Sometimes, we hear, 'Oh, if they want to learn English, we need to get them in English classrooms,' but actually, the opposite is true. If children have a very strong foundation in their home language, they actually learn English more easily.
It's a dramatic shift in public attitude and policy toward bilingual education. In 1998, California voters passed Proposition 227, limiting bilingual education, but in 2016, voters overturned that policy, paving the way for language immersion programs.
Proposition 227 dismantled bilingual teacher training programs, leading to a shortage of qualified teachers as the demand for language immersion programs grows. School districts struggle to find teachers to fill these classrooms.
The shortage affects all grades but is particularly acute at the TK level because each classroom needs more teachers.
#transitional-kindergarten #dual-language-learners #bilingualism #california-education-policy #teacher-shortage
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