Article summary of “State Puts Pressure on City Schools over English Language Learners” By Sharon Otterman
Schools in New York are not appropriately accommodating English language learners, says an article in the New York Times titled “State Puts Pressure on City Schools over English Language Learners” by Sharon Otterman. State education officials told New York schools that they have to improve their education of English language learners (ELLs) or they will face sanctions. The state education commissioner, Dr. King, thinks that student outcomes are a good indication of how poor the services are that are given to ELLs (Otterman, 2011). In 2010 ninety-three percent of New York’s ELL students did not graduate on time and were not ready or prepared for life after high school. Dr. King states that “these numbers are not acceptable” he does not think that New York should “leave so many students behind academically without access to college and career opportunities” (2011).
Last year New York City was directed by the state to make a plan to improve the services that they give to ELLs. Last month, NYC released their pledge, stretching 31 pages (2011). This pledge references what laws they are breaking by giving the services they currently provide. For example, in years past, when students needed to take placement tests or entrance exams into the ELL program, they were often not given such tests in a timely manner (2011).
The shortage of certified teachers is a major problem and factor in the city’s poor performance. The lack of ESL and bilingual teachers prevents thousands of children from receiving the language lessons that they are legally entitled to. Also, many parents are not being given their legal right to choose the services given to their children; instead they are either being put in a program with classes taught mainly in English with some extra help, or in a program in which major subjects are taught in a student’s native language (2011).
New York City’s new plan promises 125 new bilingual programs to be instated within the following three years (2011). The plan also vows to screen teachers more thoroughly, hiring more bilingual teachers, and to also provide the hired teachers with more training opportunities. Accountability, under the new plan, will fall mainly on the principals of NYC public schools. If they do not meet the standards and follow the plan to a t they will be penalized.
I am glad that principals are going to be held accountable for improvements in their bilingual education programs. The incentive to do better and improve the qualities of their bilingual programs is keeping their funding. I think that when money is involved people really start to keep themselves from slacking on the job. It is a harsh reality that helping a large population or learners is not incentive enough for some educators, penalties must be enforced in order for changes to be seen.
I cannot believe that a city as linguistically and culturally diverse as New York City has neglected its legal obligations to serve English language learners for so long. It is troubling to think that a city could get away with only seven percent of its ELLs graduating on time and being fully prepared for college or the working world. What is even more troubling is that there is no real way to increase the number or certified English as a second language and bilingual educators. While New York City’s new plan promises 125 new bilingual programs within the next three years, how can anyone guarantee that there will be a sufficient number of qualified teachers to fill the positions promised?
I hope that more majors incorporate bilingual studies into their curriculums. For example, all teacher education programs require one or more special education classes, but how many require ESL instruction classes or bilingual studies classes? In searching for schools with Master’s degrees in special education, George Washington University was the only school I came across with a major in Bilingual Special Education. I looked for months but this was the only program that incorporated both. Hopefully programs like this will increase in popularity so that more qualified teachers are available to service this population of students.
OTTERMAN, SHARON. "N.Y. State Presses City on English Language Learners - NYTimes.com." NY Times Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2011.
