English learners, parents and teachers gather at Arizona Capitol to protest Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne’s opposition to dual language programs.
Josh Bootzin Cronkite News PHOENIX — English learners, parents and teachers gathered at the state Capitol Thursday to protest Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne’s opposition to Arizona’s dual language programs.Stand for Children Arizona, a nonprofit that focuses on empowering community members to speak out for children at the state and local level, led the charge to deliver 2,833 community signatures to Horne and the state board of education.
People are also reading… “Proposition 203, the voter protected initiative passed in 2000, specified that classes for English Language Learners must be taught in English,’” Horne said in a statement. “‘All children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms.’ Dual language classes, typically taught for half of each day in Spanish, are an obvious violation of this initiative.
“It meant a better future for students like my son, Jorge,” Georgina Monsalvo, organizing director for Stand for Children Arizona, said about the 2019 bill. “These reforms have allowed my son to master English while participating in the regular curriculum, an opportunity many of us did not have. Fast forward to today, we find ourselves in a state of uncertainty and apprehension caused by Superintendent Horne’s overreach of authority and his decision to unlawfully modify the dual language model.
“I stand here today and ask the state board of education to release a statement to all our schools to inform them of what is currently allowable by state law,” said Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Paradise Valley. “This level of assurance is urgent as schools prepare to start the next school year in just a matter of weeks.”
Another former dual language student, Monsalvo remembers how she was segregated for up to four hours a day from other students before she was deemed to be proficient in English. The state board of education didn’t have dual language immersion as an approved model until 2019, and since students start in kindergarten, there hasn’t been enough time to judge the long-term effectiveness of the programs in Arizona.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Arizona dual language education supporters demand Tom Horne allow all students to participateSupporters of dual language programs in Arizona walked through sweltering 100-degree heat on Thursday to deliver a packet of over 2,800 signatures.
Read more »
Pokémon TCG Japan’s Pokémon Card 151: The English VersionThese are the products that make up PokemonTCG's next special set, Scarlet & Violet - 151 which will adapt Japan's Pokémon Card 151 expansion. Pokemon
Read more »
Bobby Axelrod’s English Country House From ‘Billions’ Just Hit the Market for $17.5 MillionStep inside Bobby Axelrod's luxurious English retreat, where the drama of 'Billions' meets serene countryside vibes.
Read more »
This Historic 16th-Century English Estate Was Featured In ‘Billions’ And Is Listed For $17.5 MillionShawford Park, located in Hampshire, U.K., is listed for $17.5 million. Built in 1685, the home was featured on season six of ‘Billions.'
Read more »
AI detector mislabels essays by non-native English speakersAn AI detector mislabeled nearly every essay written by a non-native English speaker as being written by a bot
Read more »