No Child Left Behind? Say It in Spanish
The Hispanic population in the metropolitan region is decreasing because many of these families are choosing to move into towns and suburbs of this region, for example, "Dover, New Jersey." Many of these families are immigrant parents who want a better education for their children and this is why they are choosing to move to smaller towns in hopes for a better education for their children and for survival needs such as: work opportunities and for housing reasons (Fessenden, 2007).
School districts, in these regions, have to think about how to better assist minority children in their educational needs. The need to implement special services is to be considered if they want their students to perform well academically and in standardization testing. Some of these metropolitan school districts have already implemented bilingual programs. There are four out of five school districts that have already implemented special services for minority students. The No Child Left Behind Act mandates that all children should have an equal opportunity in their education; therefore, the need for minority students to perform well in standardization testing is very essential (Fessenden, 2007).
In order for these culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students to have their needs met academically, special services in bilingual education should be considered. In the year of 2006, New Jersey had 478 out of 595 school districts that had implemented bilingual programs due to the high increase in the Hispanic population (Fessenden, 2007).
CLD students need special programs that are in bilingual and/or in English Second Language instruction. The NCLBA mandates for all school districts to be a part of standardization testing and therefore, these language minority children need these services to help them to be ready.
From all the research that I have done, over English language learners, it supports the continued development of the students' first language; to continue to develop their native language, this way, they are able to acquire their second language quickly. Helping CLD diverse students, to be prepared in their education, will not only benefit them as individuals, but they will be able to do well in society in the future. They will be literate and linguistically competent to perform in any college and/or in the workforce.
I think it’s great to see school districts taking the initiative to help CLD students. The cost may be a lot but in the long run, it will be well worth it. Our country is investing in the needs language minority children to help them and for the future of our younger generations.
Fessenden, F. (2007, December/January 16). No child left behind? Say it in spanish [Newsgroup message]. Retrieved from The new york times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/16Rschool.html?fta=y
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