Hal Netkin
Saturday, October 3, 1998

Lorena is from Mexico and does not speak English. My wife Ines who is also from Mexico and is bilingual, and our then three year old daughter Kathrina, met Lorena and her young son Danny last year at a Mommy and Me class at Van Nuys Elementary school. Thus, our two families came to know each other well and we socialize regularly.

Two months ago in early August, after having received a letter from LAUSD which briefly described the differences between the two models of "sheltered English immersion," Model-A and Model-B, Lorena sought our advise as to which model would be best for Danny who was about to be enrolled in Van Nuys Primary Center School (a kindergarten entity of Van Nuys Elementary).

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LAUSD's own definition of the two models verbatim:

STRUCTURED ENGLISH IMMERSION MODEL A:
This model provides instruction in English. Students will be taught English language skills and academic vocabulary in English. Students will be taught subjects using special methods in English, with primary language used for clarification, as needed.

STRUCTURED ENGLISH IMMERSION MODEL B:
This model provides instruction primarily in English. Students will be taught English language skills in English. Students will be taught subjects using special methods in English combined with primary language instructional support.

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Both Ines and I having ourselves learned English with immersion, felt that Model-B which is supposed to be English immersion but with primary "instructional support," appeared to us to be defeating the purpose. We advised Lorena to choose Model-A.

With our advice, Lorena opted for Model-A for Danny. But it was very disappointing to Ines and me when Lorena informed us that when she went to enroll Danny, Mrs. Diana Sobel, now Danny's Kindergarten teacher said in an assertive manner in Spanish to her and shaking her head, "your son speaks no English. He's going into Model-B!"

On Lorena's request, on Tuesday, September 22, Ines and I went with her and Danny to the school. We explained to the Principal, Mrs. Candice Fernandez, that Mrs. Sobel had intimidated Lorena into signing her son up for Model-B, when she actually wanted Model-A for him.

Mrs. Sobel came to the office to meet with us. She explained that Danny does not speak any English and would be traumatized if he were put into Model-A. I asked her how other LEP children in Model-A did. She evaded the question and said that she knew that Danny would cry in Model-A because he cries in Model-B. I told her that from the numerous times that my family got together with Lorena's family, Ines and I had first hand knowledge that Danny generally had a crying problem and it had nothing to do with Model-A or Model-B, and suggested that the teacher in the Model-A class ought to be able to handle the crying problem just as easily as the teacher in the Model-B class. Mrs. Sobel told me that the Model-A teacher does not speak Spanish as she does, making it difficult for the Model-A teacher to communicate assurance to Danny. But what Mrs. Sobel left out (which I discovered later) is that the Model-A class had a Spanish teaching aid to handle just such problems.

Mrs. Sobel further said that both Model-A and Model-B taught English but that the children in the Model-A classroom get no help in Spanish at all. I again asked how children who were native speakers of languages other than English or Spanish did in the Model-A class, reminding her that Model-A was supposed to be "Sheltered English Immersion" taught in English to children who's native languages varied. She again evaded the question by changing the subject.

Mrs. Sobel then asked Lorena and Danny to come with her and instructed Ines and me to remain in the office.

After about 10 minutes, Mrs. Sobel returned to the office and asked Ines and me if we wanted to observe a Model-A class to see for ourselves how the class would negatively effect Danny.

Ines remained in the office, but I went with Mrs. Sobel who escorted me to a Model-A classroom where Lorena was sitting in one of the children's chairs facing the classroom full of children. Danny was sitting on her lap in a state of bewilderment.

I was introduced to Mrs. Andrea Lindeen, one of the Model-A teachers. The following is a paraphrased dialog compiled from notes:

LINDEEN:
Model-A and Model-B are exactly the same. There is no difference between them. I teach Model-A. The only difference is that I do not speak one word of Spanish and Danny's teacher, Mrs. Sobel., can explain in Spanish -- other than that, the two programs are exactly the same. It's very confusing. I've had more parents call me. They don't understand that A and B are the exact same program, but in B, we can explain to him in Spanish.

SOBEL:
( who stayed for a few minutes in Mrs. Lindeen's class with us) In my class when Danny was asked in English to repeat English words like "cow," he didn't understand what I wanted, but when I asked him in Spanish to repeat the English words, he understood me and repeated the words.

LINDEEN:
I could not have comforted him and besides, I am not allowed to speak Spanish to the children.

NETKIN:
How many Hispanic children are in this class?

LINDEEN:
In this class where Spanish is the primary language?

NETKIN:
Yes.

LINDEEN:
There's a real mixture. These children are all bilingual.

