¿Habla Español? Your kids may soon

MOUNT VERNON — The school district is studying the possibility of converting one or more of its six elementary schools into dual language programs where the day is divided between lessons in Spanish and English for all students.

"Research says that's the best delivery model," Superintendent Mack Armstrong said. "Then the question is, Why wouldn't we do it?"

Armstrong's enthusiasm for the idea follows a visit to the district two weeks ago by Richard Gomez, bilingual education director for the state education department in Olympia.

In the last three years, Gomez has spearheaded efforts to create 17 dual language schools in the state, primarily in eastern Washington. In his previous job in Texas, he helped establish 50 of the schools.

"I think it would be an excellent fit for Mount Vernon," Gomez said. "It offers a superior academic program and a superior linguistic program."

A dual language program, also known as two-way immersion, is different from traditional schools that teach students who speak languages other than English. In a dual language school, fourth-graders might learn math in Spanish and social

The model promoted by Gomez transforms a school grade by grade until the entire curriculum is taught in both Spanish and English and students are equally adept at both languages.

The Burlington School District is considering starting such a program next school year at West View Elementary School. According to the 2000 census, one out of every four residents in Mount Vernon and Burlington is Hispanic.

The transformation to a dual language program begins gradually. A school starts by converting its kindergarten and possibly first grade to the Spanish-English format, continuing with the second grade the following year, and third grade the year after that, until the entire school is bilingual.

Within each grade, students have some subjects in Spanish and others in English. Each classroom is divided equally between Spanish and English speakers and, within each class, students are encouraged to serve as translators for their peers.

Supporters point to a growing amount of research that shows dual language programs lead to higher test scores for both English- and Spanish-speaking students.

While parents tend to be hesitant about risking their children's education on such a radical change, many change their tune once they see the results, Gomez said.

One of the best endorsements for bilingual schools is that most of the existing schools now have waiting lists of parents who want their children involved, he said.

A nationwide study six years ago by two Virginia researchers found that the dual language program was the most effective way for non-English speakers to become fluent.

Ideally, English-speaking students gain a second language as well, and both groups improve scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or WASL.

"Students who have been in this program from kindergarten to the time that they take the WASL have surpassed the other kids in regular school," said Arturo Vivanco, migrant/bilingual coordinator for Mount Vernon schools. "It starts as a language program and it turns into an academic program and that's what our parents want."

Addressing the needs of a growing Hispanic population is becoming a critical issue for many Mount Vernon elementary schools.

Many schools with large Hispanic and migrant populations suffer from low WASL scores largely because student performance is assessed on a test given in English, when a large portion of their students speak primarily Spanish.

Even if students learn English, they often have trouble translating the content in subjects such as science and social studies, both in their day-to-day classes and on the annual state exam.

Armstrong said the dual language model effectively would eliminate the language barrier and increase learning for Spanish- and English-speaking students.

"Both students are getting a foreign language. Both students are getting primary content in their primary language," Armstrong said. "So, there's a benefit for all students involved."

Principals who heard Gomez's presentation stressed that the discussion is in its early stages. But several school leaders also said they were interested in studying how the model would work at their schools.

"With our demographics at Centennial, we're a perfect candidate for doing a program like that," said Alan McDonald, who is in his third year as principal of Centennial Elementary School, where 54 percent of the students are Hispanic. "It's just that it would be difficult for us to have the staff to implement it."

Gomez said hiring enough bilingual teachers is typically the biggest concern and the most difficult obstacle for schools making the leap to a dual language program.

Centennial has four classes in each grade. That means the school would have to hire two Spanish-speaking teachers a year until the program is fully implemented.

Centennial currently has three teachers capable of teaching in Spanish, but finding qualified staff year after year is a difficult challenge, McDonald said.

"Not only do you want them to be bilingual, you want them to be your best candidates," he said. "That's the tough part."

Of all Mount Vernon elementary schools, Madison has the largest percentage of Hispanic students at 68 percent. Two-thirds of Madison's Hispanic students are migrants.

