English in Schools Initiative

“GOP Bid to Mend Rift With Latinos Still Strained” (Aug. 31), touching on our initiative campaign, contained inaccuracies that should be clarified. Neither our initiative nor our organization is called “English first.” English First is the name of a prominent national organization which works to eliminate the use of other languages in government documents. Our organization, English for the Children, believes that young children should be taught English when they go to school, a completely different issue.

The article seems to portray portions of a letter sent out by my organization as having an anti-Latino tinge because its discussion of “bilingual education” focuses entirely on Latinos and on the Spanish language. Today, nearly 80% of the English learners in California public schools are Spanish-language Latinos, with the next largest group (Vietnamese) being less than 4%. The relative proportion of Latino schoolchildren in bilingual programs is even greater than this. To focus on any other language group would be a severe distortion of reality.

My own pro-immigrant credentials are a matter of extensive public record, and my letter repeatedly emphasized the harm being done to young immigrant children by not teaching them English when they start school.

RON K. UNZ, Chairman

English for the Children

Palo Alto