MANCHESTER—A bilingual education program may be needed at the Verplanck Elementary School if the number of Spanish- speaking students increases.

The school board will discuss the matter Monday during an update on the district’s English as a Second Language Program.

The district already provides an ESL program, which now enrolls about 140 students who speak 10 to 15 languages, said Sally Doyen, director of curriculum and instruction at the schools.

But state law requires that bilingual instruction be provided if any school has 20 or more students who are not proficient in English and speak the same native language.

This year, 18 or 19 students speak Spanish at Verplanck School, Doyen said. The school has the highest concentration of ESL students in the district, she noted (By comparison, there are no ESL students enrolled at Martin School).

“It is very possible that in a couple of years, we may have to go to a bilingual Spanish program,” Doyen said. “It’s pretty advanced to say at this point, but we may have to look at at least planning a bilingual program two years from now.”

In the ESL program, students attend regular classes, but receive tutoring in English for about an hour or two per day, said Doyen. The ESL program was started in the early 1980s.

In a bilingual program, students are taught subject matter in both English and the native language of the students.

Doyen said that a bilingual program could cost $50,000, with $45,000 being used to pay salary and benefits for a teacher and $5,000 used for supplies.

Manchester has no bilingual programs now, although it used to have a class for Laotian students a few years ago. That program was discontinued after the students either moved or became proficient in English, Doyen said.

Spanish is the language spoken by the greatest number of students districtwide who are not proficient in English, Doyen said. She said she decided to give an update on ESL after being questioned about the program at a recent budget seminar.



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