When politicians and activists try to tell schools what to teach children, eyes should instinctively roll.
Two state ballot initiatives in the last few years have shoved bilingual education into the zto foreign language students in just one year. After success in California and Arizona, the English-only drive has moved on.
But while multimillion dollar ad campaigns have tried to persuade voters in two more states to trash bilingual programs in next month’s election, some school districts — including Evanston’s — have quietly found a Third Way with promising results.
Evanston/Skokie School District 65’s Two-Way Immersion (TWI) program places an equal number of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking students in a classroom. Together, they learn English and Spanish, taking some subjects in their native tongue and others in the foreign language. The TWI program is now in its third year at Washington and Orrington elementary schools, with kindergarten, first- and second-grade classes. As the initial group moves up each year, the program ezxpands to a new grade level.
So far, test results are mostly positive. Spanish-speaking students typically reach English fluency much sooner than non-TWI students. Based on a committee’s report, District 65’s school board is considering scrapping the regular bilingual program.
But there’s more to TWI than test results.
When I visited a first-grade TWI classroom at Washington last fall, Jennifer Jones, the teacher, told me the program does something for Spanish-speakers that regular bilingual education doesn’t even attempt: “We’re telling these kids, ‘You’ve got this asset. Let’s develop it, let’s emphasize it, let’s make you an expert in the classroom.’ Through language and culture, we’re validating their identity.”
At a time when entire states are voting to shift the focus of bilingual education to how quickly students learn English, it’s refreshing that programs like TWI embrace students’ native languages. Two-Way Immersion programs have been successful in many places — and yet, the drive to eliminate all bilingual eduction continues, with more financial backing.
“We have a real schizophrenia in this country right now in terms of attitudes toward immigrants,” said Marjorie Faulstich Orellana, an Education assistant professor who helped develop District 65’s TWI curriculum. “It worries me when the lay person is making decisions that are based on hearsay rather than talking to people to learn what is going on in these programs. We should be listening to teachers more than we do.”
TWI’s test results are not all positive. For instance, math scores lag among both Spanish-speakers and English-speakers. Regardless, if the board votes to make TWI the dominant program, the district can tweak the program’s weaknesses over time.
Orellana said the program’s annual waiting lists for both Spanish and English slots shows a high level of parent interest in expansion. If the board makes TWI the mainstream program, she said, it “makes it more likely that all kids who qualify for it would be able to get those services.”
On Nov. 5, Colorado and Massachusetts voters will consider whether to follow in California’s lead. It’s unfortunate that a dual-immersion program won’t be among the choices.
Deputy City Editor Jon Murray is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].
