Dual-language Schools Lure Students, Parents Back to LA Unified

From http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/06/15/dual-language-schools-lure-students-parents-back-l

Dual-language schools lure students, parents back to LA Unified
by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
June 15, 2011

For years, middle- and upper-middle-class parents in parts of Los Angeles Unified have sent their children to private schools, charter schools and schools outside the district. However, a nascent dual-language program is attracting some of them back to neighborhood schools. District administrators voted Tuesday to protect hundreds of dual-language teachers from being let go in the hope that the trickle of returning parents will develop into a stream.

Unlike bilingual education of a generation ago, dual immersion’s goal isn’t transition into English. It emphasizes enriched foreign language instruction alongside English.

Principal Alfredo Ortiz says his school’s dual-language program has attracted middle-class parents from Santa Monica, Culver City and Inglewood. That demand’s translated into two new dual-language classes at his school next year.

"I think it's parents level of education," says Ortiz. "I think the more the parent knows, the more the parent is aware of the importance of coming up, or growing up bilingual, I think is what propels these parents to look for options."

Read the full article at http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/06/15/dual-language-schools-lure-students-parents-back-l