Herndon Elementary Switches Language Immersion from French to Spanish
Principal says Spanish better reflects school's population, but parents of aspiring French students are unhappy.
http://herndon.patch.com/articles/herndon-elementary-switches-language-immersion-from-french-to-spanish#comments

Herndon Elementary School (HES) has announced it will be phasing out its French language immersion program in favor of a program that immerses students in Spanish.

The change, an idea that first surfaced 18 months ago, will begin in time for the start of the 2013-14 school year. The French program will gradually be phased out year by year through 2019.

Principal Ann Gwynn said children entering the first grade in the fall will be the last ones admitted to the French program, and they will have the opportunity to continue through the program in its entirety through sixth grade.

At the same time, the new Spanish immersion program will admit its first kindergarten students this fall.

Last year, 216 of Herndon's roughly 830 students enrolled in the school's immersion program.

Gwynn, currently in her third year as principal of HES, said she feels the Spanish dual immersion program will be a "win-win" for the entire HES population, as learning Spanish is a valuable skill for English speakers in today's society and workforce, and it also helps native Spanish speakers now living in the area to better learn English.

A Spanish program is more reflective of the HES student body and community, she said.

"Looking at the current population at Herndon Elementary, about half of our students are native Spanish speakers, which is a threshold that Fairfax County Public Schools looks at to determine if its a school that would be suitable for a dual immersion program," Gwynn said.

Some parents don't feel the same way, saying not only are they unhappy about the switch in general, but also feel HES and the Fairfax County School Board did not do enough to engage local parents before making the decision, or to address their questions and concerns.

Parent/community meetings were held Jan. 30 and March 13, according to the school system.

A parent survey, which went out March 14, closed March 18.

The results, which were disclosed April 4, are mixed.

About 50 percent of respondents whose children weren't involved in the immersion program indicated a high interest in French immersion. Another 25 percent said they had no interest at all.

When asked if they'd be interested in a Spanish immersion program for their child, about 40 percent of parents responded "very much." Another 36 percent said "not at all."

Local parent Randy Solderholm said he sent two letters to the county school board asking them to answer questions and weigh in on the matter, but never received a reply - just a letter sent to his home on April 12 announcing the decision to switch the language programs.

Solderholm went on to say that he thinks the trend of expanding Spanish programs, while at the same time shrinking programs of any other languages, is unfair and unwise.

"With the HES decision, there will be more than two Spanish programs for every non-Spanish program, and two more Spanish programs will be added next year," he said in an e-mail to Patch. "Nor does it treat considerations like language portfolio balance, fair access across the county, and situations when an existing program should be transitioned to benefit one group at the expense of another. None of these topics have been evaluated and factored into an appropriately vetted, approved and documented policy to guide the HES transition decision."

Solderholm also said he was upset that, during a public debate, Fairfax County Assistant Superintendent Marty Smith said he would look into the possibility of being able to host programs in both French and Spanish at HES.

Days before the April 12 decision to switch programs was announced, a report was released that recommended further study into just such a possibility.

It's not clear whether that study will happen, or when.

"Yet, action on the French-to-Spanish proposal occurred on schedule as if the decision was made long ago, and the transmittal was coldly silent on the do-both approach," Solderholm said. "Sadly, Mr. Smith's hollow promise gave the supporters of the French program a false sense of security that effectively suppressed their objections to the proposal."

Gwynn said she feels both HES and the county school board were effective in their efforts to reach out to the local community and involve them in the decision to switch programs from French to Spanish.

"We did do a great deal of outreach," she said, citing the survey and community meetings. "I feel like we did get a large amount of community input into this decision.

Jessica Pannell, who has two daughters - one entering the third grade, and another who will start kindergarten in the 2014-15 school year — shares Solderholm's concerns.

Pannell said she is upset the new Spanish program is only being offered to the kindergarten classes next year, while her rising third-grader will only have the option of choosing French. Therefore, her two children will be learning two different languages.

"While I support the transition from French to Spanish, me and many other families are concerned that they are not offering this option to rising first-graders in lieu of French," she explained.

"Many of us have younger children and are now faced with having two children in two different language programs at the same school, or moving out of the community so that we can attend a school where both children can be in the same language program," she continued.

Pannell said she is also upset applications for immersion programs for next year were due April 5, but the announcement that the program would switch from French to Spanish wasn't made until April 12 - when it was too late to change her mind about which program to apply her children to.

