KQED News – Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
“More often than not, many educators say, bilingual education teachers’ grasp of academic language in their second language trails that of their academic language in English. Experts in bilingual education say improving those skills will be essential as school districts open new programs after California voters lifted restrictions on dual-language programs last year. “Principals tell us, we know that the content is important, what they need to teach, but send us teachers [who] speak Spanish well,” said Lilia Sarmiento, a professor of education at Cal State Dominguez Hills. L.A. Unified is leading the pack of school districts in the state opening new bilingual education programs. It’s opening 16 programs this coming academic year, bringing the total to 101 bilingual programs.”(more)