Quality of Up-Island Spanish Program Questioned

Amid a discussion of tough choices as the up-Island school committee prepares to vote on a significant increase to the district budget, the up-Island Spanish program came under scrutiny Monday night.

Speaking in favor of maintaining an enrichment program in mathematics, committee member Michael Marcus made a motion to eliminate the Spanish program in the West Tisbury and Chilmark schools, which he said produced marginal benefits for the district’s students.

“I would much rather do away with our second language program that we have at the school, and make sure that we have enrichment in the primary and core areas of interest,” Mr. Marcus told his colleagues.

Committee member Dan Cabot spoke in favor of second language education, but said the current program has shortcomings. “Nobody has grumbled more about Spanish on the Island than I have,” he said. “It is a core course, and it should be [considered] as important as history or science in the curriculum, but it isn’t because of the way it is scheduled.” Spanish is currently offered to middle school students in West Tisbury three times a week for 30-minute sessions. Chilmark students in all grades have Spanish once a week for 60 minutes. Mr. Cabot said the program falls short and should be revamped.

Committee member Robert Lionette said he also would support the development of an effective language program. “If there is an opportunity to take this program and develop it into a true language program, I would love that,” he said. “My beef is that presently I don’t think it’s an effective use of funds.”

West Tisbury school principal Donna Lowell-Bettencourt said she had already begun to look at ways to improve the Spanish program. She has requested information from the high school to determine how well West Tisbury students fare at the secondary level to see how may of them qualify for Spanish II, the honors course.

Instead of offering the language in the sixth grade, she said she’d like to create a more intensive academic program in the seventh and eighth grades. “It is going to take some creative problem-solving, and I am not going to do it alone,” Mrs. Lowell-Bettencourt said. She estimated that she would have the new academic model ready for the next school year.

Superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss faulted the program for trying to do too many different things, providing an academic knowledge of the subject and strengthening students’ awareness of other cultures. He recommended that the district decide whether to offer a cultural awareness program or commit to a fully-fledged academic program that would prepare students to enter high school at a different level.

Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter 3rd said he would back eliminating the program if it meant an overall savings for the district. But he was unsure that could be accomplished.

Mr. Marcus said his colleagues were “copping out” by not supporting his motion. “I think it’s a little bit weak . . . that you are going to approve a program that you admit has faults,” he said.

But Mr. Cabot defended his position.

“To say, well, it’s not working right so let’s throw it out, that’s the cop out,” Mr. Cabot said. “It’s harder to fix it.”

Up-Island Spanish teacher Theresa Holmes, who spends 20 per cent of her time in Chilmark and 80 per cent in West Tisbury, defended the program and enumerated the benefits of foreign language education in elementary school, including improved English and math test scores.

“There is loads of evidence that introducing these kids to a foreign language expands their mind and their flexibility and they are able to take on these greater higher order thinking math problems,” she said. If Spanish were treated as a core subject, she said the benefits would be even greater.

Spanish II is a course for students on the Advanced Placement (AP) track, and not all students should expect to qualify, Ms. Holmes said. “Very select few students are offered it and decide to take it,” she said.

Ultimately, the motion failed, and savings were identified in other areas, such as postponing the replacement of the playground equipment and deferring window and door repairs. The salary for a math enrichment teacher was returned to the $9 million-plus preliminary budget. A final budget will be available for committee review next month.

Having seen 4 kids through the West Tisbury school I believe it would be a mistake to cut this program.I have seen first hand the positive effect and have heard first hand from several Regional High School Spanish Teachers,that the West Tisbury kids are better prepared for Honors Spanish than the rest of the Island School Children.

There has never been a real commitment to second language curriculum in American public schools. In order to teach a second language in the school system it is necessary to first have an underlying commitment and an understanding as to why it should be a part of the curriculum in the first place. Rarely has there been anything more than a token effort made to teach second language fluency. It is virtually impossible to learn a second language by being exposed to it once or twice a week for an hour or less. Looked at from that perspective it is indeed a waste of time and resources, since nothing at all is accomplished. There is, however a broader issue which needs to be part of any dialogue relative to teaching language in the schools. As an employer on MV for many years I am often faced with having to make choices between prospective candidates. All of the many H1-B visa applicants who email me resumes are fluent in three or four languages, sometimes more. I realize that they are only applying for a summer job but these same people will soon be entering the larger workforce and begin pursuing careers. Many will be competing for the same international positions as their American counterparts who have fluency in only one language. It isn't hard to see who has the advantage and where all this is going. As the world gets smaller, business interests become international and globalization becomes a fact of life, America has responded by becoming increasingly isolated, hubristic, dependent and even xenophobic. The results of this are all around us and the trend is disturbing. As a quick litmus test to prove my point, I wonder how many of the people reading this letter can correctly name the Prime Minister of Canada, our immediate neighbor and largest border. If language study is to be a part of the curriculum here or anywhere else it should be able to show legitimate, quantifiable results. In order to do that it needs to start in kindergarten (or before)when language is most easily acquired and remain a daily part of the educational experience. English is the language of business worldwide and the US dollar is still the reserve currency throughout the world. In order for that to continue to be the prevailing trend future generations of Americans will need to adapt and compete. Depending on the path chosen, language can either be the means to a broader understanding and lasting connections or the path to isolationism.

