Making a case for
kids in county funded Spanish immersion preschools to have direct access
to Spanish immersion elementary programs
Testimony to the Montgomery
County Board of Education
By Allyson Wilson, parent
CentroNia Early Learning Center
March 9, 2010
President O’Neill, members of the
Board of Education and Dr. Weast, good morning. My name is Allyson
Wilson; I’m a parent representing roughly 30 parents from CentroNia
early learning center in Takoma Park, MD.
CentroNia, Takoma Park is a nationally-accredited,
county funded bilingual early education program that provides full day
high-quality care to children ages 2 to 4 years old. It opened
on University blvd in 2007— as an expansion of their well established
and decades’ old program in Washington, DC’s Columbia Heights.
The center uses the Montgomery County approved creative curriculum for
instruction and most importantly it’s a cheerful, safe and loving
environment—a great place to begin a lifetime of learning.
My son Andrew has been enrolled there
since the center opened and now, 2 ½ years later, I am happy—and
honestly a little astonished to report to you that he is completely
bilingual. At home he speaks English—but at school he slips
in and out of Spanish and English as easily as if he were being raised
in a bilingual home. When he meets new friends on our neighborhood
playground—no matter if they speak English or Spanish, he can converse
and understand easily. To watch him, personally for me, it still
gives me tingles.
But lately, that joy of watching him
develop mastery of a foreign language is tempered with fear. I
am afraid that when he graduates this June he may have nowhere to go
to stay on the path he has begun. That’s because his future
as a bilingual learner in Montgomery County schools is in the hands
of a random lottery—and that fact has everything to do with why I
am here today.
I am here on behalf of our parent coalition
to respectfully ask that the board change the admissions procedures
for Montgomery County Spanish immersion elementary programs to better
accommodate children graduating from county funded Spanish immersion
preschools.
Under current admissions
guidelines, any parent wanting access to a Spanish immersion elementary
program in Montgomery County must go through the lottery. While
it is true that this puts all children in an equal position for a chance
at access, it also threatens to keep out children who have already begun
bilingual education at a county funded Spanish immersion preschool.
The coalition of parents I represent today from CentroNia would like
the board reassess the admissions policy, considering that these admission
procedures were written and instituted before the county had invested
in funding Spanish immersion preschools.
It is our argument
that children who have had 1 to 2 years of county funded early education
in a Spanish immersion program should have a pipeline to one or any
of the Montgomery County School’s Spanish immersion programs because
they are clearly already invested.
Many of these native
English speakers, like my 4 year old Andrew, have become fully bilingual,
now with graduation from preschool just months away we are wondering
if he will have an opportunity to stay on course with his bilingual
studies or be derailed because of an outdated admissions policy.
It is a fact that The Maryland State Department of Education
(MSDE) develops and implements standards and policy for education programs
from pre-kindergarten through high school. And, Maryland has emerged
as a leader in positioning early (pre kindergarten) child care as a
central component of the state’s educational services. For example, MSDE
established Judy Centers—preschool programs inside elementary schools
as a way to strengthen local public school and early childhood partnerships.
According to a report prepared by
MSDE in late 2008, there are currently Judy Center programs in 21 of
the 24 jurisdictions in Maryland—including 2 in Montgomery County.
It is also a fact that the state and county are continuing to draft
plans for the expansion of preschool and its integration with the public
schools.
Speaking for CentroNia parents, we
feel that our institution and other, publicly county funded, accredited
Spanish immersion programs should be included when educators and policy
makers look for ways to better serve students needs. In the same
way in which you ensure that children graduating immersion elementary
programs get a pipeline to Silver Spring International middle school,
our kids should get unfettered access to Spanish immersion elementary.
The state of Maryland has always blazed
trails when it comes to education. As you all know, Maryland was
one of the first States to offer a state-funded prekindergarten program.
What I am asking today, on behalf of
CentroNia parents is for the Montgomery County School board to blaze
a trail and lead the way on efforts to coordinate between early education
programs and our public schools. Please take action to help these
children who are already on a firm path of bilingual education stay
on course.
Please grant children in county funded
Spanish immersion preschool programs direct access to public school
Spanish immersion elementary programs.
Thank you for your time.
