- Parents want elementary pupils to learn foreign languages -- but where? [Washington Yu Ying PCS and Mundo Verde PCS mentioned]
- Bilingual education: What’s available in Washington-area elementary schools? [Briya PCS, DC Bilingual PCS, Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom PCS, Latin American Montessori Bilingual PCS, Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy PCS, Mundo Verde Bilingual PCS, Sela PCS, and Washington Yu Ying PCS mentioned]
- School choice gives opportunity, hope to students and their families
Parents want elementary pupils to learn foreign languages -- but where? [Washington Yu Ying PCS and Mundo Verde PCS mentioned]
The Washington Post
By Michael Alison Chandler
October 31, 2014
My 2-year-old son’s first language is Spanglish. He likes ice in his agua, the color azul, and las vacas, or cows. “Baby vacas,” especially. Lately, his favorite song is “Señora Vaca,” a little ditty that gives thanks to the mother cow for all the tasty dairy products she provides.
“Sing it!” he demanded recently with a toddler’s insistence.
“I can’t. I don’t know it,” I told him. “It’s in Spanish.”
For the hours I invested in evening courses and holiday language schools in Central America trying to learn the language as an adult, Advanced Spanglish might be the best I ever do. Like any parent, I hope for better for the next generation.
That’s why I was excited to find him a Spanish immersion day-care program. Since he was 5 months old, he has spent his days with caregivers who call him muñeco, or doll, and who are teaching him that A is for avión, rather than airplane. He plays with coches y camiónes in the morning and cars and trucks at night.
Research shows that early language learning results in better pronunciation and higher levels of proficiency, as well as cognitive benefits associated with being bilingual. But, of course, any advantages accrue with prolonged exposure. I’m worried about the next step.
The majority of foreign language programs in the United States don’t start until middle school or even high school. As my son approaches preschool and elementary school, I don’t want him to lose his second language in that years-long vacuum. (For a list of Washington-area elementary schools that offer language instruction, click here.)
It’s a growing concern for parents in the Washington area, many of whom are bilingual themselves or seek out similar types of language-focused day-care centers or nannies to give their children an early start with another language.
“What we are seeing is that parents are really demanding it from their schools,” said Marty Abbott, executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. “I am calling them language moms instead of soccer moms.”
The council hopes it can tap the energy of these parents in a campaign that’s getting underway to build up foreign language capacity in the nation’s schools, starting from a student’s early age.
“With the changing demographics in this country, it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore that we are living in communities that are multilingual already,” Abbott said. “Languages are an important asset.”
Just 15 percent of U.S. public elementary schools offer any foreign language instruction, according to the most recent survey funded by the Education Department, in 2008. That figure was down from 24 percent the decade earlier, a drop educators attribute to budget cuts and a heightened focus on math and reading inspired by the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Poor and rural districts are the least likely to offer foreign language. But even Loudoun County, one of the richest counties in the nation, cut an elementary foreign language program that was once among the most comprehensive in the state. All first- through sixth-graders used to get Spanish instruction. Now, foreign language again begins in the seventh grade.
Starting foreign language in middle school is late, compared with many developed countries that require instruction in one, or sometimes two, foreign languages in elementary school. And it skips over many of the years experts say children are especially wired to learn language in the most natural ways, through play and exploration.
Parents often turn to private schools, which are more than three times as likely to offer foreign language programs to elementary students, according to the national survey. Private tutoring centers or weekend language schools are also thriving, Abbott said.
But there are promising trends in public education.
In Washington, where I live, the public school system got funding this year to expand foreign language offerings in elementary schools. And some of the most sought-after charter schools, including Mundo Verde and Yu Ying, offer intensive foreign language instruction starting as early as preschool. Under pressure from parents, Arlington County expanded its foreign language instruction in elementary schools, furthering a plan to make it available countywide. And Prince George’s County added foreign language classes in 10 additional elementary schools this year.
Nationally, full- or partial-immersion programs, where all or many of the academic courses are taught in a foreign language, have been growing since the 1970s.
Nancy Rhodes, former director of Foreign Language Education for the Center for Applied Linguistics, said immersion programs are “the shining star” of the foreign language movement because they get the best results in developing fluency.
Two-way or dual-immersion programs are also increasingly popular. With this model, students spend half the day in English and half in a target language, and the classroom is composed of students who speak English at home and those who speak the target language at home. That way, they can be language models for each other.
Cleveland Elementary is one of seven elementary schools in the District that offer a dual-language program.