Like many schools that have a large number of English-language learners, Madison uses a "pullout program." Teachers pull non-English speaking students out of their regular classroom for part of the day to work on English language development.

About 10 years ago, the school attempted to implement a program similar to the dual language approach where English- and Spanish-speaking students were taught in both languages, but school officials had difficulty finding enough bilingual teachers, Principal Evelyn Morse said.

Morse said she is interested in trying the switch again. But she wants to watch Burlington's West View Elementary School before taking the leap.

"We're not just looking at it because we have a high migrant bilingual population," Morse said. "We're looking at it because it's a good program."

West View Elementary may be the first in Skagit County to switch to a full bilingual school. Burlington administrators are in the final stages of studying dual language programs and plan to make a presentation to the School Board later this month. About half of West View students are Hispanic.

West View Principal Doug Banner, several West View teachers, two board members and Superintendent Rick Jones are in South Texas this week, visiting a number of dual language schools.

While Burlington is going through its School Board, Mount Vernon's Armstrong said board approval would not be required to start a bilingual program in his district.

"It is unique enough that having board understanding on it is healthy," Armstrong said. "But we don't need a vote."

Armstrong has experience implementing a bilingual program at his previous job in Shelton, about 25 miles northwest of Olympia.

Evergreen Grade School in Shelton has one of the longest running dual language programs in the state.

Three years ago, the school expanded its English-Spanish format from one classroom per grade to a schoolwide program.

While parents in the small logging town were suspicious of the program at first, not a single student has transferred from the school since the conversion, Principal Steve Warner said.

"It's a big leap. I can understand a little hesitancy," Warner said. "It's hard for us as adults to understand the capacity that kids have for learning languages."

Steve Howie can be reached at 360-416-2135 or by e-mail at showie@skagitvalleyherald.com.

I think we should categorize immigrants --- the freeloaders need to go ---- there doesn't have to be a Berlin Wall, there doesn't have to be door-to-door searches ---- a lot more could be done with existing monies.

Good points.

I do know a guy who really likes the Berlin Wall idea.

He's a cement contractor (c8

A guy from here who is hispanic and was stationed in the military in Panama told us of a very funny story ---- they were doing an exam on a prim and proper Panamanian woman and needed a translator --- they chose a Chicana woman who claimed she spoke Spanish but she only knew the most vulgar street terms for anatomical parts and of course used them to describe a procedure and ask questions of her.

Not to mention the 8th Special Forces guys in Panama in the 1970s who got a new boss, and a couple of the guys assigned as bodyguards to the new Colonel's wife killed a little time by helpfully teaching the Colonel's missus a little of the local language.

Though they made a few slight errors, like confusing the term for the the local currency, the balboa and centisimos, which came out chingaderas in the version she learned.

She was most surprised when she asked a local vendor how many of them it would take for a new hat. And the Sergeants got a new job. A much less pleasant one.

A combination of enhanced border enforcement with stepped-up interior enforcement is the way to go. Bush, however, shows no sign of doing either I fully expect him to implement some sort of amnesty which will only make matters worse.

Believe it or not --- a man I know who came here ---legally from Mexico City --- complains about how much like Mexico it's starting to look like around here --- and he's in favor of a Berlin Wall. He even says we should shoot them when they try to climb over. I also knew a guy from India who said we should be careful with immigration because everyone in India wanted to move here --- and he wasn't in favor of that happening.

you seem to want to rollover and let the country be overrun by illegal aliens
Not at all. I just don't think any physical barrier would do more than slow it down.

I agree. I pulled 4 tours on the West German-EastGerman/Czech Iron Curtain zone, where we had a 5-Kilometer militarized zone on our side, and the other side was a lot rougher, to include mines, dog runs, and machineguns and spotlights in watchtowers, for real. And still the crossers got through.

But we now have 10 million illegal invaders in this country, with more coming every day. Even slowing it down SOME is a start.

My kid learned every form of the "ching...." word in his dual-language kindergarten and all the rest of the choice words. Luckily for him --- I already knew and he got his mouth washed out with soap.

