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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1981)
Page 5 Local THE BATTALION FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 1981 Local schools in good shape with bilingual education By GWEN HAM Battalion Reporter Most of Texas may be in general upheaval over U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice’s ruling to tend bilingual education roughout primary and secon- schools, but Bryan-College 981 for wfitation schools don’t have much to Interested; worry about. Dntact Maw Justice has ruled that Texas 102, MilraKhools must offer bilingual educa- ^ tion from kindergarten through "■■^jBfth grade by next fall, and to all 12 • WANTED grades by 1986. “We re in very good shape as far as Justice’s ruling,” said Bar bara Erwin, bilingual supervisor for the Bryan Independent School NOTICE district. “BISD has had a biling ual education program for nine or 10 years in grades K-5. Students in ades 6-12 receive training and mpport in English as a Second anguage (ESL). ‘We have about 170 students in ithe bilingual program and 25 in IESL, a special course teaching English to students who don’t ispeak English or Spanish. ■ “We hire certified bilingual Tfeachers who have to take many lours over and above a regular jlementary school teacher and eak both English and Spanish, e have six certified bilingual achers and a bilingual aid. ” While BISD seems to have ilingual education under control, (the College Station Independent chool District’s program is less [xtensive. CSISD officials recog- lize that while they don’t have to at 12-9p, p.m.-8 pi 1220 and Hwy.Ji olng Soutli es. worry about it now, the need for bilingual education is just around the corner. “CSISD has never had enough foreign-speaking students to offer bilingual education,” said Dr. Judy Huffty, director of curricu lum and staff development for CSISD. “Even though we have 69 to 75 students in grades K-12 that do not speak English, they may speak 20 different languages because College Station is a college town and many kids come in with their parents who are with the Univer sity. We just don’t have enough of one language to require bilingual education. We only have a few Spanish-speaking kids and they’re spread throughout the district.” But because of an increasing need within the district, this year CSISD hired two teachers for En glish as a Second Language, one for grades K-8 and one for grades 9-12, Huffty said. “BISD has one bilingual class in each level, grades K-4,” Erwin said. “All fifth graders go to Lamar’s fifth grade campus where we offer another bilingual class. One of the major points of Jus tice’s order is the requirement that all subjects be taught in En glish and Spanish. The only excep tions are art, music, physical edu cation and those subjects in which language proficiency is not essen tial. “There are courses that the Texas Education Agency says we must teach in our bilingual prog ram,” Erwin said, “like Spanish development, English develop ment, math, social studies, scien ces and cultural heritage. “Our goal is to move them (the students) out of the bilingual prog ram and into the regular clas sroom. How long it takes depends on the child,” Erwin said. Screening reveals students who need bilingual education, Erwin said. “We ask the parent of every child that comes into the district to sign a form identifying the home language. If anything but English is spoken we give the child a LAS (Language Assessment Scale) test. Scores determine eligibility for the bilingual program. Testing goes on all year,” she said. Although bilingual education can mean learning in any lan guage, BISD offers only a Spanish program. There aren’t enough children speaking any other lan guage to offer anything else. “If we have a child who comes to us speaking another language — we had 14 different languages spoken last year — we offer them the ESL program,” Erwin said. CSISD bilingual education in ESL classes works in a similar manner. “As soon as the students get to the point where they feel like they can go back to the clas sroom, they move back,” Huffty said. “While in the special classes, the students are taught English and structural language. We just get them ready to learn other sub jects like math and social studies. ” DUSE!! vest wisely, ouse or on 1800 1a; estem, sew Austin, a to md duplexes' w. iRRY LANDS’ STATE By BELINDA McCOY 29th St. 1 Battalion Staff Citizens of Kyle Avenue pre sented a petition to the College Station City Council Thursday night asking that the council re consider a decision it made to re name their street. The citizens were upset from a ;ecent resolution that the council assed renaming a recently com- leted section of Kyle Avenue hich extended from Texas Ave ne to Dominick Drive and High ly 30. The new name was to be ersty Street East. ' After a lengthy discussion be- een the council members and atizens, the council voted to allow he original sections of the street hich were named Kyle Avenue :o remain Kyle Avenue. As of Jan. 1, 1983, Kyle Avenue South will become the