Bilingual ed backers flood TUSD meeting
Chanting "Si, se puede" (Yes, we can) and singing "De Colores," dozens of proponents of bilingual education rallied last night at Tucson Unified School District headquarters. About 100 Proposition 203 protesters gathered before last night's governing board meeting at 1010 E. 10th St., to urge the board and administration to salvage bilingual education, despite the passage of the initiative last week that effectively dismantles it. "They need to do all they can to grant us waivers," said Rene Teyechea, a bilingual education teacher at Apollo Middle School, as he held up an anti-203 banner. Under a provision of 203, when certain criteria are met, waivers can be granted to students to continue in bilingual education classes. The protesters included bilingual education teachers, students and parents. The Arizona Department of Education has said it expects Prop 203, which promotes a one-year English immersion approach, to go into effect in the fall of 2001. Teyechea and parent Paula Valencia said that since the initiative passed, some Spanish-speaking students have been harassed by staff and teased by peers. Valencia's daughter, Adrianna, a Carrillo Intermediate Magnet School student, was heckled at school the day after the election. Valencia's other daughter, Amanda, 12, a Mansfeld Middle School student, had problems, too. "(Amanda) came home the other day and said she couldn't speak Spanish on the bus anymore," said Valencia, who has since cleared up the misunderstanding with the bus driver. With others attending the meeting for various reasons, perhaps one- third of the protesters were able to fit into the meeting room, which has a maximum occupancy of 141. The rest stood in the lobby or outside the building, listening over the public address system. With 45 minutes allowed for the public to address the board, not all of those who wanted to have a say were able to speak. That didn't keep them from expressing themselves. They cheered when TUSD Superintendent Stan Paz, an outspoken advocate of bilingual education, joined them in singing the traditional Mexican song "De Colores" before the meeting, which began almost 20 minutes late. All board members were present, except Rosalie Lopez, who participated by phone. "As members of the TUSD Governing Board, we do have great sympathy," board president Mary Belle McCorkle told the audience. "We're with you." Parents, students and teachers of various races and ethnicities offered testimonials roundly praising bilingual education and denouncing 203. "This (203) is not fair to Native Americans," Mission View Elementary School student Maria Escalante, whose native language is Yoeme, told the board. "This proposition disrespects my culture." Several speakers called 203 a racist measure. "I see it as an insidious, treacherous and perverse imposition of a monocultural, Anglo-Saxon ideology," said Julian Kunnie, acting director of Africana Studies at the University of Arizona, who has two children at Davis Bilingual Magnet Elementary School. Kunnie and Carl Piccarreta, an attorney and parent of four daughters, one at Davis, urged the board to thoroughly consider legal options and exploit the waiver provision. "I'm confident we can work that waiver system," said Piccarreta, also suggesting a "dual language" program was possible. Tucson native Hank Oyama, 74, who grew up in area barrios immersed in the Mexican-American culture and whose mother is of Japanese descent, received a standing ovation even before he said a word. When he finished, he got more applause. "I respectfully request that TUSD grant waivers to all the parents who want their students to benefit from successful bilingual education," Oyama said. Charles Leyman, a commercial airline pilot who has two sons at Davis, said, "With a world economy closing in, it will be important for children to learn more than one language." |