"Boston has invested millions of dollars to revamp programs, hire dozens of additional teachers to work directly with English-language learners, and train traditional classroom teachers to work with the students. It is planning to spend another $10 million on such efforts this year."
Meanwhile, your kids' TEACHERS are being LAID OFF and your schools being CLOSED, taxpayers!
And wait until you see HOW UNGRATEFUL the KIDS are, teachers!!!
"Student fluency woes rising; New testing finds 28% in Hub need help in English" by James Vaznis, Globe Staff | July 8, 2010
The number of Boston school students identified as lacking fluency in English surged dramatically over the past school year, presenting further challenges for a school district already under federal investigation for failing to provide adequate programs for students trying to learn the language.
I'm sorry; however, if I fled to South America I would expect them to teach in Spanish and Portuguese and not make allowances for me.
Wouldn't it be MY RESPONSIBILITY to LEARN THEIR LANGUAGE?
Related: Teachers, city reach extra-hour agreement
School's Out Forever For Some Boston Teachers
Yeah, the extra time is too teach English.
Also see: Why Massachusetts Needed to Raise Taxes
I can see why American taxpayers are rip shit.
Such students now number nearly 16,000, about 28 percent of the district’s total enrollment, according to new data released by the district....
And it is INCREASING EVERY YEAR!
Much of the increase emerged after school officials complied with a federal directive to retest thousands of students who were improperly evaluated over the last seven years for English fluency, causing them not to be identified for services. Those students were tested only on how well they speak and listen in English, but not their ability to read and write in the language.
The retesting effort, carried out over the past six months, identified 4,269 additional students in need of specialized instruction. The students, who have low MCAS scores, run the gamut: Some barely grasp English, while others are almost fluent.
“It’s a substantial increase, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime situation’’ said Eileen de los Reyes, Boston’s assistant superintendent for English-language learners. “One thing that is very clear to us is that students in this group need an academic intervention.’’
But you AmeriKan kids, you are on your own!
The failure of Boston schools to properly identify and provide services to the students could play a big factor in their poor academic performance. Students lacking fluency in English have among the lowest MCAS scores and graduation rates in Boston and statewide, potentially limiting their job options later in life.
What options? The military or McDonalds?
School officials have begun meeting with parents of the newly identified students to explain educational options to them. They have created a special summer school program to serve approximately 3,300 of the newly identified students, who will require additional help when the school year begins....
The growth in the number of English-language learners has challenged school districts statewide. Many programs were thrown into disarray, specialists say, after voters in 2002 abolished widespread use of bilingual education, which allows students to learn subjects in their native tongue until they master English....
Yeah, it is our fault. Pffft!
Over the last year, Boston has invested millions of dollars to revamp programs, hire dozens of additional teachers to work directly with English-language learners, and train traditional classroom teachers to work with the students. It is planning to spend another $10 million on such efforts this year.
As budgets are being whacked all across the city.
Some advocates for English-language learners question Boston’s ability to properly serve all such students, especially in lean budget times.
“Clearly, it’s a significant number of kids, and our concern is now that they have identified these kids, what are they going to do with them?’’ said Roger Rice, executive director of Multicultural Education, Training & Advocacy, a national organization that represents linguistic minorities and has an office in Somerville. “Are they going to design programs to meet their needs. . . . .’’
When is someone in government going to design a program to MEET YOUR NEEDS, citizen of the Commonwealth?
De los Reyes said the district aims to ensure all English-language learners are receiving extra support this coming school year. She said the district and the federal investigators are working toward an agreement on what changes will be made to programs that serve the students.
“Now the question in the years to come is how do we make sure we keep the momentum and English-language learners front and center in the district,’’ de los Reyes said.
--more--"And LOOK WHO has to go BACK to SCHOOL!
"Teaching the teachers lessons on culture; Group, students propose training after incidents" by James Vaznis, Globe Staff | August 23, 2010
That sure will give you something to talk about in the teachers lounge -- if there are any of you left.
One student says an eighth-grade teacher in Roxbury scolded classmates for speaking Spanish among themselves, exclaiming: “You are in America; we speak English here.’’
Another reports that a Jamaica Plain teacher had little to say when a boy pulled off a Muslim girl’s head scarf.
And in history lessons on the civil rights movement, students say, teachers across the city often overlook the role of Latinos, the largest student group in Boston.
Oh, the Boston school teacher is an insensitive, insulting racist, huh?
I can see why drop-out rates are so high over there.
