A conflict or an accident issue may affect anyone as well as any amount of people. When an issue arises on someone, the person will quickly try to find a way to resolve it or just forget about it entirely.Communities are continuously faced with many mishaps or disagreements. In Westbury, one on going issue is the Westbury school boards plan to end the dual language program; that includes Spanish and English. To be part of this dual language program, the students must be registered with the program at some point before they head into first grade. They will continue taking dual language classes, with the same classmates, until their fifth grade year. Afterwards, they will be taking regular Middle and High school language courses. From personal experience, participating in this program has made me fluent; I learned how to read, write and speak in Spanish and English. Taking part in this program has proved to improve the students. According to Empower; a charter school in San Diego California, “Students participating in dual language programs develop multicultural competencies along with social skills”(Empower charter, 3). Essentially, this states that the children that are part of the program will be better off socially, and will have a much more deeper understanding of other cultures. Furthermore, this website depicts the idea that “Dual language programs are most effective in closing the achievement gap”(Empower charter, 4). The achievement gap is the educational performance of different students. To further increase the knowledge of our children from Westbury, it is essential for those who have the opportunity, they should take advantage of it and get ahead, not take it for granted. Surely, cancelling the beloved dual language program would bring out many controversies, and causing parents a feeling of unfairness for their children and the community. The feeling of unfairness may come from parents that don't speak both languages and want their children to learn the languages for future interactions. One person in the community that can relate is Olga Guevara. I chose her for a personal interview because she has an unusual situation with her and her three children. She inscribed her oldest son to the dual language program from the very beginning, the middle child attended another school district, and the final child went to the same district as the first but wasn't inscribed to the program. At first she wanted to put all of her children in this Spanish and English program but everything kept on getting complicated for her since she's a single mother. As the years went by she started to realize that her two youngest kids didn’t speak Spanish to her, and when they did she used to laugh at them because it wasn't fluent. Her oldest child in the other hand, was fluent in both languages and would often be the one to translate the conversations she couldn't understand. Teachers may also have something to say towards this situation because they are seeing how the program has helped their students learn and excel in another language. Now, parents and teachers are worried for the children because if the program gets canceled, their first glimpse of another language won’t come until they’re in Middle school.
When the news of the potential canceling of the dual program spread around the school and community during the 2015-2016 school year, the parents, language teachers, and foreign language students began wondering what might happen if it’s cancelled. Around that same time, my AP Spanish teacher, Sra. Vargas, started a discussion on this issue, and had us contemplate what should be done to keep the program. The class was composed of mostly students that were product of the program. Collectively, we concluded that the program should continue on. We believed that if it continues, there will be more students prepared to take the language AP courses the High school has to offer, and as a result they may score well on the exam and help them receive credits that can be used in college. Over the years, Westbury has seen many changes to its culture, and most recently an increase in Hispanic families. According to the Newsday article “Westbury Schools Struggle with Surging Enrollment” by Scott Eidler, he states “The Westbury school district is struggling with failing enrollment, mostly because of the growing immigrant community”(Eidler,7). This continuous increase of Hispanic families also includes parents and other family members who know very little or nothing about English. By continuing this program, those and many other students can continue learning a second language, and possibly help themselves or anyone around them. An issue that many Hispanic families living in Westbury will have if the program is discontinued will be an absence of communications between the child and the parents. For example, when I was growing up, my parents would talk to me in Spanish and I would reply to them in Spanish too, but when I began replying to them in English, they kept telling me that I would one day I’ll forget how to speak to them. This has become somewhat true, because now that I only speak English to them, my Spanish has become weak. To keep the connection intact of a child and parent in Westbury, I believe that keeping the dual language program will be beneficial for their sake. If no one in the community steps up to the school board and confronts them about their views, Westbury will lack the only thing that sets them apart from other surrounding school districts. A person of interest I considered for an interview was my 11th and 12th grade Spanish teacher. She has worked with the district for over a decade, and is currently the chairperson for the language department. When my class found out about the school boards decision to end the dual language program, we began having discussions about why it’s necessary for the district to keep the program. It was obvious to everyone in the class to see that Sra. Vargas was opposed to the issue brought upon. In being so, I wanted to learn more about her reasoning. When she first heard about the news Sra. Vargas stated, that she was feeling “confused; it was something unexpected and without explanation.”(Vargas) Sra. Vargas also believed that this program was a necessity for the students by articulating “I believe that the program gives all students involved an opportunity, even those who aren’t native, to advance in being bilingual.” Essentially, she means that if the opportunity was given to a child to take part in this program, they should take it because it will only further their knowledge. When I asked her what should we, as a community do to ensure that the program continues? She replied by saying “The citizens must unite to understand the importance this program has on our future students, and demand the board see the wishes of the students and the community.” (Vargas). The community's wants and needs are the wishes that is being referred in her statement. Those who believe that the program is necessary for the students have been working endlessly to make sure this admired program is preserved for many years. The community has taken initiatives to at least fight the board and keep the program. A strategy the community has done is that they have successfully appointment Pedro A. Quintanilla; a trustworthy and respectable person from the community. Since the rumors began, he has been in favor of keeping the program because he saw all the good things about it, and the potential of what it will have in the future.The goal is for Mr. Quintanilla is to find a way to possibly change the minds of the school board. He could serve as an “inside man” and figure out why they would want to adjourn the dual program for the students, and what will the district benefit from ending it. Other than the strategic move of putting a community member in the board of education, the community hasn’t done anything else that would cause the board to rethink their decision. The community is relying too much on Mr. Quintanilla, but they will have to put in some effort to try and keep the program for many years. Overall, the community of Westbury is facing a major issue that many people would want a solution for, but they are putting in minimal work towards their goal. Since I am also part of the community I would like to point out some resolutions or actions we can take as a community. Firstly, one of the most common things to do would be signing a petition. By talking to teachers, other students, and people in the community, we would possibly receive enough overall support to bring it up to the school board. I agree with the community’s decision to pick someone to be on the school board, but the community shouldn’t stop there. They should attend more board meetings so they’re more informed of their future plans. Additionally, by attending meetings, people can discuss with people from the board or others and communicate their own thoughts on the possible canceling of the program. Another solution for the town’s issue would be bringing the story to a news network. For example, if they reach out to News 12 or Newsday, they can possibly have a story reported on the issue. The story will let other people find out more on this issue. Ultimately, the goal is for us as a community come together and fight for what we believe is working in our schools and for future students. Work Cited Vargas, Shirley. Personal Interview, 1 Apr. 2017. Olga , Guevara. Personal Interview, 17 Apr. 2017. "Home." Empower Charter School. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017. Eidler, Scott. "School District Struggles amid Bond Backlash." Newsday. N.p., 21 Nov. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.
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