School's Language Windfall
In line with recently proposed reforms to bilingual education in city classrooms, Rep. Jose Serrano has secured federal money to create dual-language classes at a South Bronx school. The five-year $299,250 award from the federal Department of Education will enable students at Public School 57 to learn English and Spanish from each other in the same classroom. About 175 of the 620 students at PS 57 in Tremont have limited English skills. These students will be paired with students who only speak English, so both groups can learn the other's primary language. "It prepares these students to be fully bilingual in two languages, which will serve as an asset to them as they continue their education and enter the workforce," said Serrano (D-South Bronx). The congressman is a staunch supporter of bilingual education, and he co-sponsored the federal Bilingual Education Act in 1994. With the value of such programs being fiercely debated, he said the new dual-language program at PS 57 will prove to be "a valuable model, which reinforces the fact that being bilingual is an asset." Calls to overhaul bilingual education in the city increased when a Board of Education study released last September found that more than half the city's non-English-speaking students were still in bilingual classes after three years, and some even after nine years. Last month, separate but nearly identical reports by a mayoral task force and schools Chancellor Harold Levy recommended sweeping changes to bilingual education in city schools, but backed off from calls to abolish the programs. At the heart of both reports was the recommendation to give parents more control over the type and intensity of English-language instruction their children receive. "The choices given to parents should include not only traditional bilingual education classes, but alternative approaches like English-emphasis programs and dual-language programs," said Randy Mastro, chairman of the mayoral task force. |