Bilingual Education

While I sympathize with Richard Reeves’ frustration with the Los Angeles public schools, I object to his blame of bilingual education and his gross misinformation (“The Killing of Public Education,” Commentary, Dec. 23).

Reeves wrote that Los Angeles requires that all illiterate kindergartners must be taught in their home language, be it Spanish or Urdu. This is plainly incorrect and misleading on several levels. In fact, federal law requires that if a child speaks a language other than English at home, his or her English fluency must be tested upon entering school. Based on this oral language test, children are placed in an appropriate program, which may include instruction in their primary language, and English-as-a-second-language instruction if the child does not possess English fluency. Children with functional oral English skills are taught in English only. Furthermore, primary language instruction is not available in every language in Los Angeles. Where very few children speak a given language (Urdu, for example), priority is placed on ESL.

As a bilingual teacher in the LAUSD, I am first to admit our schools are in serious trouble, but not because of our diversity or our linguistic philosophy. Indeed, ethnic and linguistic diversity are great strengths for helping children learn to cooperate in today’s world. The schools and especially our bilingual programs are in trouble because of shortage of funds, gross mismanagement, understaffing, poverty and white flight, not to mention rampant misleading of the public by articles such as this.

MARTA ANN GARDNER

Ninth Street School, Los Angeles