<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gmail-article-header">Critics: Lack of diversity in Indiana dual language policy is a lost opportunity</h1>
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<div class="gmail-author-data">By <a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/author/shaina-cavazos/"> Shaina Cavazos</a> <div class="gmail-icon-twitter"><a href="http://twitter.com/ShainaRC">@ShainaRC</a></div> <div class="gmail-icon-email"><a href="mailto:scavazos@chalkbeat.org">scavazos@chalkbeat.org</a></div> </div>
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<span>Published:</span> October 3, 2016 - 8:52 a.m. EDT </div>
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<img src="http://i1.wp.com/www.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_7070.jpg?fit=960%2C647" class="gmail-attachment-960x960 gmail-size-960x960 gmail-wp-post-image" alt="Zoe Roman, a kindergartener in Global Prep Academy's dual language program, fills in a writing worksheet." width="960" height="647"> </div>
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Zoe Roman, a kindergartener in Global Prep Academy's dual language program, fills in a writing worksheet.
<div class="gmail-credit">( Photo by <span>Shaina Cavazos )</span></div>
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<p class="gmail-lead">When Mariama Carson was a teacher in Pike
Township, she saw firsthand how the heritage of her Spanish-speaking
students was constantly being brushed to the side as they were
encouraged to learn English.</p>
<p>“What we were doing was pushing down anything other than English,”
said Carson. “We have students who are native Spanish-speakers who
cannot read or write or send an email or text correctly to their own
family members. That is wrong.”</p>
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<p>So Carson decided to do something about it: She created a dual
language school called Global Prep Academy where kids would learn half
the day in English and half the day in Spanish as a new <a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2015/12/22/the-basics-of-the-ips-plan-for-school-autonomy-and-innovation/">innovation charter school in Indianapolis Public Schools</a>.</p>
<p>The dual-language method of immersing students in their native
language for part of their class time and in English for another part is
growing in popularity across the country as studies show it’s one of
the most effective ways to help <a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2015/07/16/the-basics-of-english-language-learning-schools-struggle-to-adapt/#.V_HDtqOZNqw">non-English speaking children</a> master English while gaining the ability to read and write in their native language.</p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2015/06/01/20-years-of-spanish-immersion-make-lawrence-township-a-model-for-indiana/">Read: 20 years of Spanish immersion make Lawrence Township a model for Indiana</a></em></p>
<p>The programs are also popular with parents of English-speaking
children who want their kids to learn a second language from a young
age, so <a href="http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/senate/267">Indiana launched a pilot program</a> two years ago that made funds available to schools that wanted to create or expand dual language programs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2015/07/28/carson-pitches-global-prep-charter-school-to-be-housed-by-ips/#.V_HDs6OZNqw">Global Prep</a>, which is located in the School 44 building on the city’s west side, <a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2016/06/15/new-round-of-grants-to-expand-language-immersion-in-indiana/">was one of nine schools</a> that split $1 million in funding over two years for the programs.</p>
<p>But critics say the money isn’t being used as effectively as it could be because <a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2015/08/20/warren-township-school-receives-almost-100000-for-spanish-immersion-pilot/#.V_HDtKOZNqw">several of the schools</a> that received the funds enroll mostly English-speaking kids.</p>
<div class="gmail-cb-pullquote gmail-right">"The research that is often referred to
to sell these programs or to popularize them … is actually the research
that applies to progress that includes English-learners,"<span>Barbara Kennedy, Center for Applied Linguistics</span></div>
<p>That means the money isn’t helping as many children learn English as it could. It’s also not harnessing the <a href="http://hepg.org/hel-home/issues/27_2/helarticle/dual-language-programs-on-the-rise#home">full potential of dual language programs</a> to help English-speaking children learn a language like Spanish from being around peers who speak that language at home.</p>
<p>That’s a lost opportunity, said Barbara Kennedy, director of dual language and bilingual education services for the <a href="http://www.cal.org/who-we-are">Center for Applied Linguistics</a>, a national nonprofit that researches and advocates for language learning in education.</p>
<p>“The research that is often referred to to sell these programs or to
popularize them … is actually the research that applies to progress that
includes English-learners,” Kennedy said.</p>
<p>Studies of dual language programs conducted over the better part of
the past decade have shown that “two-way” language immersion programs
that mix students from different backgrounds <a href="http://www.houstonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=153847&dataid=138455&FileName=HERC%20Research%20Briefs%204-15-15.pdf">post strong academic results</a> for all students involved, due in part because students can serve as models for each other.</p>
<p>But when Indiana lawmakers created the dual language grant program in
2015, they put few restrictions on the money, making no requirements
that funds go to schools with high numbers of students learning English.
