English Program Reflects Diversity
The town's multicultural makeup is reflected in the public schools' English as a second language program. The 84 students enrolled in the program speak 16 different dominant languages. They come from countries as close as Canada and as unfamiliar as Liberia, with 32 speaking Urdu, the language of Pakistan. The total number of students in the program hasn't changed much in recent years, program director Debbie Murasso told the school board during an annual update last week. Kids identified as needing the intensive "English immersion" technique of the program start their day in regular classrooms and then go to English as a second language centers at Center Road, Skinner Road, Vernon Center Middle or Rockville High schools. The students are grouped by their level of English proficiency and taught in small, multi-age clusters of two to 10 students. "It's basically small-group instruction," Murasso said. Teachers are certified in teaching English to speakers of other languages and are aided by paraprofessionals, but they do not necessarily speak the languages spoken by the children. The students spend as much time as possible in mainstream classes and activities and their level of proficiency in English determines how much time they spend in the center, she said. The aim of the program is to get the kids speaking and writing in English as soon as possible, so they can succeed in school and beyond, school board Chairman Amarjit Buttar said Friday. "You have to have it if you want to bring people into the economic mainstream. It is a must," Buttar said. Buttar, a native of India, said immigrants tend to follow their relatives and friends to the same areas, so it is not surprising that one group such as Pakistanis make up a large portion of the program's enrollment. "The immigrant, when he comes here, the first place he is looking for is a place to cover his head ... then the job," he said. "If they have family or friends in an area, that's where they go." The most noticeable trend in statewide English as a second language enrollment recently has been an increase in children from the Balkan region, state Department of Education spokesman George DeGeorge said. Spanish speakers far outnumber other languages statewide. In Vernon, there are 20 Spanish-speaking children from Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Colombia. State law requires communities to offer bilingual education when there are more than 20 students with the same home language in the same school, DeGeorge said. The bilingual approach teaches all subjects in the home language. State law does not mandate English as a second language programs such as Vernon's, although they are seen as a way to comply with state law that all children be educated. The immersion method seems to work, Murasso said. All of the five kids from the program who graduated last spring went on to college. |