out on so many other areas." The group said the district "hastily" implemented programs for Proposition 227, which requires that students with limited English skills be taught the language under a strict time line. Parents who want their child to be in a bilingual program instead of English immersion classes can ask for a waiver. Pickett says not enough information about the waivers is getting to parents. "This has to be presented in a way that parents can understand and not ramrodded because it is required by governmental regulations," Pickett said. District officials say they want to work with the group on the matter and will have staff members review their concerns and report to the board at a future board meeting. "We'll look at how we can make some positive changes and be more effective in these areas," board member David Itzenhauser said. The group wants to be involved in any changes made. They asked the board to create a committee made up of parents and teachers to review the English immersion and bilingual programs. The district has three bilingual classes at Doyle Elementary School and two English-immersion classes at Monte Vista Elementary School. The state requires bilingual classes if 20 or more parents sign waivers requesting this program. But the district says it offers bilingual classes at schools where only 15 parents ask for the program. In some cases, the number of students in bilingual classes is as low as 10, said Val Staley, assistant superintendent of instructional services. "We have never denied a waiver," Staley said. "The district sends out a letter every year in English and Spanish explaining about the options for waivers and transfers. Each year we found that that number of requests [for waivers] has declined." |