In a pre-kindergarten class one September morning, students were discussing the question of the day, or the pregunta del día: Qué hace esta persona en la escuela? (What does this person do at the school?) They spoke in Spanish about what the principal or gym teacher or other staff members do all day.
Upstairs, second-graders were writing essays in Spanish. By the higher grades, students write and speak easily in both languages, Principal Dawn Feltman said. On back-to-school night, she had a native-English speaker address parents in Spanish and a native-Spanish speaker talk to the parents in English.
Utah became the first state to legislate funding for large-scale implementation of dual-language and immersion programs in 2008. Delaware is rolling out a plan to bring the programs to more schools.
One reason the programs are on the rise, Rhodes said, is because the foreign language teachers also teach the core academic classes, and so they are built into the school district’s standard funding formula. Programs that rely on itinerant teachers are more vulnerable to budget cuts.
Foreign Language in Elementary Schools, or FLES programs, are common in the Washington region, providing instruction from one to five days a week and aiming for a beginning level of proficiency.
Many school districts are working to integrate the grade-level curriculum into these foreign language classes. That helps to reinforce what students are learning and to build up their academic vocabularies in a second language so they are not just talking about colors and numbers and songs, typical beginning lessons for children.
Ideally, I’d like my son to spend more than an hour or two a week in another language.
In a few months, our family will enter a citywide lottery to enroll him in preschool. It’s become a rite of passage for many D.C. families, one that we approach with some appreciation (publicly funded preschool is still relatively rare in this country) and some trepidation (there’s no guarantee he’ll be assigned to a school we favor).
Foreign language instruction is not our only priority, but it’s near the top of my list. Competition is likely to be stiff, because I know I’m not the only one thinking that way.
Bilingual education: What’s available in Washington-area elementary schools? [Briya PCS, DC Bilingual PCS, Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom PCS, Latin American Montessori Bilingual PCS, Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy PCS, Mundo Verde Bilingual PCS, Sela PCS, and Washington Yu Ying PCS mentioned]
The Washington Post
By Michael Alison Chandler
October 31, 2014
Hundreds of elementary schools in the area offer foreign language before or after school through PTA-funded or fee-based programs. But here’s a look at what Washington-area school systems are funding and providing to their students. Many of the immersion or specialty programs enroll pupils on a lottery basis.
Alexandria
Foreign language programs in three of 13 elementary schools.
Dual-language program at John Adams Elementary School and Mount Vernon Community School. ●Jefferson-Houston School offers foreign language through the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. ●Language: Spanish
Arlington County
Foreign language programs in 16 of 22 elementary schools. Immersion programs at Key and Claremont elementary schools. ●Foreign Language in Elementary School programs at 14 schools. ●Foreign Language Exploratory program for fifth-graders in six elementary schools, after school, funded by the school district. ●Language: Spanish
D.C. Public Schools
Foreign language offered in 64 of 78 schools with elementary grades. Seven schools offer dual-language programs: Bancroft, Bruce Monroe at Park View, Cleveland, Oyster-Adams, Powell, Marie Reed and Tyler. ●More than 50 schools offer Foreign Language in Elementary School or instruction before or after school, funded by the school district. ● Languages: French, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish
D.C. Public Charter Schools
Many public charter schools offer some foreign language instruction, but these schools include foreign language as part of their core mission: Briya, DC Bilingual, Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom, Latin American Montessori Bilingual, Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy, Mundo Verde Bilingual, Sela, Washington Yu Ying. ●Languages: French, Hebrew, Mandarin, Spanish
Fairfax County
Foreign language offered in 71 of 139 elementary schools. Partial or two-way immersion programs in 16 schools. Partial: Fox Mill, Fort Hunt, Great Falls, Kent Gardens, Laurel Ridge, Orange Hunt, Ravensworth. Two-way: Bailey’s, Colin Powell, Braddock, Groveton, Lake Anne, London Towne, Rose Hill, Washington Mill. Both: Herndon. ●Foreign Language in Elementary Schools offers about an hour of instruction a week in 55 schools. ●Languages: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish
Loudoun County
Foreign language offered in 0 of 56 elementary schools. Instruction begins in seventh grade.
Montgomery County
Foreign language offered in seven of 133 elementary schools.
