Two Schools Defy Odds
Imagine a kindergartner--or a student in any other grade--who cannot understand a word of English. In these Inglewood schools, this child is placed in a classroom where he/she must begin to learn to read English “from the moment they enter school.”
Children are docile and mindful of adults, and, thus, they follow the school routines even if they understand little or nothing. Eventually, they may drop out of school. Research indicates, however, that their decision to drop out of school is made in the third grade! Extensive evaluation studies of LEP students attending bilingual programs show that they tend to stay in school longer, and graduate from high school in greater numbers, than LEP students not attending bilingual programs.
One of the sad facts about LEP students who eventually drop out is that they do not fully control the English language, nor do they have mastery of their native tongue. They are defined in the research literature as “limited bilinguals.”
Research has found that limited bilinguals are the result of “pushing” LEP students into English too soon. Research has also demonstrated that when concepts are learned, through whichever language, these concepts become readily available once a second language is learned.
CARMEN SANCHEZ SADEK
President LA/USC Chapter
California Assn. for Bilingual Education
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