Bilingual Education

There are more the six thousand languages out there. And our teachers are required to make sure students who dont speak English, learn it. To make that happen, Bilingual Education is changing. Bilingual Education teachers have always taught their students in English and Spanish. They build a good vocabulary and reading comprehension in their first language. Then they transition their students into speaking English. For the last two years, Amarillo I.S.D. officials have been focussing more on transitioning the students. They want their students speaking and understanding English, as soon as their ready. Were told, their goal is to get students to take the TASK test in English in third grade. Students who pass the third grade reading and writing TAKS test move out of Bilingual Education and take regular classes. If they still cant speak English in sixth grade, then they take ESL classes. Bilingual teachers say they want their students to learn how to read and write well in Spanish first. They say, that helps them then read and write well in English. And thats their ultimate goal.