"The announcement came well after parents had to make decisions related to lottery selections for language programs at other Fairfax County Schools," she told Patch.

It was not clear at press time whether the system will have flexibility with that deadline.

Herndon Elementary SchoolCredit Leslie Perales Loges
Attachments:

I received a flyer in my children's back pack on Jan 24th 2013 stating that I should come to a meeting at the school on Jan 30th which will inform me on HES transition from french immersion to spanish immersion, this was not a proposal nor was the admin seeking community input. The only reason, that was giving for the change was demographics. Surveys and petitions have proven that the school community wants to keep the french immersion program and yet we have been denied. There is only one other french immersion program in the county (which has a waiting list to get into) and we have been told that we cannot transfer our children to that program. After many meetings and letters sent our questions have still not been answered. What is the French program going to look like at HES now? I will have two children in a dying french program and one in a new spanish program. I do not trust that there will be support for the french program that my children are in. We have asked the admin. to look at other options and have even provided ideas and yet they refuse to consider them. They have decided to get rid of a 20+ year old program (that is thriving, supported and wanted by the school community) in 3 months time, based only on demographics. How can this be? There should be research done, other options considered, and answers given to the parents of the school. I as a parent and a tax paying citizen of Fairfax County I am appalled at how FCPS has handled this decision making process.

Isn't living Herndon already Spanish immersion?

Judi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I received a flyer in my children's back pack on
> Jan 24th 2013 stating that I should come to a
> meeting at the school on Jan 30th which will
> inform me on HES transition from french immersion
> to spanish immersion, this was not a proposal nor
> was the admin seeking community input. The only
> reason, that was giving for the change was
> demographics. Surveys and petitions have proven
> that the school community wants to keep the french
> immersion program and yet we have been denied.
> There is only one other french immersion program
> in the county (which has a waiting list to get
> into) and we have been told that we cannot
> transfer our children to that program. After many
> meetings and letters sent our questions have still
> not been answered. What is the French program
> going to look like at HES now? I will have two
> children in a dying french program and one in a
> new spanish program. I do not trust that there
> will be support for the french program that my
> children are in. We have asked the admin. to look
> at other options and have even provided ideas and
> yet they refuse to consider them. They have
> decided to get rid of a 20+ year old program (that
> is thriving, supported and wanted by the school
> community) in 3 months time, based only on
> demographics. How can this be? There should be
> research done, other options considered, and
> answers given to the parents of the school. I as a
> parent and a tax paying citizen of Fairfax County
> I am appalled at how FCPS has handled this
> decision making process.

Learning French is cute if you want to travel to one of the very few countries that speak it. But if you want skills that a students could turn into a real paying job then Spanish makes more sense. Just look at the number of countries in the Western hemisphere that speak Spanish. These are emerging markets. It makes a lot more sense than French. So get with the times. You can't keep something around just because it has been here for 20 years. Things change.

Demographics was one of the reasons cited for the change, but certainly not the only one. Student to teacher ratios required under Title I are more difficult to maintain with a French immersion program that combines high attrition rates with relatively low transfers into the program in higher grade levels, since any student transferring in after second grade must have proficiency in French. Licensure requirements have made finding qualified teachers who are fluent French speakers more difficult. It’s the combined effects of these three factors that led the administration to make the change.

The attrition rate ate HES in the french immersion program have not changed, here is a power point posted on the HES website that proves this.
http://www.fcps.edu/HerndonES/academics/language-change/documents/april82013/immersionenrollmentbygradelevel04-13.pdf
The licensure requirements for teachers have changed for all teachers. This requirement is going to make it hard to find teachers to teach in all of the language immersion programs in the county, but there are solutions. Rushing to get rid of a thriving program is not it.

Judi Slepetz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The attrition rate ate HES in the french immersion
> program have not changed, here is a power point
> posted on the HES website that proves this.
> http://www.fcps.edu/HerndonES/academics/language-c
> hange/documents/april82013/immersionenrollmentbygr
> adelevel04-13.pdf
> The licensure requirements for teachers have
> changed for all teachers. This requirement is
> going to make it hard to find teachers to teach in
> all of the language immersion programs in the
> county, but there are solutions. Rushing to get
> rid of a thriving program is not it.

