children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...

limited English-speaking ability are participating in
elementary programs, and that on the high school
level the statistics are unclear because no distinctions
are made between students in bilingual or English
as a 'Second Language (ESL) classes and those
taking a foreign language. 75 However, presuming
that the 348 children of limited English-speaking
ability listed on the Cambridge High and Latin
School Census form were being served, less than 35
percent of the 1,556 children in need of bilingual
education received it.
The most serious problem in the Massachusetts
districts we visited was the lack of services for older,
non-English-speaking children. In Somerville, there
are no bilingual classes in the high school and its
bilingual program director stated that "It's a very
unsatisfactory situation to have a cut-off. The high
school contends that the kids are so proficient that
they don't need it. Things are changing but it takes
time. The Portuguese children have to be educated
to ask for this kind of service at the high school."76
In 1973-74, none of the junior high schools in
Holyoke, Massachusetts, provided any bilingual programs.
Though bilingual classes were conducted at
Holyoke High School, none were given at Holyoke
Trade High School. As a result "[There is] an automatic
dropout pool because'Spanish kids can't go to
Trade."77 A similar situation exists in Cambridge:
Spanish and Portuguese bilingual teachers are provided
at Cambridge High and Latin, but not at
Rindge Technical High School. Secondary level students
whose native language is other than Spanish
75 English as a second language (ESL) and bilingual edu·
cation are not the same. According to the Draft Guidelines
of the Bilingual Education Program, "Bilingual education
is instruction in two languages and the use of those
two languages as mediums of instruction for any part of
or all of the school curriculum. Study of the history and
culture associated with a student's mother tongue is considered
an integral part of bilingual education." Theodore
Andersson and Mildred Boyer, Bilingual Schooling in lite
United States (Austin, Texas: Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory, January, 1970), p. 12.
ESL is "a program designed to teach English language
skills without the presentation of related cultural material.
It is taught for only a limited number of hours each week,
with English presented to Spanish-speaking children in
much the same way that a foreign language is taught to
English-speaking students." The Excluded Student, Mexican-American
Education Study Report III, U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights, May 1972, p. 26.
74
or Portuguese are able to attend two ESL classes
per day but the rest of the time they sit in regular
classes. The director of bilingual programs in
Springfield, Massachusetts, reported that prior to the
1973-74 school year, Spanish-speaking students who
went on to high school almost invariably attended
either Commerce or Trade High Schools where they
worked with an ESL teacher for half a day. 1973-74
is the first year that 18 Puerto Rican students have
moved from Chestnut Jr. High to Commerce High
with a bilingual teacher actually on the staff of the
high school. 78
In the District of Columbia, which has a growing
concentration of Spanish-speaking and other non­
English-speaking children, only two itinerant ESL
teachers are available to provide service to any secondary
student whose dominant language is other
than English. 79 This lack of bilingual program at
the secondary level contributes to a high dropout
rate and astonishingly few high school graduates
among non- and limited English-speaking students.
A former director of bilingual programs in New
Bedford reported that 80 percent of the students in
the district from non-English-speaking backgrounds
fail to receive a high school diploma. 8o One of the
few Spanish-speaking community workers in New
Bedford reported that in 1971-72, only four Puerto
Ricans graduated from high school and in 1972-73
there were only five. In 1973-74, there were seven
to ten Puerto Ricans who might graduate. "I don't
76 Interview with Rita Deleo, Director, Bilingual Programs,
Somerville, Massachusetts, 1/16/74.
77 Interview with George Counter, Supervisor of Elementary
Education, Holyoke, Massachusetts, 12/12/73.
78 Interview with Yolanda Ulloa, Transitional Bilingual Supervisor,
Springfield, Massachusetts, 12/11/73.
70 Memorandum to the Board of Education of the District
of Columbia, "The Bilingual Program of the District of
Columbia Public Schools." Submitted by Barbara A. Sizemore,
Superintendent of Schools, Washington, D.C.,
2/20/74.
80 Interviews with Jack Baptista, Former Director, Bilingual
Programs; Principal, Immaculate Conception School, New
Bedford, Massachusetts, 9110/73 and 11/28/73.
81 Interview with Dorothy Kallevik, Regina Paces Center,
New Bedford, Massachusetts, 11/28/73.
82 Interview with Tobias Paulo, Immigration Assistance
Center, New Bedford, Massachusetts, 11/28/73 and interview
with Mary Barros, Member of City and State Title I
PAC, New Bedford, Massachusetts, 8110/73.
83 Interview with Sister Anne Marie, Education Coordinator,
Casa Cristo Rey, Springfield, Massachusetts, 12/11/73.