A proposal to immerse students who don’t speak English into intense English-instruction classes for a year before they return to mainstream classrooms is not educationally sound and could be harmful to students, educators and critics say.
“This (proposed state constitutional) amendment is one-size-fits-all, regardless,” said Sheila Shannon, a professor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado.
At issue is the “Education of English Learners” ballot initiative proposed by a Weld County-based committee, English for Colorado. It calls for placing kids learning English into language classes for a year, without lessons in math, science, social studies or other topics.
After that year, the student would return to mainstream classrooms, said Weld County Commissioner William Jerke, who is leading the initiative effort. Parents of students 10 or older can request a waiver.
The group needs 67,829 signatures by Aug. 7 to get the issue on the November ballot. If voters approve, the program would begin in the 2007-08 school year, Jerke said.
Jerke said the group based its proposal on English-only programs in California, Arizona and Massachusetts, which have ended bilingual education.
But there is division on whether those programs are working.
The research on bilingual education, in which English learners are helped in their native language, shows that students benefit in cognitive, language and social development, Shannon said. Research also shows that it can take an English learner four to seven years to compete with English-speaking peers, she said.
Critics also say such a plan would deprive parents of choices, would leave English learners behind in other subjects and would be expensive.
Barbara Medina, director of the English Language Acquisition Unit at the Colorado Department of Education, said she hasn’t studied whether the plan would raise costs.
Denver is under a court order to provide quality programs for English learners. Under a district plan, parents choose the program for their child, said Susana Cordova, director of literacy.
In Weld County School District 6, a new program is to begin next year in which all district teachers will be trained in teaching English learners, and students in grades six through 12 will get additional English instruction.
And in the Boulder Valley School District, some students participate in dual immersion programs, in which they learn to read, write and speak in both English and Spanish, said Jorge Garcia, director of literacy and language support services.
Garcia said the English for Colorado plan will harm students because they won’t have access to other important subjects but will have to take Colorado Student Assessment Program exams in those subjects.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or at krouse@denverpost.com.
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