Bilingual option
WORCESTER---The Worcester School Department is proposing an innovative sheltered English'' approach for non-English-speaking students in Grades 7-12. Bilingual students would take all their subjects in English with support services designed to meet the needs of each individual. The proposal is one part of a comprehensive a grant request to the Carnegie Foundation. However school officials say they will go ahead with the program with or without grant money. The sheltered English'' approach is a dramatic step forward in efforts to end the dominance of the current transitional bilingual education program that places non-English speakers on a parallel education track within the public schools -- often for many years. Bilingual education, intended as a transitional program, often falls far short of that goal and, in fact, can hold back the educational progress of the students it was designed to help. By the time bilingual students become proficient enough in English to enter regular classes, their academic preparation may lag years behind that of their English-speaking peers. Far better top get students who have mastered the basics of writing and speaking English into mainstream classes -- with the support of extra English instruction as needed -- with all prudent speed. The sheltered English'' approach deserves support. |