Irving and Grand Prairie school districts that opened their.Dual- language programs growing in Dallas- area schools, across state. Inside the small classrooms of Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary School, first- grade students detail recipes, in Spanish, for limonada, lemonade. But this is serious teaching and turning brains on is exactly the point. Teaching at this humble elementary school, just west of the Trinity River and a giant new bridge, is part of the most serious restructuring of bilingual education in decades. Zavala is a dual- language school. It was one of more than a dozen schools in the Dallas, Irving and Grand Prairie school districts that opened their doors this month to teachers and principals attending the 4. National Association for Bilingual Education. Bilingual programs are. The state of Texas requires an annual evaluation of bilingual and ESL programs in all school districts. Texas state law requires. Exploring Best Practices Final Report. School districts that provide a bilingual education program. Suburban Chicago Schools Lag as Bilingual Needs Grow. Of the 58 suburban school districts visited by state. Suburban Schools Lag as Bilingual. Texas Leads National Restructuring of Bilingual. Irving and Grand Prairie school districts that opened their. Dual- language teaching was showcased as a way to accelerate learning and close achievement gaps. Texas now leads the nation in the number of schools — about 7. About a sixth of the almost 5 million students in Texas public and charter schools are classified as “limited English learners,” according to the Texas Education Agency. But any student can enroll in a dual- language program with the end goal of becoming bilingual and biliterate in two languages.“Our job is to show the benefit of bilingual education,” Zavala principal Lisa Miramontes told her visitors, who included a fellow principal from Queens, administrators from Denver and teachers from Salinas, Calif. Miramontes recounted how her own mother, from the border town of Eagle Pass, had talked of being punished if she spoke Spanish. Dual- language schools require some careful choreography, with boards full of words, poetry lessons on haiku and nursery rhymes, and science projects executed in two languages. Dual- language schools can be one- way or two- way. Zavala started out as a two- way dual- language school, meaning students who spoke English only were paired with those who didn’t. It is now a one- way dual- language school because of the school’s demographics. About 9. 7 percent of Zavala’s 4. Latino and come from one of Dallas’ poorest neighborhoods. Its gymnasium is a nearby city recreation center, now closed for repairs. Streets are lined with simple, wood- framed homes, some painted butter yellow or lilac blue next door to some that haven’t seen paint in years and have boarded- up windows. Senior citizens volunteer at the school in a program called “Off Your Rocker.” Teachers have been known to wash school uniforms, if that sort of family support is needed. Zavala sits in view of one of the most spectacular angles of the glitzy, glassy Dallas skyline of acquisition and aspiration. And over the last eight years, Zavala has received the higher rating of recognized or exemplary five times, under testing procedures required by the Texas Education Agency. In 2. 01. 1, it was rated acceptable. At the convention, the endorsements for dual- language education were frequent. Key proponents were treated like celebrities as teachers crowded around researchers with doctorates to snap photos. Well- known academic researchers Thomas and Virginia Collier, who also spoke at the conference, said that after two decades of study of various forms of bilingual education, dual- language programs are superior. Achievement gaps can be closed using a solid six years of such education, they have said. In one North Carolina study of six school districts, the researchers found that by middle school, students in two- way dual- language programs scored as high in reading and math as students in nondual- language programs at least a grade ahead of them. Ideally, students in dual- language programs moved into 5. Math is taught in English because of the universality of its language, numbers, its proponents say. One criticism that has arisen is that parents have said they’re frustrated at not being able to assist with homework. Bilingual / ESL Programs. MISD Guiding Principles for Bilingual and ESL Programs. Summer School Programs; McKinney Education Foundation. That includes not only English- speaking parents, but Latino parents who speak Spanish but don’t write it. At the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington- based advocacy group that wants restrictions on immigration, spokesman Ira Mehlman said the group doesn’t oppose such programs as long as they are voluntary and parents can opt out if they choose.“From our viewpoint, assimilation is a desired mission,” he said. At the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, researcher Julie Sugarman said opting out of such programs should be an option.“Parents should always have a choice — an informed choice. Any kind of child can do well in this kind of program, but it is really up to every individual family.”For those coming from Spanish- speaking families, Sugarman added, “When you add English and build the language you already have, . Walker Middle School will offer the two- way dual- language program at the middle school level to the first class of sixth- graders next school year. DISD has 1. 6 elementary schools offering such classes. In the Carrollton- Farmers Branch district, parents recently asked trustees for a similar extension for students at Janie Stark Elementary School. The two- way program is now in two elementary schools. A third may be added in the new year, and one- way dual- language programs are now in almost all of the district’s elementary schools.“My opinion: It will only grow as people understand the value of it,” says Bobby Burns, Carrollton- Farmers Branch ISD superintendent. For Texas, we need to be a bilingual state.” In the Lewisville school district, there will soon be 1. In Irving ISD, there are students in the ninth year of a dual- language program. Next year, the program will continue at Mac. Arthur High School, giving the district one of the oldest programs in North Texas. The district will have a total of seven schools using the program. But such teaching still exists because families can ask for waivers, and dual- language academic programs have rooted there.“Knowing two or more languages is a gift, if not a necessity, to compete with the world market,” said Rosanna Ram. Other benefits are language development and cross- cultural understanding. Is it simply a language class? No. Academic subjects are taught to all students in both English and a partner language, usually Spanish. Math is an exception. Are dual- language programs only for children who are learning the second language of English? No. Student populations are balanced, with about 5. English speakers and 5. What are the benefits of early language learning? Students of foreign languages score higher on standardized tests, conducted in English. The College Board has found students with an average of four or more years of foreign language study scored higher on the verbal section of the SAT than those who had studied four or more years in any other subject area. Math scores for individuals with four or more years of foreign language study were the same as average scores of those who studied four years of mathematics. SOURCE: Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.
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