Class makeup was never mentioned in the law that created the program or
emphasized in discussions surrounding its passage. The only requirement
was that programs start in kindergarten or first grade and divide
instructional time so that students spend half of their class time
speaking English and the other half speaking another language.</p>
<p>As a result Global Prep and another new program in Marion County, <a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2015/08/20/warren-township-school-receives-almost-100000-for-spanish-immersion-pilot/#.V_HDtKOZNqw">Warren Township’s Pleasant Run Elementary School</a>,
are the only grant recipients currently making a point of enrolling
equal numbers of English-learners and native English-speakers — the
ratio that experts say is the ideal mix for programs like these.</p>
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<div id="gmail-attachment_102282" class="gmail-article-img gmail-alignleft" style="width:1000px"><div class="gmail-img-wrapper"><img class="gmail-wp-image-102282" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_7388.jpg?resize=1000%2C667" alt="Kindergarten students at Global Prep Academy." width="935" height="624"><div class="gmail-img-credit"><div class="gmail-credit">PHOTO: <span>Shaina Cavazos</span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-wp-caption-text">The students learn to identify shapes and compare and contrast them by size, number of sides and color.</div></div>
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<div id="gmail-attachment_102280" class="gmail-article-img gmail-alignleft" style="width:472px"><div class="gmail-img-wrapper"><img class="gmail-wp-image-102280" src="http://i1.wp.com/www.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_7291.jpg?resize=472%2C315" alt="Kindergarten students at Global Prep Academy." width="447" height="298"><div class="gmail-img-credit"><div class="gmail-credit">PHOTO: <span>Shaina Cavazos</span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Kindergarten students at Global Prep Academy work on sorting by name. Their teacher looks on as each student takes a turn.</div></div>
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<div id="gmail-attachment_102279" class="gmail-article-img gmail-alignright" style="width:472px"><div class="gmail-img-wrapper"><img class="gmail-wp-image-102279" src="http://i0.wp.com/www.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_7202.jpg?resize=472%2C315" alt="A kindergarten class at Global Prep Academy's dual language program gather for a lesson in sorting." width="447" height="298"><div class="gmail-img-credit"><div class="gmail-credit">PHOTO: <span>Shaina Cavazos</span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-wp-caption-text">A kindergarten class at Global Prep Academy’s dual language program gather for a lesson in sorting.</div></div>
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<div style="clear:both">Three others in Goshen, Logansport and West
Noble have not fully launched their two-way programs, but the schools
enroll about 30 percent of students from households where English is not
the primary language and could end up with programs with more equal
ratios of kids. The other four enroll primarily English-speaking kids.</div>
<p>The four schools with mostly native English-speaking kids took
slightly more than half of the $1 million in funding — $532,792 — but
enrolled small numbers of English learners, between 0.5 percent and 12.2
percent.</p>
<p>That’s a dynamic that upsets researchers like Trish Morita-Mullaney from Purdue University.</p>
<p>“Dual language immersion is to historically repair harm to those
communities,” Morita-Mullaney said. “Otherwise it’s … just benefitting
people who are already benefitting.”</p>
<p>The grant recipients aren’t doing anything wrong, but advocates like
Morita-Mullaney and Carson are hoping that if lawmakers next year
discuss the possibility of extending the grant program, they’ll consider
including incentives for schools that target a mix of kids from
different language backgrounds.</p>
<p>“If culture and language matter, as we know it does, we have to make
sure we are equalizing opportunities for all kids,” said Carson, who is
married to Democratic U.S. Rep. Andre Carson. “Dual-language programs
initially were set up for Spanish-speaking kids.”</p>
<p>When dual language dollars go to schools where most students speak
English, she said, there’s a danger that the programs could become
little more than an enrichment program for already advantaged children
who want to boast foreign language proficiency on their college
applications.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t for these kids to get this economic advantage and now
they’re bilingual,” Carson said. “It was from an equity standpoint, and
that is who these programs should be serving.”</p>
<p>Not everyone shares this view, however.</p>
<p>It can be difficult politically for states like Indiana, where just
4.8 percent of students are English learners, to restrict funding for
popular programs to schools that have a high number of immigrants.</p>
<p>One of last year’s grant recipients was a school in rural Batesville
that got a little more than $172,000 to start a Mandarin immersion
program.</p>
