Most of the Hispanics that I have encountered are honest and friendly people.

We can make it hard for them, or try to make it a good relationship of unity.

 

It's not like the Hispanics have anything to do with our local situations and negative image.

We dumb ole white people have mucked this up bad enough on our own.

 

Hey--they will probably make this city better, and supply our next work force.

I don't think that you will find many of them on Section 8.

I agree Spider, give these kids the best education we can in this poor school system. What can it hurt. I dont care if English is their second language or their third as long a s they can speak it.

 

Most English as a second language programs are paid for out of federal grant funds.

 

Research, best practices at successful schools, and Middletown's own experience all suggest that two important elements to successful schools are engaged students and engaged parents. Embracing the culture of a very large percentage of the students of the particular school building, and inviting the parents to share that with the rest of the school community, is a good way to engage both students and parents.  The Hispanic dinner is not done at every school, just Wildwood Elementary, where the largest percentage concentration of Hispanic students attend.

 

Marcia Andrew

 

I guess that means that no hard working taxpayer has to pay to educate illegal immigrants?

 

Just because its federal money does not mean that we do not have to pay for it!

 

If only the United States government would do thier job and secure our borders we would not have this problem.

 

Any one else sick of pressing 1 for English ? And seeing Spanish signs at local stores?

 

Actually, as I mentioned in another post, we have had some level of success in some school buildings. 2 of our elementary buildings improved their rating to Effective (Mayfield and Central) for a total of 3 (Miller Ridge continued at Effective).  Other buildings showed improvement in some of the many measures on the report card, but not enough yet to move up a rank.  As the principals of both Mayfield and Central stated to the Journal last month, one of the reasons they attribute for their improved scores is their efforts to embrace the culture of their families.  There are obviously differences building to building, neighborhood to neighborhood.

 

The Hispanic dinner is an initiative at the building level, not a district effort. The idea started with the parents, and was supported by the principal and teachers.  I suspect that if the Rosa Parks community wanted to have an African culture celebration, and volunteered to provide the food and do all the work, the principal and teachers at Rosa Parks would support the effort.  Nobody is forcing anybody to participate. Finally, I think its pretty clear from the article that the dinner is funded by the parents and local businesses, not taxpayers.

 

I don't understand your criticisms of this outreach effort at Wildwood.  You often compain on this board that the Middletown school district is not doing anything different, anything to improve.  Then, when there is a story on one of the many things the district IS doing differently, you complain. 

 

Bocephus--why do you assume that the students whose first language is Spanish are illegal immigrants? One of the students mentioned in the article is from Puerto Rico, part of the United States.

 

Marcia Andrew

 

And if this is the case with Wild Wood, is the academic watch due to all non English speaking students causing the test scores to be lower than those out other schools?

 

They  were told that his parents would have to sign a legal document so that this young man could live with relatives and attend middletown high school, in the course of the office staff getting the necessary forms (in spanish) for his parents to sign my wife overheard one of the staff members tell the other staff member not to worry about the form for his social security number because he didnt need one to enroll.Why did my children need their social security numbers to enroll and this person did not?

Bocephus--why do you assume that the students whose first language is Spanish are illegal immigrants? One of the students mentioned in the article is from Puerto Rico, part of the United States.

 

Marcia Andrew"

 

Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States,I have worked with several Puerto Ricans through out the years most were hard working and proud of their culture.Nothing against Hispanics or the school system program.Just wish that our Government would do its job and enforce the laws we have on immigration.

The rating of a student's home school building cannot be used by another school district to refuse enrollment to that child.  Districts either have open enrollment from outside the district, or they do not.   Within the Middletown school district, there is open enrollment -- any child in Middletown can apply to attend any of the elementary schools, and requests are considered based on space available at the grade level.  To the extent that a building is in School Improvement status (which is different than the Academic Watch, Continuous Improvement rankings), then federal law says that child actually has preference to transfer to another elementary school within the district that is not in School Improvement status.

 

According to the official numbers on the state report card, last school year 22.3% of Wildwood's students were limited English proficient (in other words, in the English as a Second Language program). I don't have a breakdown of their scores compared to the rest of the students.

 

Marcia Andrew

 

Marcia Andrew