<div dir="ltr"><div class="">EDUCATION POLICY MUST TARGET STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS</div> <div class="">
<div class="">By Larry Aubry, <a href="mailto:l.aubry@att.net">l.aubry@att.net</a></div> <div class="">
<div class="">Published January 13, 2016</div>
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<p>Nearly two decades ago, a largely uninformed and misguided debate
about “ebonics” gained national attention. (African American children,
speakers of ebonics, are now referred to as Standard English Learners
(SELs) because their home language differs from standard and academic
English.) Caroline M. Getridge, then superintendent of the Oakland
School District, shed considerable light on the controversial issue in
her presentation to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and
Human Services and Education, on January 23, 1997. Superintendent
Getridges’ statement/perspective follows because Black students are
still discriminated against simply because of the way they speak, and
the general public and the education establishment largely continue to
turn a blind to the problem.</p>
<p>“I am grateful for this opportunity to appear before this
Subcommittee, which is broadly examining important questions regarding
what role the federal government should play in helping underachieving
African American students improve their academic standing and exploring
effective approaches to teach English language skills.</p>
<p>The recent actions by the Oakland Unified School District have
sparked a national debate concerning the failure of our public schools
to effectively serve the educational needs of African American and other
minority students. The media focus on “ebonics” diverts our attention
from the more substantive concerns of English Language development and
the even more fundamental issue of minority student achievement in urban
school systems.</p>
<p>The central issue is the underachievement of African American and
other minority students and what we’re going to do to address this
dismal record. Current achievement data demonstrate that no urban school
district is effectively educating minority students. After thorough
research, the Oakland Unified School District has developed a bold plan
of action in order to turn around a situation which for far too long has
been tacitly accepted. This testimony is intended to clarify the
actions of the Oakland Unified School District and advocate for
additional reforms which are required if the educational success of
African American and other minority students is to be improved.</p>
<p>Although Oakland is the focus of attention, the issues we have
surfaced are national in scope. You cannot talk about issues of
educational achievement of African American children in urban America
without also addressing issues of race, class, poverty, language and
immigration.</p>
<p>While many of the issues confronting urban America are not of our
making, it seems all too often that we, as an urban school district, are
the frontline for dealing with these issues. We will be better able to
deal effectively with these issues if we are afforded the following
supports:</p>
<p>First, expand early childhood education programs for all children
ages three and four. Pre-school is a proven and cost-effective strategy
to improve education and life circumstances of children. The expansion
will also deal directly with jobs and support systems for the very
people impacted by recently enacted welfare reforms:</p>
<p>Second, include funding for schools as part of the various state and
federal urban initiatives and empowerment strategies. For example, urban
schools are typically not in a position to fund the physical
infrastructure improvements and school building additions required as
city demographics shift in response to other urban initiatives:</p>
<p>Third, expand funding for professional development opportunities so
that we can continue to retool the teacher workforce and address the
needs of an influx of new teachers to our schools: And,</p>
<p>Finally, fund a longer school day and longer school year to support
the educational achievement needs of urban youth. In return, we will be
better able to dedicate our efforts to:</p>
<p>Establish clear and measurable academic standards and public
accountability for professional standards for teachers and
administrators such as those developed by the National Board of
Professional Teaching Standards and,</p>
<p>Develop City-Schools partnerships to mobilize and align resources dedicated to youth initiatives.</p>
<p>The Oakland School Board’s new policy has touched a nerve across the
country. Talk show lines have been jammed and commentators have offered
virtually non-stop opinions about the policy. Unfortunately, the
reaction is based almost entirely on very basic misinterpretations of
the meaning and intent of the policy.</p>
<p>In the education that America’s public schools provide to minority
children, there are many reasons to despair….but this policy is not one
of them. Our testimony before this Senate Subcommittee is an opportunity
to set the record straight, answer specific questions which have been
raised and explore strategies to address the failure of our public
schools to educate African American and other minority children.”</p>
<p>Dr. Getridge’s statement helps to place the ancient “ebonics” debate
in proper perspective by juxtaposing the nexus of language acquisition
and policy development as critical to effectively educating Black
children.</p>
<p>(A year and a half ago, June, 2014, the Los Angeles Board of
Education passed a Resolution to improve educational outcomes for
Standard English Learners—mostly African American children—whose home
language is neither standard nor academic English. Currently, the
status of implementing the Resolution is not known, but requests for
that information have been made.)</p>
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