Immersion programs in seven schools: College Gardens, Potomac, Maryvale, Sligo Creek, Burnt Mills, Rolling Terrace, Rock Creek Forest. ● Languages: Chinese, French, Spanish
Prince George’s County
Foreign language offered in 25 of 123 elementary schools. Ten neighborhood elementary schools offer a World Language Elementary program this year, providing instruction between two and five days a week. ●Eight schools have an International Culture and Language program, which introduces students in Talented and Gifted programs to various languages and cultures. ●The county also offers the following specialty programs: Montessori and foreign language programs at John Hanson and Robert Goddard. ● Full immersion programs at Phyllis E. Williams and Overlook. ● Dual-language program at Cesar Chavez. ●Dual-language/STEM program at Capitol Heights. ● Partial immersion/STEM programs at Paint Branch. ●Languages: Chinese, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian
Prince William County
Foreign language offered in 10 out of 60 schools that have elementary grades. World Language in Elementary Schools program provides 45 minutes of instruction at least once a week at 10 schools. ● Languages: Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish
School choice gives opportunity, hope to students and their families
The Washington Post
By Nick Novak
October 30, 2014
More than 300 million people live in the United States and not one of us is the same. So, why do bureaucrats in Washington and our state capitals insist on having a one-size-fits-all education system?
For some of us, it works great. I am a product of public schools – from kindergarten all the way through my time at the University of Wisconsin. But just because it worked for me, that does not mean it will work for everyone.
That is why states should be applauded for implementing and expanding school choice. After all, every student – no matter where they come from or what their background is – should have the opportunity to go to the school that best fits their needs and gives them the chance to succeed later in life.
Denisha Merriweather recently heralded the Florida tax-credit scholarship program for low-income students as the reason for her success in a Wall Street Journal column. Denisha had been held back in school twice by the time she got to the fourth grade. She said that D’s and F’s were normal and “learning became a nightmare.”
Everything turned around for her in sixth grade, though. She enrolled in a local private school in Jacksonville, Florida, with the help of the state’s scholarship program. Without it, Denisha said her family would not have been able to afford the $5,200 annual tuition.
At her new school, failing grades were out of the picture. Denisha had a newfound self-confidence and ended up graduating high school with honors. Today, she is a recent graduate of the University of West Florida, the first in her family to attend and finish college.
Since launching in 2001, Florida’s version of school choice has swelled to the largest tax-credit scholarship program in the country. Nearly 60,000 students enrolled in the 2013-14 school year. Much adoration should be given to the program because the Sunshine State leads the nation when it comes to fourth-grade reading proficiency for low-income students, but a new lawsuit puts the scholarship program in danger.
Why anyone would want to eliminate a program that is helping a state’s most vulnerable students is beyond me.
While Florida’s program is more than a decade old, North Carolina just launched its new school choice program. The voucher program’s first year was not without controversy, however. The state is facing legal challenges similar to those in Florida.
That has not stopped Khaliah Ellison, a single mother of three, from praising the program. The public schools in Ms. Ellison’s area were not a good fit for her children, and her second-oldest child, Mekhi, was especially struggling.
“Over the past few years he just wasn’t doing that well academically. There were so many students in his classroom,” she said in a recent article in the Charlotte Observer. “He wasn’t getting the attention he needed.”
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program awards up to 2,400 vouchers to low-income families, and Mekhi was lucky enough to get one.
Ms. Ellison pointed out that her son is already reaping the benefits of his new school, all thanks to the state’s school choice program, which paid for most of the $5,670 annual tuition.
“The number of students in his class is about half and he is getting the attention he needs,” she said in the article. “You can tell in his demeanor and in his face, he is more confident.”
While private voucher and scholarship programs are helping students all across the country, it is important to remember that school choice encompasses so much more than private school options.
From virtual schools, to home schooling and charter schools, Wisconsin is at the forefront of educational choice. The state even expanded its private-school choice program statewide in the most recent legislative session.
One program that could be expanded to help even more students, however, is the Dairy State’s 2R independent charter schools. Most of the current 2R independent charter schools are in Milwaukee, and they educate nearly the same percentage of low-income students as the city’s traditional public schools.
The big difference between these public charter schools and Milwaukee Public Schools is the students’ educational attainment. The charter schools are considerably outperforming their traditional public school peers in reading and math proficiency and on Wisconsin’s school report cards.
Even though these public charter schools are outperforming their peers, the program has generally failed to expand outside of Milwaukee – leaving many students around the state stuck in a possibly failing local school district.
No child should be forced to attend a school that is not the right fit for him or her. Any type of educational option that can help students achieve at higher levels should be considered, and that is why instead of hindering school choice, policy makers should be embracing it.