COUNTYWIDE : State Board OKs English-Only Teaching in Westminster

The State Board of Education agreed Friday to let the Westminster School District instruct its multiethnic mix of students in English only, while increasing the use of bilingual teaching aides.

The board’s unanimous vote, which came despite criticism from advocates of traditional bilingual education, marked the first test of a new state policy giving schools more latitude to abandon native language instruction. A board committee had approved the arrangement Thursday.

Backers of bilingual education argue that Westminster’s plan will hurt students struggling to keep up with English-speaking peers while learning a new language. They contend that a child’s academic progress could be eroded by poor translation or other problems with bilingual aides thrust into the role of surrogate teachers.

The district is currently providing bilingual education--under which children are instructed in their native languages while being tutored in English--to just 60 of its more than 4,000 students who speak little or no English. The rest are taught all subjects in English.

School officials in Westminster, which has large Vietnamese- and Spanish-speaking populations, say they simply have been unable to recruit enough certified bilingual teachers to comply with state rules.

District officials believe immersion in an English-speaking classroom will help nonnative speakers more quickly develop fluency. Under the program, which the state will review after a 22-month trial, bilingual teaching assistants will be required to pass reading, writing and oral tests in both English and a second language.