Bilingual Ed Reform Plan Is Just Talk, Critics Say
The Board of Education's plan to reform its bilingual program will fail unless it hires more and better-qualified teachers, advocacy groups charged yesterday. "If you don't have enough well-trained teachers, it doesn't matter what changes you make, it won't work," Margie McHugh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said at a news conference yesterday with officials from Advocates for Children. City students speak more than 140 languages, but bilingual teachers are in short supply. More than 3,600 bilingual and English teachers will have to be hired in the next three years. About 27% of the city's bilingual teachers and 14% of its English-language teachers lack permanent state certification. Some 160,000 — 15% — of city students are learning English. Most of them are placed in bilingual programs, where they are taught academic subjects in their native language. Others get several hours of English instruction each day while in a regular class. The board wants to give parents the option of putting their kids in intensive English programs. Schools Chancellor Harold Levy has requested an additional $75 million to revamp the system's bilingual and English-language programs, of which $2.3 million would go for teacher training and recruitment. Advocacy groups said that's not enough and called on the city to kick in more money. "They have a tiny amount of money for training and recruitment," said Jill Chaifetz, executive director of Advocates for Children. School officials did not respond to calls for comment yesterday. |