TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL
Public Schools Deserve Good Grades, Most Say

By: NICK ANDERSON
Los Angeles Times
Sunday, June 1, 1997

More than half of Orange County residents give high marks to their public schools and believe smaller classes have made a big difference this year in teaching youngsters basic skills, a Times Orange County Poll has found.

...

However, the poll showed county residents overwhelmingly agree with a favorite position of conservative activists: They reject bilingual education as it has been defined in California for the past two decades.

In general, the state requires schools with high numbers of students who speak limited English to give classes in their native language. The policy is to move students into English instruction after they have gained literacy in the tongue they know best. But a few Orange County districts, led by Westminster, have set a statewide precedent in the past two years by obtaining broad waivers from that rule.


The poll found 59% of residents favored an alternative developed in Westminster and elsewhere: teaching students mostly in English, with some help in their native language. Nearly one-third favored using English only. A meager 7% said they prefer teaching in the native language until students are ready to learn English.

Most children in California's bilingual education programs grew up speaking Spanish. The poll showed Latinos are more inclined than other county residents to favor native-language instruction, but nonetheless prefer English instruction by a large margin.

"If you're going to teach them in Spanish, they're not going to try as hard," said Lydia Calderon, of Buena Park, a native Spanish speaker whose grandson is in public school. "English is a hard enough language. If you don't get it at the beginning, it takes twice as long. The sooner they learn English the better."

...

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County poll was conducted by Mark Baldassare and Associates. The random telephone survey of 750 adult residents was done May 16-19 in English and Spanish.

The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points. For subgroups, such as parents with children in school, the margin of error is larger.

Bilingual Rejection

One concept clearly out of favor is teaching students who have limited English skills in their native language until they are ready to learn English. Residents strongly support mostly English instruction.

* Which of the following do you most prefer for teaching students who speak limited English?

Mostly English with some help in their native language

Total: 59%
Latinos: 57%


Only in English as soon as they enroll in school

Total: 32
Latinos: 26


Native language until they are ready to learn English

Total: 7
Latinos: 17


Other
Total: 1


Don't know
Total: 1

Complete article