Good evening.
I’m Maria Thompson – a teacher at Bonita Vista High, and a member of the Bilingual Task Force.
The Bilingual Task Force’s mission statement has 3 components:
1) to be an active stakeholder for Sweetwater’s ELD/Bilingual Programs,
2) to be a driving force for a rigorous and relevant curriculum for English Language Learners, and
3) to assure English Learners are provided an equitable, and culturally, and linguistically sensitive learning environment.
The Bilingual Task Force has been meeting with the District for more than 1 ½ yrs. – almost 2 years. We were hopeful that the district would move in the right direction – to strengthen our English Language Learners’ programs, Bilingual and ELD programs. We were hopeful that the District would listen to our input and recommendations – and include teachers in the decision-making process.
However, little has been done in response to our observations and suggestions to strengthen our Bilingual/ELD programs. In fact, we have had to re-address some items because problems still persisted at sites. The District’s responses were often evasive, in that they either did not address the concerned matters that we brought up, and/or cited research and studies done at the k-6 level.
Using K-6 research/studies has led the District to remove students from ELD & bilingual classes. Yes, in k-6, fourth grade ELD 5/6 students are placed in mainstream classes. At the ELD 5/6 level, the student is at the 4th grade level of English. However, to remove a student out of ELD in our District, grades 7 – 12, especially at the high school level, grades 9 – 12, places the student at an extreme disadvantage.
The Bilingual Task Force found that there was often a mismatch between what the District said and what was being done at school sites.
In addition, the District led us to believe -
1) that 2 Bilingual Task Force members would be on the interview panel to select the 2 new area superintendents. This did not occur.
The District led us to believe -
2) that the District would direct school sites to adhere to SEI (Sheltered/Structured English Instruction) caps. This did not occur.
The District led us to believe –
3) that the District would advocate for the reinstatement of the Bilingual/ELD Dept. at all school sites . This did not occur.
The District led us to believe –
4) that the ELD CIA would be a committee in which ELD teachers’ input would be crucial in the decision-making process. This did not occur. ELD teachers feel excluded from the decision-making process.
The District led us to believe –
5) that OLA would create a Newsletter to improve communication between the District & teachers [and that all-inclusive curriculum guides would be available for ELD teachers]. This did not occur. There is a lack of organization & clear communication from the District.
Tonight, you will hear from dedicated teachers on how the District has created confusion, and inconsistency, with a lack of organization that has resulted in the erosion of our English Language Learners’ programs.
The District led us to believe –
6) that only long-term English Learners – those who have attended U.S. schools for at least 5 years would be placed in SEI classes; and that SEI classes would replace neither bilingual nor ELD classes. This did not occur.
The District led us to believe –
7) that they would not hold an election until 2-3 yrs. from now on the radical proposal to restructure ELD from a 2-hr. block to a 1 hr. of ELD with 1 hr. of SEI or mainstream English. This statement has not been adhered to. In fact, we now hear that the official vote is planned for this coming January or February. Supposedly, the ELD CIA took a preliminary vote on this matter on Dec. 1st . The decision/vote was made by: some ELD teachers, together with several administrators, and resource teachers who do not currently teach ELD.
This proposal is a step backward pedagogically, philosophically, and linguistically. It was tried before with dismal results. We are here tonight because the District appears to be moving once more in the wrong direction.
It’s sad and unfortunate that the District missed a great opportunity to work with caring, dedicated, talented, knowledgeable teachers who are aware of the importance of using research, data, and effective learning strategies in creating a rigorous and relevant curriculum to promote the students’ positive self-image, cross-cultural understanding and provide equal opportunity for the academic performance of each student.
I hope when you hear the teachers speak tonight, that you realize that they are experienced teachers with extensive backgrounds in bilingual education, language acquisition, and the teaching of language-minority students -- and that we genuinely care about our students’ academic performance.
We have tried to work cooperatively with the district to bring our expertise, knowledge, & experience into making our District’s ELL programs the best that they can be. However, we have been summarily excluded from the decision-making process. There needs to be a process so that decisions are not handed down. Equity does not mean equal treatment. The District is trying to meet students’ needs at the level that they think the student should be at and not at the level where they actually are.