NETKIN:
I mean how many children are in this class whose primary language is Spanish?

LINDEEN:
You know what, I don't even know. You can look around and kind of get an idea.

NETKIN:
May I speak with the children?

LINDEEN:
What are you going to talk to them about?

NETKIN:
I just want to ask them in Spanish if they can speak Spanish.

LINDEEN:
These children are all totally bilingual. They can function in an English class. Whenever I speak to them in English, they can understand everything.

NETKIN:
Aren't there any children in this class that couldn't speak English when they first entered the class?

LINDEEN:
No, that's why they're in Model-A.

NETKIN:
Are you telling me that there are no children in Model-A that entered the class who could not speak any English?

LINDEEN:
No, there are no children in this classroom who cannot speak English.

NETKIN:
Isn't this class supposed to be sheltered English immersion?

LINDEEN:
No, not Model-A, that's Model-B. Model-A is teaching everything in English. I'm a total English speaker. I don't speak any Spanish, but I do have a support person in Spanish, but everything is taught in English. In Model-B, the teacher can help teach the lesson in Spanish -- but it's still English. I don't speak any Spanish the whole day. There are no children in this class where the parent said that "my child doesn't speak English, but I want them in Model-A." There are no children in this class like that. I'm trying to think what's best for Danny.

NETKIN:
I think that Model-A is best for him.

LINDEEN:
Even though there is no support teacher in Model-A?

NETKIN:
(I pointed to the teaching aid) I thought you said that you had a support teacher.

LINDEEN:
Right, but she doesn't teach the lesson. She'll say "do you need to go to the bathroom," but all the lessons are in English.

NETKIN:
What is she doing right now?

LINDEEN:
She's teaching in all English.

NETKIN:
Are there any Asian children that are in this class that didn't speak English?

LINDEEN:
Yes, one, but it's still all done in English.

NETKIN:
Is that student here now?

LINDEEN:
Yes, but I don't want to point him out because it's against the law. I know it's a little confusing -- you know you have absolutely every right to put Danny in Model-A . If you want to sign him up for Model-A, he will be put into it.

NETKIN:
But this doesn't appear to be a structured English immersion class.

LINDEEN:
It's not meant to be -- they're all English -- they happen to be all English [speakers].

NETKIN:
What happened to the sheltered English immersion?

LINDEEN:
That's what Model-B is. If I say something in Spanish, I can be sued.

NETKIN:
How are they teaching without being sued for speaking Spanish in Model-B.

LINDEEN:
Model-B is fine. The teacher can help and that's fine.

NETKIN:
So you're saying that legally, it's OK to use Spanish instruction in Model-B, but not in Model-A?

LINDEEN:
Yes, that's right. Legally it's OK for the teacher to speak Spanish because that is what the parent has signed up for.

NETKIN:
If the parents can decide that the teacher cannot be sued for speaking Spanish in Model-B, why not have them sign their children up for bilingual education.

LINDEEN:
Because they are not teaching them in Spanish, they are only supporting them in Spanish. END DIALOG:

I had seen enough. Mrs. Lindeen was contradicting herself over and over again. She did not seem to be familiar with LAUSD's own rules for Model-A. ("Students will be taught subjects using special methods in English, with primary language used for clarification, as needed").

Last year, I spent a half day observing Gloria Matta-Tuchman's first grade structured English immersion class at Taft Elementary school in Santa Ana. The children, nearly all who were native Spanish speakers, were well on their way to becoming fluent in English -- I spoke to some of the children in English who answered me correctly and without any noticeable accent.

Having visited Gloria Matta-Tuchman's class and from my own personal experience as a child in learning English through immersion, I know an English immersion class when I see it. Mrs. Lindeen's Model-A kindergarten class is nothing more than an ordinary English kindergarten class identified with the code word "Model-A."

I told Lorena that Van Nuys Elementary is not complying with the law and under the circumstances, she had only two choices: For the sake of Danny, place him in Model-B or sue Mrs. Sobel and Mrs. Lindeen for refusing to teach her son with structured English Immersion as defined by the rules of Proposition 227. Lorena, who is very timid and easily intimidated by the LAUSD teachers, then broke down and said that she feared retribution by the school administrators against her son Danny if she took legal action and decided to drop the whole thing.

I can only assume that Mrs. Sobel and Mrs. Lindeen are acting under the auspices of the entire LAUSD administration.

Incidentally, Danny has been in Kindergarten for almost two months, and he has not learned any basic English words yet like "cow" or "good morning" or "I like...."

Hal Netkin