What has changed is not the attrition rate, but requirements under Title I. Another school in FCPS would still have to meet licensure requirements, but would not also have the challenges of Title I requirements and a 50% Hispanic enrollment, which effectively reduces the demand for French immersion. It was the combination of these three factors at HES that led to the change.

beth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Demographics was one of the reasons cited for the
> change, but certainly not the only one. Student to
> teacher ratios required under Title I are more
> difficult to maintain with a French immersion
> program that combines high attrition rates with
> relatively low transfers into the program in
> higher grade levels, since any student
> transferring in after second grade must have
> proficiency in French. Licensure requirements have
> made finding qualified teachers who are fluent
> French speakers more difficult. It’s the
> combined effects of these three factors that led
> the administration to make the change.


Beth, 50 percent Hispanic rate does not reduce the need for or desire for French any more than if Herndon gets a huge influx of Syrian refuges. Simply because one segment of the school is not proficient in English, does not mean that the foreign language enrichment program needs to change. The idea behind immersion is to learn a foreign language so that the students brains are challenged to learn and adapt in a new way. If English is not a child's native language then being in the regular classes at HES would give them the opportunity to be bi lingual by speaking Spanish at home and English in the school.

Some of Herndons most advantaged children are those who have parents who are native speakers and their parents saw the value in the French program. Those kids are graduating as tri lingual. They test much higher than their native Spanish speaking peers and continue to do so through high school.

The county botched an opportunity. They should have engaged the Hispanic families to enter the French Immersion program and encouraged those kids to learn at the highest level. Instead, they just told an entire ethnic group they weren't able to learn in English. It's incredibly insulting to Hispanic families and its racism, pure and simple. We should all be appalled.

About 10% (22 out of 212) of the kids in French immersion come from Spanish-speaking families. This was presented at the January meeting. As the Hispanic population increases to 50% of the school, demand for French immersion will proportionally drop. HES is right to look at these figures and adapt its curriculum accordingly.

Judi Slepetz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The attrition rate ate HES in the french immersion
> program have not changed, here is a power point
> posted on the HES website that proves this.
> http://www.fcps.edu/HerndonES/academics/language-c
> hange/documents/april82013/immersionenrollmentbygr
> adelevel04-13.pdf
> The licensure requirements for teachers have
> changed for all teachers. This requirement is
> going to make it hard to find teachers to teach in
> all of the language immersion programs in the
> county, but there are solutions. Rushing to get
> rid of a thriving program is not it.


Here is the parents' presentation for language immersion as found on FCPS' website.

http://www.fcps.edu/is/worldlanguages/documents/immersion/PartialImmersion2013.pdf

It states that the cap for native speakers is currently 10%. Will this change with the new program? Will it stay the same? This ppt is dated January 2013, so is there a newer version with updated information?

Welcome to the United Hispanic States of America. The takeover is complete. Whites are the minority majority.

The new program will be Two-Way Immersion; that means that at the start, in kindergarten, 50% will be Spanish speakers and 50% English. That 50/50 mix may vary as a group of kids move up through the grade levels, but the program is designed to encourage peer-to-peer learning as they progress.

beth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Demographics was one of the reasons cited for the
> change, but certainly not the only one. Student to
> teacher ratios required under Title I are more
> difficult to maintain with a French immersion
> program that combines high attrition rates with
> relatively low transfers into the program in
> higher grade levels, since any student
> transferring in after second grade must have
> proficiency in French. Licensure requirements have
> made finding qualified teachers who are fluent
> French speakers more difficult. It’s the
> combined effects of these three factors that led
> the administration to make the change.


French is far more important in many cases than Spanish. Principal Ann Gwynn's statesments that "learning Spanish is a valuable skill for English speakers in today's society and workforce, and it also helps native Spanish speakers now living in the area to better learn English;" and that "a Spanish program is more reflective of the HES student body and community" reflect concerns I expressed earlier in the Herndon Patch that this change is a way of dealing with teaching English as a Second Language or disguised English Language Learning, and perpetuates a problem, not a solution. Students who speak Spanish at home and who sometimes lack English skills do not need to be "Immersed" in a Spanish foreign language program. Consider the title of the program: "language immersion." The last thing immigrant kids struggling to deal with English need is to be immersed in the language of the "old country" or their parents. I've nothing against the Spanish Language as a World Language - I've taught university level seminars in Spanish and occasionally teach it...but jettisoning another very important World Language, French, for what appear to be thinly disguised political reasons, is ill-advised. Fairfax County - and Herndon in particular - because of location and economics should be diversifying in foreign languages taught; not concentrating on one. In this case, as presented, for many students Spanish is not even "foreign," it is their native language.

