Immersed in English
Spanish textbooks and storybooks will disappear from many West Valley classrooms as school districts start implementing a new law that requires that all children to be taught in English. Districts such as Glendale, Washington and Tolleson elementary and Dysart Unified, with about 9,300 non-English-speaking students, will experience the most impact. They offer both bilingual and English as a Second Language programs. Passage of Proposition 203 in November eliminates bilingual education in favor of an English immersion approach to teaching non-English-speaking children. The law will be enforced through the courts. Parents may sue school districts if they believe that the new law is being violated. Beginning July 1, teachers will have one school year -- about 175 days -- for English immersion classes rather than several years to instruct bilingual classes. Instead of teaching math and history to children in a native language such as Spanish, all instruction will be in English. Teachers will be able to clarify a concept in Spanish but most of the teaching must be in English. Native American students will be exempt from the law, according to the state Attorney General's Office. Districts are scheduling training sessions this summer to demonstrate English immersion techniques. The state Department of Education is preparing an informational brochure about Proposition 203 and will offer training and technical help to districts. Although Spanish is the most common language spoken among children who are learning English, districts report that more than 40 languages are spoken in their classrooms. Norma Alvarez, Glendale's Community Action Program director, and Margaret Dugan, Glendale High School's principal, were leaders in the effort to pass Proposition 203. They say that Spanish speakers traditionally have been treated differently from children who speak other languages. Spanish speakers often are placed in bilingual classes, while a child who speaks Russian or French is placed in an English as a Second Language class. Alvarez and Dugan hope that English immersion classes will mean that children will learn English faster than under the bilingual programs and move into regular classrooms faster. Alvarez, who was in a family of 12, said she was in an English immersion program as a child. Her parents spoke Spanish at home, and she spoke English at school. She said she was upset that her son was placed in a bilingual classroom even though he didn't speak a word of Spanish. She got him out of the program. Dugan said many Hispanic children end up being "bilingual lifers" because they are in bilingual classrooms throughout elementary school and know very little English by the time they reach high school. "Young children learn English more quickly if they are surrounded by English all the time," Dugan said. "The faster they learn English, the sooner they will be in regular education classes and will be able to learn other academics and take honors classes and graduate and go to college." Bilingual education had been a hotly debated topic. Supporters of bilingual education say that children need time to learn English and that they should learn content such as math and science in their native language until they grasp English. Despite Proposition 203's approval, bilingual education will be available on a limited basis in districts that offer waivers. Glendale Elementary has one of the largest bilingual programs, with about 3,000 non-English-speaking children in bilingual and English as a Second Language programs. That is about one-fourth of the district's enrollment. Glendale is among the first Arizona districts to approve procedures to determine which children will get waivers. Kitty Kaczmarek, director of Glendale Elementary's curriculum and instruction, said it's difficult to plan for next fall because the district doesn't know how many children will qualify for waivers and will receive bilingual education. Children will be registered through the summer. "Our district intends to comply with the law. We have drastically changed our program model in Glendale," she said. At Discovery Elementary School, about 57 waivers have already been requested to allow children to continue in bilingual programs, Principal Robert Dooley said. About 120 of the school's 930 students are in bilingual classes now. First-grade teacher Susan Alcaraz, who has 29 students in a bilingual class, said she is glad that waivers are offered so that some children will continue in bilingual programs. "I love being a bilingual teacher, and I hate to see the value of the native language diminished," Alcaraz said. Washington Elementary, which has 4,268 students who are learning English, was expected to present a plan to its board Thursday for allowing waivers and providing teacher training. The Dysart and Peoria Unified boards will consider proposals April 24 on how to implement Proposition 203. Dysart has 1,623 students who are limited in English, of whom 947 are in bilingual programs. In Peoria Unified, about 120 of the 1,100 non-English-speaking students are getting Spanish instruction now. Barbara Volk, Peoria Unified's director of related services, said she doesn't expect many waivers to be requested in her district. About 350 Tolleson Elementary students -- about one-quarter of the enrollment -- are in bilingual or ESL programs. A committee is studying whether waivers should be offered, and the board is expected to discuss the issue at a study session this month. Some West Valley districts, including the Alhambra Elementary, Glendale Union High and Deer Valley Unified school districts, do not have bilingual education programs. |