The Willow Glen Resident

S.J. Unified District opposes English-only initiative

Anti-bilingual education plan could strongly affect public schools

By Rebecca Wallace

The San Jose Unified School District board came down solidly on the side of bilingual education last week, passing a resolution opposing the so-called English for the Children ballot initiative.

Despite the widespread controversy surrounding the issue, the Jan. 22 board meeting was calm, with no one speaking in favor of the initiative.

Authored by Palo Alto businessman and one-time gubernatorial candidate Ron Unz, the initiative would prohibit bilingual education in public schools if approved by California voters in June.

"This initiative is very destructive to children," Bob Gonzalez, a member of the district's Latino advisory committee, said at the meeting. "Everything this district's done for non-English speakers will be dismantled."

The initiative could impact schools such as Willow Glen's River Glen Elementary, where students in kindergarten through seventh grade are taught in both English and Spanish through the school's immersion program.

Unz's plan is for non-English-speaking students to learn the language in segregated English immersion classes, such as the English as a Second Language program. This instruction would last a maximum of one year.

River Glen Principal Cecilia Barrie said she was concerned about the impact the initiative might have on the school, but didn't know yet how great it might be.

In an interview with The Resident last fall, Unz said his drive to end bilingual education was sparked by 1996 reports that Latino parents in Los Angeles were boycotting an elementary school because their children were not learning English in their bilingual classes.

"And if you can't speak English, you probably can't get a job," he said.

Unz added that his initiative has a clause that allows parents to put their children in bilingual classes if they meet certain requirements.

But at the Jan. 22 board meeting, parent Morgan Wines said he resented the initiative, which he saw as Unz's butting in to take away parents' power to decide how to educate their children.

"We don't need his help," Wines said curtly. "He needn't ride to our rescue."

Alexander Sapiens said he thought Unz's proposed ESL program would be much less effective than bilingual education. He said a one-year program isn't long enough for students to learn academic English and would lump all non-English-speakers together, regardless of speaking ability.

Gonzales added that a school year was only 180 days long; not a full year. If passed, the initiative could also cause lengthy--and expensive--court battles, he said.

Carol Myers, vice president of the board, didn't seem surprised at the broad-based opposition to English for the Children. "Most people as educators realize the fallacy of the initiative," she said after the meeting.

But bilingual education has not always received such a warm welcome in Willow Glen, as seen at Booksin Elementary, another school that may be impacted by Unz's initiative.

When San Jose Unified planned to implement a bilingual kindergarten program at Booksin in fall 1996, many parents objected. Some said they were satisfied with the existing ESL program and expressed concern that the new plan wouldn't live up to monolingual education standards.

The program began that same fall, and many praised it as a success. In fact, there was a waiting list to get into the program, said San Jose Unified spokeswoman Maureen Munroe.

This year, with the reduction of busing and the return to neighborhood schools, there weren't enough children for a bilingual kindergarten class, said Karen Clinton, president of the Booksin Elementary School Community Association. The students in last year's program have moved on to create a bilingual first grade, which may move up through the school, she added.

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