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Published on 07/13/1998 All articles from this issue

MVHS board agrees to waiver request to keep bilingual programs

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Students in the Mountain View School District could continue to learn in both Spanish and English despite new state regulations that require schools statewide to have programs in place by next month to teach all children in English.

School board members unanimously voted at the regular meeting July 13 to file two general waivers with the State Board of Education to allow the district to continue its Two-Way Immersion and Primary Language programs at Castro, Landels, Slater and Graham schools.

Parents nearly filled the board room at last week's meeting to show support for the district's language programs.

"Parents were loud and clear that they appreciate having a choice over the kind of language programs that support their children's academic learning," superintendent Trish Bubenik said.

The waiver requests were filed in response to Proposition 227, the recent voter-approved initiative that will end California's 30-year bilingual program.

Bubenik said about 37 languages are spoken in the district and about 46 percent of the students are second-language learners.

Bubenik said the district's Two-way Immersion, Primary Language, English Language Development and Specially Designed Academic Instruction In English programs fall under a Title VII federal grant that the district received in 1995-96 school year, and therefore could be protected under federal law.

She described the general waivers as a "safety net" should the programs not be protected.

Children in Primary Language Instruction, also called Bilingual Instruction, learn the core curriculum in their native language while learning English.

Unlike bilingual classes aimed at teaching English to non-English-speaking students, both English- and non-English-speaking students enrolled in the Two-Way Immersion program to learn English and Spanish.

About 90 percent of the instruction is in Spanish during the first years.

Bubenik said she expects the state to respond to the waiver requests by next month. "We will just have to wait," she said.