"Proposed reforms to the Austin school district's bilingual education program have threatened what some say is a tenuous relationship between new Superintendent Meria Carstarphen and some members of Austin's Hispanic community.
By moving from a transitional bilingual education model — where students still learning English get an increasingly limited amount of instruction in their native tongues — to what's called a dual language approach — where students are taught in two languages through high school — district officials say their goal has changed from producing graduates who are bilingual to graduating students who are biliterate.
'It's really an incredible opportunity to really lift the overall performance of both English language learners and native English speakers,' said Carstarphen, who can speak Spanish and has used it in speeches.
The dual language program, to be tested with Spanish at seven schools starting in the fall, would benefit English-language learners as well as English-speaking students whose parents want them to"
By moving from a transitional bilingual education model — where students still learning English get an increasingly limited amount of instruction in their native tongues — to what's called a dual language approach — where students are taught in two languages through high school — district officials say their goal has changed from producing graduates who are bilingual to graduating students who are biliterate.'It's really an incredible opportunity to really lift the overall performance of both English language learners and native English speakers,' said Carstarphen, who can speak Spanish and has used it in speeches.
The dual language program, to be tested with Spanish at seven schools starting in the fall, would benefit English-language learners as well as English-speaking students whose parents want them to"