Schools Get Grant for English

Program Aims to Teach Parents to Help Their Kids

Under a provision of a voter-approved measure that curtails bilingual education, the Palmdale School District has been awarded $ 121,000 to teach English to parents who then will tutor their children.

The money from Proposition 227 will be used to add classes and buy more educational material for the district’s English as a Second Language programs for adults, which are offered after school and at night, officials said.

”It’s directed toward parents in order to bring up their English-language skills,” said trustee Sheldon Epstein. ”What we ultimately want to see is parents helping students when they come home with their schoolwork.

”The way to bridge the gap of a language barrier is to bring up their English skills,” he said.

The school board will consider accepting the Community Based Tutoring Program funds at tonight’s board meeting.

Proposition 227 provides that local educational agencies will receive money to add classes that teach English to those who speak other languages.

”Based on the number of limited-English-proficient students, the district has been awarded $ 121,000 to enhance our existing adult ESL programs,” a district report said. ”In turn, adults receiving this instruction will agree to provide English tutoring to children.”

About 17.5 percent – or 3,400 – of the Palmdale district’s 19,000 students speak only limited English.

Lancaster School District and the Antelope Valley Union High School District also have applied for the tutoring funds.

Proposition 227 dismantled much of bilingual education for California’s 1.4 million children who are not fluent in English. Under the law, schools must provide a one-year English-immersion program for children who are not proficient in English.

The initiative stipulated that the state divide $ 50 million among school districts that teach English to parents and other community members who pledge to tutor children from limited-English proficiency backgrounds.

”The intent of the initiative is to raise the general level of knowledge about the English language in the community,” according to a state Department of Education letter.

School districts are limited to using the funds for program services, community notification, transportation and background checks related to the tutoring program, the report said.



Comments are closed.