Reply to Spanish Immersion Community Table Session

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]These comments are depressing. Most developed countries actually teach multiple languages in schools from very early on. APS offers a popular, successful program (with strong academic outcomes for native Spanish & English speakers)… and you want to get rid of it. We should be expanding it instead. [/quote]

Not when kids aren’t learning basics they need in math and reading. APS needs to focus on that before they start to add languages in that not everyone wants because we are trying to catch our kids up from the crap job APS has done. [/quote]

Dual language immersion programs (like what APS does) actually help close achievement gaps.  I didn't know this until I started learning about the APS program so I won't try to explain it, but you'll find plenty of info if you google something like "immersion language achievement gap."  [/quote]

It closes the achievement gap because the English speaking students have lower math and science scores because they are learning in a foreign language.  Outcomes for both cohorts are below strong neighborhood schools. This is just the same equity nonsense that haunts APS. [/quote]

This is absolutely false in the long term. Yes, English-speaking students might (and I stress might) have slightly lower math and science scores in early years compared to their counterparts in traditional English-only schools, but over time, they overcome those deficits and generally outperform peers from English-only schools. From my experience, both my native-English speaking kids in Immersion gained reading fluency in English a little later than they otherwise would have -- but they've caught up, and now they can read in both languages.

Students who are native Spanish speakers gain from instruction in their native languages as well - test scores for this cohort prove this to be true.

You are right that a snapshot in the early years of immersion elementary MIGHT show lower test scores than neighborhood school counterparts. But, over time, as these students gain fluency in both languages, their scores increase, bringing them on par with their peers in traditional programs. [/quote]

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