Stating the case on bilingual education
In a school district that educators have hailed as a successful model of bilingual education, the debate over a state ballot initiative to end such programs was brought into sharp focus last night as representatives of both sides presented their cases to residents and educators in a heated discussion at a Democratic Town Committee meeting. Lincoln Tamayo, a former Chelsea High School principal who argued in favor of the initiative, and state Representative Jarrett T. Barrios, a Cambridge Democrat who argued in favor of bilingual education, both acknowledged that the face of bilingual education in Framingham would change if the initiative on the November 2002 ballot passes, but disagreed over how and by how much. The ballot initiative, sponsored by California entrepreneur Ron Unz, would require school districts to place students who don't speak English into one-year immersion programs, instead of bilingual education programs that are taught in both the students' native language and English. Unz, who has argued that bilingual programs have been a colossal failure, has gathered enough signatures in Massachusetts for his measure to be on the November 2002 ballot. ''Framingham is a state model, if not a national model, for bilingual education,'' Barrios said. ''This ini tiative would do a huge disservice to the kids, not only in Framingham but all over the state, if something like this passes.'' Tamayo, citing his own experience immigrating to the United States from Cuba as a child, said one-year immersion programs can be successful. ''I have no doubt in my mind that even kids in Framingham will succeed after just one year of immersion,'' he said. Although the debate over the merits of bilingual education is taking place all over the state, the issue is of particular importance to a town like Framingham, where nearly a third of the 8,739 students speak a first language other than English, and about 1,500 of them participate in some variety of bilingual education, which includes an English immersion program. Barrios and various local educators argued that the current bilingual education program, as it exists in Framingham, would not be allowed to exsist if the new initiative passes. On average, students who have been through the district's bilingual program perform just as well as native English speakers on standardized exams. Barrios argued that the reason why the town's model has been so successful is that it offers a variety of different programs, instead of just the one-year English immersion programs. ''Kids don't come in one shape and size,'' Barrios said. ''Kids of different ages learn languages differently. Children who come from countries with different levels of English and different subject-area knowledge are going to be able to learn English at different rates.'' Tamayo, the in-state leader of the initiative sponsored by Unz, argued that the proposed law is not ''one size fits all'' as described by opponents. ''The whole notion of one size fits all is misguided one,'' Tamayo said. ''This program does have room for choice. If a child needs more help than one year to adjust, then the child can have it.'' Under the Unz initiative, parents who wished to enroll their children in another year of immersion classes would be able to apply for a waiver, and school districts would be allowed to provide other support structures, such as native language tutors. Tamayo also argued that Framingham's Two-Way program, where native Spanish speakers and native English speakers are taught in both languages from kindergarten to 12th grade, could still exist under the Unz initiative. The current state transitional bilingual education law mandates that schools create bilingual classes if at least 20 students speak a similar native language. Tamayo argued that in communities like Quincy or Randolph, where there are not enough students to trigger a bilingual education class, those students are left behind, but that under the Unz initiative, the students would receive one year of English education. |