<div id="gmail-attachment_102284" class="gmail-article-img gmail-aligncenter" style="width:1000px"><div class="gmail-img-wrapper"><img class="gmail-wp-image-102284" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_6299.jpg?resize=1000%2C750" alt="Students at Batesville Elementary School learn in a small group from their teacher. The class is part of a language immersion program in Mandarin." width="935" height="701"><div class="gmail-img-credit"><div class="gmail-credit">PHOTO: <span>Melissa Burton</span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Students
at Batesville Elementary School learn in a small group from their
teacher. The class is part of a language immersion program in Mandarin.</div></div>
<p>Melissa Burton, director of student learning in Batesville said she
knows the students in her program aren’t diverse. Nearly all of the
district’s elementary school students — 97 percent — are white and the
population of English-learners is decreasing, but dual langauge is a way
for Batesville to bring cultural knowledge and understanding to kids
who might otherwise never encounter a culture different from their own.</p>
<p>“I’m just so thrilled that a tiny little town like Batesville, at a
small school, that we can give our students this opportunity,” Burton
said. “It’s important that kids know a second language … I’m hoping (the
program) draws more diverse enrollment to our school corporation that
may not happen just because of our location.”</p>
<div class="gmail-cb-pullquote gmail-left">"It’s about exploring culture and
building relationships, and in a place where we don’t have a lot of
diversity, it’s even more important to do those things. This program
will change the culture of our school."<span>Melissa Burton, Batesville Community Schools</span></div>
<p>Batesville’s program currently enrolls about 50 kindergarteners in
two classes. Each year, the district plans to add grades until the
program serves kindergarten to fifth grade. As kids grow into middle and
high school, the district is planning to add Chinese literacy classes
and as well as classes taught in Mandarin so students can keep up their
skills. The district also plans to offer Chinese culture classes for all
students in the district.</p>
<p>“Every teacher will be a Chinese culture teacher,” Burton said. “It’s
not just about the language. It’s about exploring culture and building
relationships, and in a place where we don’t have a lot of diversity,
it’s even more important to do those things. This program will change
the culture of our school.”</p>
<p>Conversations about whether money for dual language programs should
target children who are learning English have not gotten much attention
in the statehouse since it passed. In fact, it’s not even clear at the
moment that any money will be set aside in next year’s budget for dual
language programs.</p>
<p>Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, who originally championed the grant
program law, says she has no plans to reintroduce any specific bills
next year to extend it — which means targeted funds for the programs is
running out.</p>
<p>The state says it’s working to help the nine participating schools
find ways to be more efficient and sustain their programs, but Mayfield
says she hopes funding doesn’t dry up.</p>
<p>“If this is something that is highly desired by parents and teachers
and children, we need to give a close look to see how can we make this
an ongoing thing,” Mayfield said.</p>
<div id="gmail-attachment_102283" class="gmail-article-img gmail-aligncenter" style="width:1000px"><div class="gmail-img-wrapper"><img class="gmail-wp-image-102283" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_7141.jpg?resize=1000%2C667" alt="A kindergarten student reaches for crayons during a lesson at Global Prep Academy. The school has a Spanish dual language program for grades K-2." width="935" height="624"><div class="gmail-img-credit"><div class="gmail-credit">PHOTO: <span>Shaina Cavazos</span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-wp-caption-text">A
kindergarten student reaches for crayons during a lesson at Global Prep
Academy. The school has a Spanish dual language program for grades K-2.</div></div>
<p>Kim Park, who runs the program in Warren, isn’t too worried that the
grant program is ending. Her school is determined to find the money to
continue and has been thoughtful about buying books, software and other
materials that can last for multiple years.</p>
<p>Nathan Williamson who is the director of early learning and
intervention with the education department, said the state hopes the
success and demand for dual language immersion classes is enough to
encourage the legislature to continue the grants.</p>
<p>But for some, it’s more personal.</p>
<p>Cesar Roman, a parent of a Global prep student, wants to see
policymakers ensure the programs stick around — and not just because his
daughter Zoe is in one. A native Spanish-speaker, Roman learned in a
dual language classroom as a child growing up in East Chicago.</p>
<p>“I have seen the benefits first-hand,” Roman said. “You do have to
make some sort of policy or mandate to make sure that there is equity in
the way that the funds are being distributed and that learning is
taking place for all students.”</p>
<a href="http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2016/10/03/critics-lack-of-diversity-in-indiana-dual-language-policy-is-a-lost-opportunity/#.V_PL9yT7e-c">http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2016/10/03/critics-lack-of-diversity-in-indiana-dual-language-policy-is-a-lost-opportunity/#.V_PL9yT7e-c</a><br></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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