The incidents, recounted in recent interviews, reflect what some say is a gap in city teachers’ knowledge of students’ culture, language, and customs.
Related: The Boston Globe Dumps All Over Boston's Teachers
That is the ONLY CONCLUSION I CAN DRAW from this FRONT-PAGE FODDER, folks!
The result can be an unwelcoming climate for students, potentially contributing to their loss of classroom focus, poor test performance, or a higher dropout rate, according to some students and advocates. Students who are black, Latino, or learning to speak English tend to have the weakest academic records.
But WHO CARES about the WELCOMING CLIMATE for TEACHERS!
Just CRAP ALL OVER THEM, Globe!
Thank the Lord I am finished with my state-sanctioned ekerkashen!
To remedy those concerns, students and advocates from Sociedad Latina, a community-based youth organization in Roxbury, have launched a campaign to persuade city leaders to provide teachers with more comprehensive cultural training.
Don't they have ENOUGH TO DO with the STAFF CUTS?
And IF NOT.... ?!?!
They are surveying students at youth programs and festivals this month about their experiences in school as part of an effort to develop policy recommendations.
“Teachers just don’t have the training to educate a culturally diverse student body,’’ said one of the organizers, Jhoannette Arias, 17, a Brighton High School senior who emigrated from the Dominican Republic. “It’s important for teachers in Boston public schools to be culturally competent and celebrate [students’] cultures. Students will feel more confident and engaged.’’
What is DIVERSE about READING, WRITING, and ARITHMETIC -- or do they NOT TEACH THOSE anymore?
Boston school officials say they welcome the students’ desire for teachers to possess a broader understanding of the cultural backgrounds of the city’s 56,000 students, believing it could provide a critical link in closing an alarming achievement gap between students of different races and ethnicities....
That's the old administrators watching your back again -- after they plunged in the knife.
A cultural divide is bound to exist in a district that has a largely white teaching force instructing a student population made up mostly of blacks and Latinos, said school officials, students, and advocates. Adding another level of complexity is immigration, which has fueled the recent emergence of Latinos as the largest student population in the city’s school system. About 28 percent of students, coming from more than 40 countries, are learning to speak English.
Yes, the failure to adapt to ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and their children is the TEACHER'S FAULT and an example of LATENT RACISM -- or so the agenda-pushing, PoS paper tells us.
I'm so glad I skipped the purchase today.
While students, advocates, and administrators say they don’t expect teachers to be experts on every culture, they want them to show an interest in their students’ heritage and incorporate elements into classroom lessons so that students feel appreciated and respected....
And do YOU FEEL RESPECTED, "educator?"
Across the state and the nation, school districts have embarked on more cultural training for teachers. The movement has gained traction as many schools have struggled to meet a key requirement of the eight-year-old federal No Child Left Behind Act: improving the performance of every child, regardless of his or her race or level of fluency in English....
Why struggle?
See: Boston Globe Summer School: Taking the Test
Yeah, just CHEAT YOUR WAY through it!
Richard Stutman, the teachers union president, said he supported the students’ effort for more cultural training and would suggest in negotiations for a new contract that district leaders mandate the training....
If the TEACHER'S UNION REP says it okay then I will stop complaining.
Shows you the POWER of the IMMIGRANT LOBBY in AmeriKa, doesn't it?
Enjoy your day at school, Bay-State kid.
Students will continue surveying their peers into the fall, when they will canvass several city high schools. Initial results will be shared at a City Council hearing, then with school officials.
Shantal Solomon, 15, a sophomore at Boston Community Leadership Academy in Brighton, said she can vividly recall the day two years ago at a Roxbury middle school when she observed her teacher scolding her friends for speaking Spanish.
“I felt offended,’’ said Solomon, who is helping with the surveys and whose father is from Honduras. “I don’t even speak Spanish. But it’s a free country. We should be able to speak the language we want.’’
She felt offended? SHE felt OFFENDED?
What a crop of ARROGANT, INSOLENT, and UNGRATEFUL s***s with a MISPLACED SENSE of ENTITLEMENT!!
Vickie Miranda, 16, an East Boston High School sophomore who also is surveying students, said her eighth-grade teacher missed a teachable moment when he didn’t explain to her class why no one should remove a head scarf from a Muslim girl and just treated the incident as a routine discipline issue.
Just don't get caught wearing a veil, 'kay?
“He told the boy to keep his hands to himself and told the girl she would be OK,’’ Miranda said. “He acted like it was no big deal.’’
I would have spent a semester on the subject of sensitivity to Muslims -- and would probably have been fired for it.
