English learners
I was born in an Italian-American family, and was lucky enough to learn two languages well enough to earn a living from translating between them. And I was exposed to two wonderful cultures, the one of my parents and grandparents, and the one of the country I was born in and where I live.In our schools here in our community we have many students who live in families where English is not the primary language, who have daily contact with the rich cultural heritage of other lands. We have kids from Asia, from Eastern Europe, and many Hispanics. They are sharp and hard working, but in the early years of their education many of them seem to be at a disadvantage in their reading level, and that may have an impact in their overall academic accomplishments later in life. I am not sure if the reason is that English is not the primary language in their household, but on average English learners (at least Hispanics) have a significantly lower average in the assessment tests in both reading and math.
We spend significant resources in ESL education, but I can't really see that the results match our efforts. I would like to see an assessment of our programs for English learners to see if they are effective and if we can improve them. Perhaps we should fund a volunteer program where people help a child read once a week, or maybe we should start a bilingual program in one elementary school or two where there is a significant percentage of ESL students, modeled on similar programs in a handful of schools elsewhere in the state. And maybe we should have a parent/family involvement program specifically tailored to the needs of the bilingual communities.
In any case we need to narrow the learning gap for English learners, and involve their families and their community leaders to identify a strategy and a plan of action. The upcoming strategy sessions that the School Board will organize in the coming months may be a good opportunity to start this dialog.
posted by Unknown @ 6:44 PM
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