[lg policy] US: EDUCATION POLICY MUST TARGET STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS

[Harold Schiffman]

EDUCATION POLICY MUST TARGET STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS
By Larry Aubry, l.aubry at att.net
Published January 13, 2016



[image: Larry%20Aubry]
<https://lasentinel.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/07/Larry-Aubry.jpg>

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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:

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,

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:

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,

Develop City-Schools partnerships to mobilize and align resources dedicated
to youth initiatives.

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.

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.”

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.

(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.)
https://lasentinel.net/education-policy-must-target-standard-english-learners.html


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