Parents and friends of the Oakton Elementary School community spoke out Wednesday about plans to move part of Evanston/Skokie School District 65’s bilingual-education program to the school.
Audience members asked teachers and administrators questions about the district’s Two-Way Immersion program at an informational meeting at the Oakton school, 436 Ridge Ave.
Though most of those who spoke praised the program’s method of mixing English- and Spanish-speaking students, many speakers also voiced concerns that the district might stymie recent progress at Oakton if the program moves there.
Two-Way Immersion, or TWI, is the standard track for Spanish-speaking students who do not know English, unless their parents opt out of the program. TWI is optional for English-speaking students who want to learn Spanish.
In the program, which ranges from kindergarten through fifth grade, kindergarten teachers speak Spanish 80 percent of the time. By fifth grade instruction is half in English and half in Spanish.
Judy Yturriago, the program’s director, said studies from around the country show that TWI students not only become bilingual but score above their peers on standardized tests.
“TWI raises the academic achievement of children — even children you wouldn’t expect to do well,” Yturriago said. “Our own research department has crunched the numbers.”
But the success of the TWI program has also been its burden, as the program has grown too large for its current location.
District 65 Superintendent Hardy Ray Murphy said plans for the program’s relocation are not set in stone, though it must stay near the Latino communities in Southwest Evanston.
At the meeting local residents questioned whether the Oakton school could accommodate the TWI students. Judith Treadway, who lives near the school, worried that TWI could sap the strength out of a school that has given its primarily black student body new opportunities.
“I am very concerned that if the TWI program comes into this school, where the principal has turned the light on, it will disrupt that and it will never turn on again,” said Treadway, who also serves as the secretary for the Evanston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Treadway added that though the district must attend to the needs of new Spanish-speaking students, it should not forget a black constituency it once neglected for decades.
But Keith Banks, a parent with two children in TWI who also answered questions, said the program encourages students of all colors to learn. He said his children feel more confident knowing they can speak two languages.
Murphy stressed that TWI would not detract from existing school environments and that he hopes the program succeeds.
“It’s a beautiful process,” Murphy said. “I think some of us adults could benefit from learning to communicate.”
