Put bilingual parents in schools: pols

New York Daily News ^ | April 28, 2004 | FRANK LOMBARDI

[sarcasm]

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein was urged yesterday to hire more parent coordinators who can speak to immigrant parents in their native languages.

Parent coordinators are salaried school employees who serve as the parents' "first contact" to their children's schools.

The coordinators send out notices to parents and often represent their school principals at PTA meetings, teacher-parent conferences and other functions.

Spotlighting what they called a citywide problem, Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights) and the New York Immigration Coalition released a survey showing that in 17 Brooklyn schools with large Asian enrollments, just four had parent coordinators who spoke English and Chinese.

"If we've learned one thing, it's that for schools to really succeed, and for students to really learn, the parents have got to be involved and be partners in educating the kids," said Yassky at a press conference outside City Hall. "How can parents do that if they don't have an ability to communicate with the schools?"

In a letter to Klein, Yassky urged that parent coordinators hired in the future for schools with large immigrant enrollments be bilingual in the dominant native language of those schools.

While the survey was limited to Brooklyn, Yassky said, "I'm sure it's the same [situation] in other boroughs."

Councilman John Liu (D-Queens), the city's first elected Asian-American official, agreed the lack of bilingual parent coordinators is "a problem throughout the city."

A single solution will be difficult, Liu said, especially for Asian immigrants, who speak many different languages and dialects.

In a statement, Jean Desravines, the executive director of Parent Engagement of the Department of Education, said, "Principals, along with parent leaders, hired parent coordinators based on the needs of their school community. As parent coordinator positions become available, we will continue to work with community-based and ethnic organizations to encourage them to identify qualified, bilingual candidates to apply."

[Bon mots]

Learn English or get the hell out.
No excuses.

[sgtbono2002]

Learn English or get out is putting it a little harshly but basically its correct. Where does the bi-lingual help end?
If a kid starts in the 1st grade by the 3rd. grade he shouldnt need any more help. Students if they wish to be Americans need to learn to speak and use our language , if they dont want to learn it they need to go back where they came from.

[Condor51]

just four had parent coordinators who spoke English and Chinese

---

Excuse me but it was my understanding that there is no "Chinese Language" per se. Do to the numerous invasions over China's long history the different 'dialects' have become mutually unintelligible. One speaking Mandarin cannot understand one speaking Cantonese, etc. Then you have Taiwanese (sometimes called Hoklo) which is also thrown into the equation.

So since the "Chinese languages" are more different from one another than French is from Spanish or Norwegian is from Swedish do these MOPES suggest that a speaker of every dialect be on staff?!?!?!?

IDIOTS! Speak English Dammit!

[Clara Lou]

When you hire anyone to translate anything, you better be sure that they are saying what you want them to say (as translators) and that they are actually translating correctly. They better know the English jargon of schools before they start translating anything. Otherwise, you open the door to serious misunderstanding.

[gubamyster]

ping

[TheSpottedOwl]

Who is going to pay for this????

Why can't they have volunteers?

[Rebelbase]

I would support that education dollars be used to create and implement intensive english language classes for all kids age 12 and up. No math, no science, no social studies, no sex-ed. Only 100% english language training. Pass that class and you can go on to regular schoolwork.

If this keeps kids from graduating until they are 20 years old, then so be it.

[texastoo]

What you have said also applies to the Phillipines. They have many different dialects.

Recently a Filipino male nurse got huffy and quit at a local hospital. He claimed that the Filipinos were speaking a different dialect in the break room than his. Therefore, they were being rude to him. However, they all speak English. Can you imagine someone being offended by another's foreign language????

[janetgreen]

During the 1950s in California my school received many LEGAL immigrants from Italy, Yugoslavia and other countries. There was NO bilingual education. All the kids were put into a class together, with an English speaking teacher, and guess what? They all learned English within a few months because they wanted to learn English, they wanted to assimilate, so they did!

Their families supported themselves without feeding from the government trough (which maybe didn't exist then), and became real Americans. These are the kind of immigrants that made America great, unlike many of the current border hoppers.

[Bon mots]

Learn English or get out is putting it a little harshly but basically its correct. Where does the bi-lingual help end?

My kids speak three languages and they are 10 and 12 years old. Maybe I'm a little harsh, but I don't have any sympathy for nitwits. If you live in a country, and they pay for your schooling, learn the language. I've done so when I moved abroad. I can get by in half a dozen languages, so have absolutely no sympathy for people who cannot communicate in English - the single most important language in the world - especially when they actually have the opportunity to live in America and attend school there.

Learn English, or get the hell out. We have enough stupid people already.

[FITZ]

Because the bilingual kids (which really means they aren't learning English) are falling so far behind, they figure there just has to be another bilingual solution. The whole reason the kids are falling so far behind is that their parents don't care enough to have the kids learn English before they start school here. I had neighbors once who came from Mexico, put their 4 year old in an English-only speaking day care and the kid learned English in 3 months. They wanted him to do well and knew he needed to learn English to do well ---- but we're getting far too many parents from over there who are too damn lazy and don't care. They're here for the welfare handouts anyhow --- and you don't need English for those.

[Marine Inspector]

IMMIGRATION: SEX KITTEN BRIGITTE BARDOT SPEAKS TRUTH RE MUSLIM GLOBAL TAKE OVER PLAN

[Regulator]

Learn English or get out is putting it a little harshly

No it's not. It's the way it has been, should be, and currently isn't.

[norton]

More administrators!
More bilinbgual custodians and counselors!
More useless trauma counselors!
More bilingual, useless janitorial trauma counselosrs!
Less emphasis on teaching credentials!
More administrators (worth repeating)!
Higher wages (higher union dues)
Less tests and
Less emphasis on grades!

Yeah, that'll do it.

[PRND21]

Learn English or get the hell out.

Sorry but I like our Constitution.
ESL in public school is a different story...ban it.