Educators, parents torn on bilingual classes issue

LYNN – Re-instating bilingual education for English-language learners in public schools could benefit some Lynn students and harm others, said local educators and parents who spoke about legislation weaving its way through the State House.”What we’re finding out is it really depends on the level of the students,” said Gene Constantino, the principal at Lynn Classical High School, about the success of bilingual education versus English immersion.Constantino said immigrant students with strong academic backgrounds have an easier time learning English if they are immersed in English from day one, as is the status quo in Massachusetts public schools. But he said students who haven’t had much education grasp English slower without some initial teaching in their native language.”If it’s not done right, they have a harder time assimilating to English,” he said.More than a decade after Massachusetts voters ended bilingual English-language education in public schools, two bills introduced in the House and Senate aim to allow schools to use more of their students’ native languages to teach English. Supporters advocated for the legislation in a joint committee hearing this week.Bilingual education to teach English is a tool that should be used cautiously, said Maria Carrasco, a Lynn School Committee member whose own children immigrated to Lynn Public Schools without knowing English.On one hand, Carrasco said teaching students in their native tongue for one year could help ease the transition to English, especially for older students.But educators must find a delicate balance, because too much bilingual education could handicap students, she said.”I believe they have to integrate as soon as possible,” she said.Lynn resident Deliluz Gonzalez, who moved to Lynn from Puerto Rico 10 years ago, said she thinks she wasn’t immersed soon enough into English classes.At age 26, she speaks near-perfect English, but she said she had to work harder to do so because she spent too much time in school speaking Spanish.”I just think that it took me longer to learn English in bilingual classes than it took me to learn English in a regular classroom,” she said.Perhaps what Massachusetts English-language curriculum needs is the ability to specialize to each student, said Constantino, who said more than 100 Classical students are in ELL courses.”It’s too bad this isn’t like special education, where you have an individual ? plan that serves the individual,” he said. “In ELL you’re serving the group.”According to the proposed legislation, the state would provide training for teachers and administrators who work with ELL students and try to involve more immigrant parents in their children’s education.The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, a Democrat from Jamaica Plain, is co-sponsored by 18 House Democrats. The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Sal Domenico, a Democrat from Everett, has the support of 15 Senate Democrats.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].