Re: Watch Last Week’s ELL Forum by Thomas C. Carey

The proof will be, as they say, 'in the puddin'. Will the Legislature step up and properly fund ELL programs ... AND conform to the ruling of the Federal Court? Will the State Dept. of Ed. encourage and then allow "alternative programs" in the teaching of English to second language learners?
The current so-called "model" adopted by the ELL Task Force is significantly flawed. It presumes many things that are simply not accurate. Teachers, and I am one of them, who have given everything they have - plus some - and who have shown significant gains in ELL performance, are being "moved out" of ELL teaching because they are not HQT by the Task Force standard. Four hours of English instruction and no addition to the ELLs academic day or school year for core subject emphasis is a prescription for failure. While teaching English, we doom these students to further academic deficits and, thus, to further failure on AIMS and similar assessments.
I could go on and on with suggestions. Suffice to say at this point that we need to put this "model" and its funding on the back burner for a year and gather the professional judgement of practitioners, as Pres. Wright said.
By the way, Pres. Wright did us all proud in the Forum! What an outstanding voice for US - for our UNION! Thanks, John.


Re: Watch Last Week’s ELL Forum by Michael Gordy

I also thought that of those on the panel, John had the most authentic voice for our students and educators. I am proud to be part of AEA.
Those in the Dept. of Ed. are trying to support a model that make little if any educational sense-other than OUR shared goal: students learning English.
Involuntary segregation is WRONG. (And probably unconstitutional-but maybe that's their point. Yet another court fight so it will be another 10+ years before services are actually funded and delivered.
Their plan will radically and negatively change the culture of any (and isn't that close to EVERY) Arizona school w/ ELL's.
The input from Sen. Aboud and Rep. Hershberger was also right on target.
Even the superintendents have a better handle on the solutions than the one size fits all "model" pushed by the DOE.
It seems those farthest away from the students affected are the least in touch w/ their needs.
This will take a serious influx of funding. We all know what the problem is, but the solution must come from the practitioners not the bureaucrats.
Delay the implementation of this model. Better to be late and RIGHT, than to be hasty and WRONG.

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