Gilroy, Calif.—There are more than 2,000 limited-English speaking students in the Gilroy Unified School District. Now that voters have terminated the old bilingual education programs, what kind of classroom environment will greet them when school opens in two weeks?

It is not clear.

“There are a lot of holes, and it really scares me,” said Kim Merrill, president of the GUSD Board of Trustees. “It is really one of the biggest decisions I will make on the board. I don’t disagree that bilingual education needs to be reassessed. In that respect Proposition 227 is good, but why does it needs to be done in such a rushed and hurried manner? That is the beauty of propositions.”

The board will convene in a special meeting Wednesday to finalize the details for implementing the measure California voters passed in June — the Unz Initiative, ending bilingual education in the school systems.

Coordinator of State and Federal Projects David Pribyl gave an hourlong presentation to the board earlier this week after months of research, meetings with the state board of education and working on a county manual on implementing Proposition 227. Pribyl, who speaks five languages and is a former bilingual biology teacher, helped translate the proposition in Spanish, which is now listed on a website.

“There has been a lot of planning already behind the scenes,” Pribyl said. “We want the kids to learn English.”

After analyzing several studies on limited English students who were taught only in English, and others who were introduced to a subject in their primary language first, Pribyl recommended the latter.

“The preview review is successful with children. If you introduce a concept in a child’s primary language, and then teach the bulk of it in English and then review the concept in the child’s best language again, it works well. The key is to introduce the main aspects through their primary language first,” Pribyl said.

Year-round schools Rod Kelley and Las Animas started classes last week and adopted the sheltered English approach. Under this style, teachers speak in simple English and use visual aids.

“There is a lot of oral language and total physical response. We demonstrate to the child by saying, Pencil’ and then showing the pencil,” said Maria Gonzalez, a Las Animas School kindergarten teacher, who said everything she had planned to teach in Spanish will now be taught in English.”

About 40 students in kindergarten and first grade at Las Animas School are in English immersion classes, with lessons being taught primarily in English with reinforcement in Spanish.

“We want to bring the children into literature in a language they will understand while still being in compliance with the law, building it in Spanish and then more in English as they progress through the grades,” said Steve Gilbert, Las Animas School principal. “This will help quite a lot as they make the transition and hearing the English words orally every day. By the time they are in third grade, I don’t want them to read an English word like dog and not know in English what a dog even is.”

The proposition requires that lessons be taught “overwhelmingly” in English. Limited-English language students younger than 10 must be placed in a limited-language classroom for a period of not less than 30 days.

“They have 30 days, and these are 30 working days, almost one-quarter, when children will be just sitting there,” Merrill said. “After 30 days there is an evaluation period and parents can sign waivers. What if parents are Spanish speaking and are concerned but can’t communicate, and what about parents who don’t get involved with their child’s education. What will happen?”

After 30 days of being in a sheltered English Immersion class, parents can sign waivers requesting an alternative program better suited for the pupil. To apply for the waiver, a parent must personally visit the school and be advised of all alternative programs.

If 20 or more pupils receive waivers, the district is required to offer an alternative class. The district needs to determine what these alternatives will be.

The law also allows a few waivers that include children who already know English, children older than 10 and children with special needs.

“I don’t think there will be a tremendous amount of difference now from bilingual education,” said Patricia Blomquist, a school trustee. “The change will focus slightly from being taught in the primary language to mostly in English with primary language support. We aren’t sending the kids into class with no Spanish instruction at all.”

All parents received a letter from Superintendent David Alvarez, stating the district would implement Prop 227 in the fall and that all students would be instructed overwhelmingly in English unless their parents had completed a district adopted waiver process.

According to Pribyl, the only waiver the district received so far was from a parent of an English speaking student at Jordan School who wanted to be sure their child could participate in a bilingual-type program.

The letter from Alvarez stated children who are English learners will be taught through sheltered English Immersion instruction until they have reached a reasonable level of English proficiency. Students then would receive English language mainstream instruction.

The students would continue to receive additional services until they demonstrated English language proficiency comparable to the district’s average native English language speakers and have “caught up” academically in the core curriculum.

“There is a lot of fear about the Unz initiative,” Pribyl said. “Teachers are afraid they may be held liable if they say Hola’ to their students. They don’t clearly understand what the law says, overwhelmingly in English.’ They are out Unzing Unz.”



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