name of the new section curving from the ori ginal Kyle Avenue around to in tersect with Dominick Drive. The present Puryear Drive, which runs between Dominick Drive and Highway 30, will also become Kyle Avenue South. The delayed time element was idded to allow businesses and apartments on Puryear Drive time to deplete their supplies of sta tionery, saving the owners the cost of replacing their present sup plies. The council also voted to rezone 13-acre tract of land on the south side of Southwest Parkway East between Texas Avenue and the East Bypass from a single family district to a townhouse district. NTIOIt JATi ORS 1 ordeiei and, p student e, room aid and ng fee at-' : orwardii your Agi Tailed to i they ai TAMU may be 13, 1981 )M Saturday lay, Apfi iom 217, 'me, First 133H* The rezoning request also asked that an adjoining 24-acre tract of land be changed from a single family district to an apartment dis trict. Because of resident opposi tion during a public hearing, the council decided to send the prop osal back to the Planning and Zon ing Commission and the city staff so that future development plans of the land can be considered further. In other action, the council approved an ordinance raising the homestead tax exemption, an ad valorem tax, from $15,000 to $18,750 for citizens over 65 years old. The ordinance is the result of a new state law which raised the DN 3H 0 1-31» 0 3li 1-311 3ft 2ft 3ft 3ft 3ft 4h 1-3 ft 3ft 1-3 ft 3ft 4ft 1-3 ft 3ft 4ft 1-3 ft 1-311 4ft 3ft 4lH 1-4 ft 3ft 4h 4ft 1-3 ft 3ft 3ft 1-3 ft 3ft 4 ft' 4 fti 4 W Iftf l^ftr varl* 1 vail*' 1*€ ft! 3 ft! 2^ W vail* 1 Ofti- Oft!- UnlvertW WE’VE NEVER BEEN LICKED “A film inspired by the fighting sons of Texas A&M” with Richard Quine Anne Gwynne Robert Mitchum William Frawley April 25 Grove 7:30 P.M. $1.25 Tickets available in Box Office or at door Free - 8 gallons of one of your favorite summer beverages for each apartment leased for summer or full year. Beautiful pool-and-sun area, complete tennis facilities and party room top-off your summer fun. Get all your friends together for a super summer .• at Barcelona. High Times Low Rents Extra large, luxurious apartments. Ideal location complimented with beautifully landscaped grounds. Close to campus with ample shuttle bus service. Summer rents are now reduced to 33%. Never have they been available at these great savings. Barcelona 700 Dominik 693-026-I CSISD also offers Spanish courses in grades K-12. “In elementary,” Huffty said, “it’s more of a Spanish enrichment course where they learn to count, say colors and learn a little conver sation. The classes, held every other day, are an introduction into another culture.” “As we continue to grow, I’m sure we will have a need for biling ual education. Other school dis tricts may be in bad trouble when the bilingual controversy is set tled, but because of our ground work and philosophical approach, I think we will be in better shape than most.” To absorb the extra costs of spe cial texts and programs, the state provides schools with $25 per bilingual student and all leading materials necessary for the program. CSISD, however, generates funds from their program from within their district without any state aid, Huffty said. When CSISD is required to im plement a more extensive biling ual education program, state funds may no longer he available. “With (President) Beagan’s position on bilingual education, I don’t really think that the state is going to get that kind of funding any more,” Huffty said. “We have teachers with Spanish back- everybody, and move them into a grounds and several that speak bilingual program. Overall, I Spanish. We could use them if we think were in pretty good shape have to drop frills, like Spanish for for the future.” Appearing LIVE Friday & Saturday Night ™* KXt > 0 K«//or 4-4110 College Mali 840-0488 ouncil renames Puryear md part of Kyle Avenue tax accession rate of resident homesteads from 80 percent to 100 percent, City Secretary Glenn Schroeder said. After closed session, the council voted to appoint Frederick W. Hensel to the Board of Equaliza tion. Hensel is manager of the University Center at Texas A&M University. Mayor Gary Halter announced that a special council meeting will be held next Thursday night at 7 p. m. for the purpose of appointing members of the Planning and Zon ing Commission, the Parks and Recreation Board and other city boards and commissions. Ken’s Automotive Bryan 421 S. Main 822-2823 “A Complete Automotive Service Center" > Tune-Ups • Brakes > Clutches • McPherson Struts > Front End Parts Replacement • Standard Transmission Repairs All American Cars YW-Datsun-Honda Toyota Lawn Mower Repairs & Snapper Mower Sales (Master Card & VISA Accepted) PLANT SALE SATURDAY APRIL 25 FLORICULTURE GHSE 10 A.M.-2 P.M. •Baskets •Tropicals £? r . 8 17 ^^« 0l T,,^ S I. 0 fi 0, i«LVn«T«, S n!r^n™?L m ?, n0y ordor payable to Anheuser-Busch. Inc Dep. 4D. 2800 South Ninth St St Louis. MO 63118 Allow 4-6 weeks. Otter exp.res December 31. 1 981 Void where prohjbjted BUOTrtlSER ®. WNG or beers®.reuser busch , N c -st LO u,s 4116