Reply to Child getting pulled out for ESL help but isn’t an English language learner

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think if you write on the intake form whether ‘any other languages are spoken at home’ then they evaluate the child for esl.  Or maybe he was super shy and the teacher wanted to rule that out.  Either way though the teacher should have emailed you about it.  Anyway you should never feel stupid asking for clarification about your child’s education!  That’s absolutely your job.  [/quote]

This.

Not just shyness, but using a limited vocabulary or not knowing concepts that a biased evaluator assumes a child fluent in English would know.[/quote]

In [b]most large districts[/b], rising kindergarten students who speak a language other than English are referred for testing to a welcome center with evaluators who have no relation to the individual school and whose expertise and entire jobs is testing. Otherwise, students are not referred unless they are new to the country.

Nevertheless the pp is right, the education system is complex and districts vary and parents should always ask questions or have things clarified so they understand what is happening with their child clearly.[/quote]

Not all school districts do this and if they do they should tell parents on the form that if they disclose another language spoken at home their child will be assessed. There is no constitutional requirement for school systems to do this when the family says they ALSO speak English and that English is the primary language spoken at home. But in the US foreign languages are considered a deficit instead of an asset.[/quote]

Of course not all districts, but most of the large ones that DCUM posters use do.

I absolutely think there should be more transparency about what triggers an assessment. Parents should make their school board aware of their concerns in order to use their voices to impact the procedures. Of course, parents and the general public also need to understand that speaking English along with another language doesn’t always equate to proficiency in both languages. But I understand that school staff are not trusted by some to evaluate their child’s proficiency, and those parents should feel empowered to opt their child out of receiving services.[/quote]

In my district btw parents did make the system aware of their concerns and it came up in the anti racist audit. School staff KNOW that parents are BEGGING them to remove their children from ESL. They often do not listen. That is a reality many families have experienced. But you are framing this as a parent problem. It is a school system problem.[/quote]

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