As an HES alumni who greatly benefitted and enjoyed the French Immersion Program, I am disappointed to see the Program go. While I support the Spanish Immersion program, I have to say it's sad to not be able to keep both programs.

beth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The new program will be Two-Way Immersion; that
> means that at the start, in kindergarten, 50% will
> be Spanish speakers and 50% English. That 50/50
> mix may vary as a group of kids move up through
> the grade levels, but the program is designed to
> encourage peer-to-peer learning as they progress.


If a spanish speaking family chooses to enroll their children in a spanish immersion program there were nine programs offered by the FCPS while there were only two french programs offered. Now there will be ten spanish immersion programs and only one french program. A spanish speaking family can also choose to enroll there children in an ESOL program to help them further their english acquisition. How can this be fair?

I do not understand why parents continue to make this argument with regard to the Spanish program, but not the French. There are many native French speaking parents who specifically enrolled their children at HES to have their native language, their "old country" language, taught to their children at school, specifically for the purpose of heritage language reinforcement outside of the home. This kind of reasoning means we should kick out of the French immersion program all students whose parents are native French speakers. How do you not see the inherent biases you are displaying? In my observance of the situation, Spanish speaking parents who want to enroll their children in the two way immersion program do so because they have been told and are convinced that it is a way to get their children ahead academically and even begin speaking English better and more quickly than they would in an English-only classroom with ESOL (which is what the research suggests.) These parent's goal is enhanced English acquisition. That is opposite of a French speaking parent's goal, which is enhanced French acquisition. Why demonize one group and not the other, I wonder...

I'm not sure why there is so much whining going on here. Seriously? Who fucking cares if the school offers foreign language immersion? The fact that FCPS DOES offer this is pretty awesome, in my opinion. I'm from CA. I don't remember that school systems there had these types of programs. Anyway, if french (or any language) is so important to you, teach your little crotch-fruit at home. Or hire a private tutor. Parents who expect the schools to do everything are what's wrong with public education in the country.

They can learn after school, or their friends house or, mom can pay Maria for spanish lessons just fire them and lower our taxes

Don't wooooorry about it.

Fiddle Castro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Welcome to the United Hispanic States of America.
> The takeover is complete. Whites are the minority
> majority.

Not to worry, I am sure they will extend to whites the same benefits they were accorded a few years ago like preference in hiring, social services and low cost mortgages.

Agnant, Nathalie C French Language Teacher, ES Herndon Elementary School $45,161
Dean, Joshua M French Language Teacher, ES Herndon Elementary School $51,957
Kelly, Megan C French Language Teacher, ES Herndon Elementary School $45,161
Moreau, Carola G French Language Teacher, ES Herndon Elementary School $71,288
Samaha, Mona S French Language Teacher, ES Herndon Elementary School $77,791

Spanish is the official language of the good ole' Estados Unidos de América. Maybe you can take ESL to learn English as your second language. But for now, Spanish rules! Adios amigo.

I Q 29 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fiddle Castro Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Welcome to the United Hispanic States of
> America.
> > The takeover is complete. Whites are the
> minority
> > majority.
>
> Not to worry, I am sure they will extend to whites
> the same benefits they were accorded a few years
> ago like preference in hiring, social services and
> low cost mortgages.

Not to worry, whites have been receiving the under-the-table discount, secret deals, friends and family bonus reward, non-merit based promotion, good old boys look-see for years and years. And this kind of affirmative action is the gift that keeps on giving. Every white person at my job was hired because his or her dad knew somebody at the company. But these kids don't know shit from shinola.

should have though twice before you built that day laborer site!

Are you people really this dumb?

Do you honestly think that this has anything to do with teaching kids a foreign language?

Sit down, sweetie.

The Hispanic kids at this school are failing. Ok? Failing, as in not passing SOLs.

The reason?

SOLs are in ENGLISH and they speak SPANISH.

Sure the school can play games and get the kids exempted from SOLs for a year or two, but eventually they must take the test and when they do--

THEY WILL FAIL IT.

