“There’s a bunch of teachers who are not using their bilingual credentials,” she added, saying the district needs to offer incentives to them so they can improve their knowledge of new teaching methods. “We need to work out a plan for how we’re going to do that,” she said. Similarly, Los Angeles Unified is also planning to harness the potential of its out-of-practice bilingual teachers, who include more than 3,000 Spanish-speakers, said Hilda Maldonado, executive director of the Los Angeles district’s multilingual and multicultural education department (no relation to Fresno’s Maria Maldonado). Now, Fresno and other districts are looking to add to their bilingual teaching staffs, but they are hard-pressed to find teachers who not only can teach in formal, academic Spanish, but are also up-to-speed on the state’s more rigorous Common Core standards in math and English language arts, along with standards for teaching English learners and new Next Generation Science Standards.įresno’s Maldonado estimates the district has about 300 bilingual teachers, including more than 200 who “are not utilizing their bilingual credentials and their skills.” That’s when Fresno shut down most of its more than 20 bilingual programs. 227, the state’s “English in Public Schools” initiative. That mandate dates to 1998 when voters approved Prop. 58, which ended a mandate for mostly English-only classes for students who come to school speaking other languages. We want high-level academic language.”įresno and many other districts throughout the state are adding back bilingual programs as a result of the passage last November of Prop. Many are native speakers of Spanish, so their Spanish is quite casual. “ Our bilingual teachers need a lot of support. ![]() “We have a lot of teachers who at one point were bilingual who are now teachers of English-only classes,” said Maria Maldonado, Fresno Unified’s assistant superintendent for English learner services. ![]() Native Spanish speakers who have been teaching in English-only classrooms are the focus of specialized training in many districts across California to meet the increased demand for bilingual teachers. It provides instruction in both English and Spanish to students in grades K-5. The Vista del Valle Dual Language Academy in San Fernando is one of more than 100 dual-language programs operated by Los Angeles Unified.
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