[lg policy] San Diego: Talking Back on Biliteracy

[Harold Schiffman]

Talking Back on Biliteracy



The San Diego Unified school board read over the proposed policy on
biliteracy last night, but it didn't make any decisions. Under the
proposed policy English learners would be taught in both English and
Spanish rather than in English only classes. Here are some highlights
from the discussions:


Board member Katherine Nakamura, a big fan of language learning and a
Japanese speaker herself, called the policy "a step forward in many
ways" but had concerns about how the policy was crafted and what,
exactly, its impact would be. She noted that input came largely from
Spanish speakers and questioned whether emphasizing languages in
younger grades would mean that schools have to bump other electives,
such as art. Staffers said that the policy would not compel schools to
adopt language programs, but are bringing back more details on the
policy and its impacts next week.


Francisco Pena, a parent at Linda Vista Elementary, said that it was
very important to him that his children continue to speak both Spanish
and English. "If they're prepared to learn both languages, it's going
to be a lot easier for them as they get older," he said.

 Board member Richard Barrera is pushing for the language department
to go a step further and move beyond its agnostic stance on whether
biliteracy programs are better than English immersion. The policy
states that biliteracy programs are a valid option grounded in
research, but doesn't say it is the preferred approach for San Diego
Unified. Barrera said that when parents are informed of the options
for English learners, staffers should tell them, "We as a district are
moving towards a biliteracy program because we think it's the best
strategy."

I'm also getting a lot of interesting e-mail with your perspectives on
bilingual education. Kindergarten teacher Karen Gomez writes that her
English immersion class has been successful in teaching her students,
who often arrive in September with little or no English. She has
another idea on how to foster their skills in their native language:


They have the opportunity to speak in their native language before
school, during recess and after school with classmates and parents.
Wouldn't it be great if we could offer classes for our students to
read and write in their native language in the 7th and 8th hours each
day? I believe a combination of district-paid teachers and supervised
parent volunteers could offer a valuable program to support our
students in the learning of their native language, including language
instruction and grade level content.

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/07/29/education/schooled/708biliteracy072909.txt

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