Now, if enough kids fail the SOL, then the school looks bad, gets sanctioned and no parent in their right mind will move into this neighborhood.


So, how do we fix this big problem?

Since the kids can't learn math, social studies, etc in ENGLISH or FRENCH, let's teach them in SPANISH like they do in Cali and maybe they will understand the content WHILE they gradually learn English.

FCPS and this principal don't give two craps whether these kids speak GERMAN, RUSSIAN or whatever. They care about ONE THING.

Got it? ONE THING.

Getting the Hispanic kids to pass the SOL.

A cerebro is a terrible thing to waste.

Hooray for Juan and Esmerelda if they can pass the SOL via immersion programs.

A burrito is a terrible thing to waste, too.

I can't wait to see the math and reading scores of the non spanish speaking kids in a few years after thay are taught in Spanish and tested in English.

There will be victims in this grand plan.

French is spoken in Africa and Southeast Asia, French Guiana and Haiti, and then a little bit in Europe. Hell, even the frenchy speakers in Belgium call it Walloon.

Spanish, on the other hand, is spoken by almost all of our southern neighbors, our future trading partners. It's also handy to speak to your maid.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The argument that French is a valuable languge is bullshit. In 15+ years in international business, my colleagues in francophone countries have all had excellent English proficiency. This has not been the case in German, Portguese, Mandarin, and Spanish speaking countries.
You've lost the fucking argument. Get over it.

http://www.zillow.com/herndon-va/schools/herndon-elementary-school-90773/ Any rating system out there puts this ES in the poor performance category. I agree with the poster that Herndon is switching their focus from French to Spanish in order to make it easier for Spanish speaking kids. This school has bigger issues to address overall to the entire student body that are more pressing than what immersion program is being offered....

dummies Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Learning French is cute if you want to travel to
> one of the very few countries that speak it. But
> if you want skills that a students could turn into
> a real paying job then Spanish makes more sense.
> Just look at the number of countries in the
> Western hemisphere that speak Spanish. These are
> emerging markets. It makes a lot more sense than
> French. So get with the times. You can't keep
> something around just because it has been here for
> 20 years. Things change.

French is spoken by 33 separate countries, and it's one of the two languages that almost everyone in Europe understands. Spanish, on the other hand, is not a language of diplomacy nor useful in civilized parts of the world.

French may be spoken in 33 different countries, but unless you're a travel junkie or plan on going into international business with a focus on Europe or West Africa then you are much more likely to use Spanish. In typical FFXU style there will be a few dozen comments about the Hispanization of America, but the reality is that save for a few specific professions, English-speaking Americans are much more likely to interact with people in Spanish rather than French.

I took French in middle and high school ... what a waste! I've had the opportunity to go to France, and most of the population speaks English. The only time I needed to use my French was in Belgium. In France, I'd speak French and then the stinky, pimply-faced waiter would ask if he could practice his English on me. Should have taken pig Latin

Young Curmudgeon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dummies Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Learning French is cute if you want to travel
> to
> > one of the very few countries that speak it.
> But
> > if you want skills that a students could turn
> into
> > a real paying job then Spanish makes more
> sense.
> > Just look at the number of countries in the
> > Western hemisphere that speak Spanish. These
> are
> > emerging markets. It makes a lot more sense
> than
> > French. So get with the times. You can't keep
> > something around just because it has been here
> for
> > 20 years. Things change.
>
> French is spoken by 33 separate countries, and
> it's one of the two languages that almost everyone
> in Europe understands. Spanish, on the other hand,
> is not a language of diplomacy nor useful in
> civilized parts of the world.

Quote

Spanish, on the other hand,
> is not a language of diplomacy nor useful in
> civilized parts of the world.

gotta be careful with that line of thought. a number of south american countries outdo us in various ways.

the better immersion would obviously be mandarin, but yeah, french is of limited usefulness. europeans understand it, but then they also understand english.

There is a list for magnet immersion programs, but school-based programs are not included on the list. For example, there is a Two-Way Korean immersion program at Colin Powell ES, but it is not included on the list. I have spoken with the FCPS office about this, since someone considering where to live in Fairfax County could use that information. Here is the page: http://www.fcps.edu/is/worldlanguages/immersion.shtml

There will be winners and losers in this experiment.

The Hispanics will probably do better-being taught in Spanish and all but the English speaking kids will be hurting.

