Published by the Austin American Statesman, January 15, 2015
Since 2010, the Austin Independent School District, like many school districts across the nation, has offered dual-language programs at the elementary school level. Now, at the request of parents, the district will expand the popular program into middle school classrooms, a move this board fully supports.
It makes sense to provide a bilingual education to all Texas children. As local businesses partner with international companies, and as our communities become more diverse, the ability to adequately communicate in more than one language is vital. To truly master more than one language, however, bilingual education needs to starts at an early age. Experts agree that a dual-language education in the classroom is one of the best ways to teach young minds two languages simultaneously.
The Austin district currently offers dual-language programs in more than 50 of its elementary school campuses. Next year, it will expand the program — where students learn in English and a foreign language, like Spanish or Vietnamese — into Burnet and Fulmore middle schools. The program expansion will start in sixth grade and will add a grade level each year. While this is an important first step, expanding into other middle schools and high schools will better serve current and future dual-language students.
Three middle schools requested funding for dual-language programs, but only Fulmore and Burnet met the board’s expansion criteria, including ensuring a sufficient number of students participating in the program.
Most of Europe and other parts of the world encourage children to learn at least one foreign language. The practice has been the opposite historically in the United States, which is a huge disservice to the children of this country. Evidence shows that children who are bilingual are cognitively, academically, intellectually, socially and verbally more advantaged than their monolingual peers, according to several studies.
It’s no wonder dual-language programs have surged in popularity in the past decade as American schools look to compete and provide strong academic options to public school students.
In 2000, there were only about 260 dual-language programs operating in U.S. schools. Over the past decade, however, dual-language programs have grown tenfold, with an estimated 2,000 now operating, according to the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Locally, dual-language programs gained traction during the tenure of former Superintendent Meria Carstarphen. In the two-way dual-language program, English is taught for about half the day, and the other language — Spanish, Mandarin or Vietnamese — is taught for the other half. In many schools, the method replaces familiar transitional bilingual education. The transitional model, designed for non-English speakers only, teaches limited amounts in their native tongues, eventually transferring students to English-only instruction, sometimes into English as a Second Language programs, in which students are immersed in English and get extra help with grammar and expanding their vocabulary.
Currently, the district still uses English as a Second Language programs in middle and high schools. But, with research pointing to dual-language programs as a better way to engage a diverse student body, adopting a dual-language program in secondary schools on a wider scale should be considered. Given the Austin district is 60 percent Latino, with more than a quarter speaking little to no English, the program could close gaps between English and non-English speaking students, as research suggests.
Open to all students, dual-language programs provide an environment in which everyone is learning a new language and help ethnic boundaries disappear. In this setting, students become less fearful of making mistakes speaking a new language because everyone around them also is acquiring a new language . In the end, all participating students grasp concepts better and achieve higher academic success.
If the Austin district is to be fully committed to the success of the program, the district must ensure that dual-language programs are adequately staffed and teachers property trained.
Additionally, to maximize the benefits of the program, it is important that the district expand to more middle schools and high schools. Investing money and energy into the program, only to drop off in middle school, makes no sense. Continuing the investment through the end of high school is only logical.
Though dual-language programs can be cost-effective, with some dual-language schools able to address the literacy needs of English learners within the confines of the regular classroom, the Austin district’s dual-language program expansions, including the new programs at the middle schools, are estimated to cost $576,000 in 2015-16.
We understand that the new school board will have a tough job of trying to balance the district’s financial ledger this next school year, but we urge members to look at preserving and funding quality programs like dual language. The return on the investment of growing a workforce that is literate in two languages is a wise investment that benefits Austin and all of Texas.
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