Still --- it's not a bad foreign language to at least know quite a bit of --- and on the border it can be useful to know what a trokita or wagoncito is but I'm not sure that would be useful in Spain.

Even slowing it down SOME is a start.

Would it be worth the price tag on a 2,100-mile-long "Berlin-Wall-Lite?" (No mines, no dogs, no machineguns.)

Even that sucker wouldn't be cheap. Put in the lethal implements...and the price tag can only go up.

Not to mention the shelf-life of the lethal wall when CNN shows video of little 4-year-old Paco getting his legs blown off...during breakfast.

Wouldn't America be a great place if it just weren't for all the Sp*cs, Ni%%ers, and Ra&#eads. /sarcasm

I've had it in for those damn redheads since Lucille Ball and Maureen O'Hara! Never shoulda let 'em in from the get-go!!

Would it be worth the price tag on a 2,100-mile-long "Berlin-Wall-Lite?" (No mines, no dogs, no machineguns.)

Even that sucker wouldn't be cheap. Put in the lethal implements...and the price tag can only go up.

Ask the man who owns one.

There's no Berlin Wall and you don't see Americans running over to the Mexican side. For one the Mexicans enforce their immigration laws and Americans wouldn't be given freebies over there. You get caught being in Mexico illegally and you're deported --- no questions asked and barred from reentry for 5 years.

I would not go to a Mexican doctor in Mexico and expect them to speak English --- I would think it was up to me to learn their language.

I agree. The same with driver license exams, road signs, etc. Yet I've met any number of Americans abroad who are upset when they encounter locals who don't speak English.

I suspect some hispanics who come here don't learn English either because they don't have to or they have no intention of staying.

It would do us all good in the U.S. to learn a second language. The earlier taught, the easier. Unfortunately my choice in college was French. Zeut Alors. Habría sido mejor haber aprendido español.

Here you go, broaden your horizons. Learn some Arabic.

KHREL JEPAHEH MANEH VA JAYEH AMERIKAHEY!

Dual language programs in California have been a disaster for the kids who were used as part of this social engineering program. It was such a disaster, Californians passed a proposition to outlaw bilingual education. Of course there was a loophole and many schools still practice it.

With dual immersion spanish english programs you end up with kids illiterate in both languages. You also end up with kids being taught border spanish instead of proper spanish because they will hire anyone (even those without credentials) to meet the bilingual hiring quotas.

The english speaking kids who get put in these classes end up bored to death, because although the instructors promised to spend 50% on english and 50% on spanish, they almost always spend 90% of the time speaking spanish, so the english speaking kids do not get their fair share of the teaching.

I know because my school district is the poster child for outlawing bilingual ed.

Typical Poohbah reply - the reply of a wimp.

Typical reply from sarcasm--refuse to address anything resembling a second-order effect and engage in personal insult.

Bottom line: if your measures get people to vote your side out of office, and put in the folks who say "Y'all come on in!" in their place, then you have--better be sitting down for this--failed to accomplish your loudly-proclaimed goal.

Now, think of how to accomplish this goal without annoying a large chunk of the US citizenry in the process, and thus not getting thrown out of office.

Think really hard.

Unless, of course, your intended solution is to declare a "temporary emergency," and to suspend elections and the like "for a brief period" as a "security measure."

After all, if Mrs. Soccer Mom can't vote against you, then you're free to do as you wish, right?

I'd press for Welsh. You have access to written literature back to 396 AD. The unabridged dictionary makes the Oxford English version look like a pocket guide. I sure wish my great grandfather had maintained a bilingual household. Unfortunately, he insisted on English only. Most of his 19 children graduated from college with engineering degrees.

If I remember correctly, the Berlin Wall was about 100 miles in length. What some people here want is a Berlin wall over 1300 miles long.

The ultimate solution would be for Mexico to develop an economy which gives hope to Mexicans to stay there instead of coming here to mow lawns and lay bricks.

But until then, we need to change the laws so that they can come here to do that, pay taxes, and leave when their visa expires.

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