Time to stop funding ANY language immersion programs and be done with it. If you want your brat to speak a foreign language then pay for it yourself. Fuck Spanish too.

It's simply common sense to admit that knowing Spanish can only help us in our day to lives esp if you live in any major metro area or any part of the entire SW USA or Souther FLA.I personally do not see a problem with offering a Spanish immersion course. And yes, French sounds pretty but its also pretty useless.

The problem I have is the taking from one to feed the other. This is representative of what is going on pretty much everywhere in the USA now. You choose to do something out of the "norm" of main stream American (our populist leaders define normal btw) then you pay an arm and a leg for it.

So unless you want your kids to speak Spaninsh, learn about every 3rd world culture and how valuable they are..while simoultaneoulsy being reminded daily of the evils of Europeann things and peoples..then you will pay dearly, be outnumbered and ostricized.

The good thing is though, all you lilly white gated community "Liberals" who can suddenly see the fruits of your foolish efforts coming to fruition, can always drive your kids to that nice private school in your brownie point green car.

I have kids in the program so I can speak to this. After kids complete the Herndon ES immersion program, they can continue to take French as a class in middle school. It is not immersion, but it is a class specially created for immersion students, with a heavy emphasis on grammar. They can also earn high school credits in both 7th and 8th grades, setting them up for advanced classes in high school. What will happen during the phase out is that HMS and HHS will continue to offer these advanced classes until the last French immersion students graduate in 2026.

For Ann Gwynn to say they did a good job of outreach to the community is insulting. First of all, they never planned on doing anything and would not have if the community had not fought against the change so hard. The county and officials at the Cluster 1 office continue to lie and hide behind statements that they "told the PTA president two years ago" the language program was coming. They never sent a letter to parents until just a few months ago. Effectively keeping parents OUT of any discussion.

They always operated on the adage that they would rather beg forgiveness than ask permission. Proof of this is that when they asked the majority said no. Their own analysis of the school opinion states that they should wait and engage the community more.

This is all smoke and mirrors to try to hide the facts about how badly the school is failing. This isn't about language. It's about test scores.

Curmudgeon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
a
> number of south american countries outdo us in
> various ways.
>
>

Explain please

What is very, very odd is that FCPS is "secretly" introducing this program of teaching ESL kids in their native language to improve test scores, with little or no discussion on the success of such a radical endeavor.

Mixed results across the country--most happening in CA--and yet the Herndon parents do and say nothing.

Why the hell would parents who have kids who speak english, want their kid educated in Spanish.

Do you honestly think these kids are going to excel in math and science at the lower grades when they don't even understand what the hell the teacher is saying?

This is creating an environment of challenges for this population that did not exist before.

Parents should be hopping mad. I hope this is optional. You would have to be STOOPID to put your kid in this class, or school for that matter.

Huh? Wah? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Curmudgeon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> a
> > number of south american countries outdo us in
> > various ways.
> >
> >
>
> Explain please

Drug Cartels
Border Running
Murder for Hire
Political Corruption

Why would hey need to start up a total immersion Spanish language program in a town/school where English is the second language for nearly everybody and Spanish is the native language? To get the state test score general averages up, maybe? All the kids having to study the language that they already are fluent in???

Have a meeting for all of the spanish kids parents, get then in the gym and lock the doors and check immigration status,
I would bet 50 percent are illegal. I'm getting out of this country, anyone know of another country that I can go, that will treat me the same way the illegal hispanic is treated in the U.S.A?
If not, I'm just going to get a tan, speak spanish, loiter at the 7-11 and somehow collect assistance from the state. It seems to work out well for the illegal hispanic.

Wondering Thomas? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why would hey need to start up a total immersion
> Spanish language program in a town/school where
> English is the second language for nearly
> everybody and Spanish is the native language? To
> get the state test score general averages up,
> maybe? All the kids having to study the language
> that they already are fluent in???

I was wondering that too. Shouldn't the fact there are more Spanish speakers in Herndon elementary be a good reason to KEEP the French language program? If you're not challenging the students then why even bother?

IMO students that already speak the foreign language should not be able to even take the class to begin with. I remember back in high school there was this little dickweed from Ecuador that spoke fluent Spanish and was allowed to take Spanish to meet his foreign language requirement. Total BS and it completely defeats the purpose of taking a foreign language.