ELL: "No child left behind" vs. Native lg. immersion in US public schools

[Tony Woodbury]

I am currently in Chevak, Alaska, a Cup'ik-speaking community which
has been considering a Cup'ik-only language immersion program in its
publically-funded schools. Among other things I am working with
people here on plans to bring such a program about.

Under the rubric 'No child left behind,' the federal government has
is establishing a system of standardized testing of children at
various "benchmark" points, including the third grade (8-year olds,
basically).  Schools with performance below a certain level are
subject to draconian interventions, including loss of federal funds,
closing down, or being put under entirely nonlocal control.

The trouble is that these tests are in ENGLISH, and the require that
students have training in English. That pretty much destroys any
effort to institute immersion because the negative consequences for
the community as a whole are immense.

In the case of Chevak--which hasn't quite taken the plunge
yet--federal rules like these make immersion seem prohibitively
risky.  In the case of schools in the area which took the plunge
several years ago and have been enjoying the benefits of immersion
education, things are even worse.  In Bethel, AK, where there is an
immersion school in Yup'ik (closely related to Cup'ik) the immersion
school was granted a waiver from the benchmark tests for several
years but now has been told it must take them, despite inadequate
preparation on the kids' part. Chris Meier, co-principal of the
school, writes (Tundra Drums, Aug. 29,2002):

"This is not only immoral, it is illegal, and is in direct conflict
with the Native American Languages Act [an act of the US Congress in
1991--acw].  This law states: 'The right of Native Americans to
express themselves through the use of Native American languages shall
not be restricted in any public proceedings, including publically
supported education programs.'  The law further instructs Federal
departments to "'Evaluate their policies and procedures in
consultation with Indian tribes and other Native American governing
bodies as well as traditional leaders and educators in order to
determine and implement changes needed to bring the policies and
procedures into compliance with the provisions of this title.'"

OK here is my question:  Is there any wider effort among communities
or educators or linguists involved in language immersion in the lower
grades to fight this?

What strategies are being undertaken?  Has there been any organizing
or coalition building?

I would very much like responses from people who are well versed in
the specifics of the "No child left behind" question and have dealt
with or know about its effects on language immersion.

Many thanks,
Tony Woodbury

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Tony Woodbury                       Phone: +1 512 471 1701
Chair                               Fax:   +1 512 471 4340
Department of Linguistics
University of Texas at Austin
Calhoun Hall 502
Austin, TX 78712

Web:   http://www.utexas.edu/depts/linguistics/
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