The benefits of learning another language and other cultures are infinite. The program is clearly too limited to provide any real chance of retention. Also there are not enough Spanish teachers available. Concurrently the schools offer little in the way of enrichment and that too cannot be neglected. Where do you get the money? Maybe this is where the marijuana dispensaries can help (surcharges?)

Stephen Harper - PM of Canada and Enrique Pena Nieto - President of Mexico. Answers your question Robert. The issue is schools in America has a mandatory immersion program called ESL (English as a Second Language)for all students who come to this country and and cannot speak English. That program is paid for by taxpayers. Whereas american born children does not have the same opportunity to learn Spanish or French for free or at their taxpayers parents expense. I can assure you if the island schools classrooms were busting at the seams as other schools around the country - the Spanish program would be long goooooone!!!

Having spoken a second language throughout my life. It has helped me in my professional and personal life. As a child growing up I had the opportunity to experience translating for my grandparents often in business meetings, a skill I was able to transfer to other opportunities throughout my teens, college and adult life. I sang opera in high school because I knew Spanish it was easy for me to pick up Italian and Portuguese. I traveled to three countries by the time I was 16 and traveled half the Nation to work in the inner city with youth because I knew Spanish. I secured a position with the public schools because I spoke Spanish and had the opportunity to teach young children in Boston, teaching them to read and write. This is all in the first third of my life! Imagine what it can do for our young promising children? Acquiring a second language, especially a romance language and Latin, at a younger age where children are more apt to learn more quickly, can help children with their overall vocabulary, writing and reading. All English is derived from Latin, which is what romance languages are based on. Children will develop an increased understanding of vocabulary, expansive critical thinking and processing skills, which will assist them in other classes like history and math. Ho was their progress measured? If anything additional times the class was taken per week should be increased and extra curricular activities like a language club should be added. Learning another language is just as important as music and art for children. It will help them as adults and on college entrance exams as well. Most of which require advanced reading and writing skills. Learning a second language strengthens memory and retention as well, recall and assists them with testing.Having a second language at a young age will also assist them later in life. Because I speak two languages fluently I am able to apply for more employment opportunities and have the ability to learn other languages making me that much more marketable. I am appalled in today's culture, especially on the Vineyard, where we have the chance to be a little more creative within the Massachusetts Frameworks, we do not have a second language program that is more developed. Schools in cities such as Brookline and Hingham even teach Japanese because they recognize that to properly prepare the future in a technologically advanced world, America's trends point to outside the United States in business and every other area that is relevant to us and our future. Children must know other languages to have a more competitive advantage. We have to assume they are going into a world that is complex economically and politically and prepare them , do what is best for them not per se convenient for us as educators or parents and the like. Language can be incorporated into other subjects matters as well. If history is teaching about the Spanish revolution for example, the two teaches can partner to create a more holistic learning experience for the children thats when you will see results when the children cann connect the language to life, not only their own life, but to history, music, art and so forth. I have a program I developed that offers a holistic approach to learning Spanish because I know what it did for me to understand the connection between language and the world we live in. Often times when my friends children come to play I get to teach them Spanish and realize the joy they have and i have in seeing them get excited about discovering a unique way to communicate. We need to incorporate as many interesting and new ways to allow our children the best education possible so they do not fall into poverty and they realize their own potential as people and future positive, contributors to society. Learning about other cultures also builds tolerance and teaches children values as well about the socio economic differences between us in the U.S. and other Nations. Something that blends well with so many other local efforts, related to the environment, poverty, politics and so forth. They need to have as much in their educational arsenal as possible to succeed. Why take that away from them?

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Comments (5)

Matthew Sudarsky, West Tisbury

November 21, 2013 - 12:05am

robert skydell, chilmark

November 21, 2013 - 9:57am

Lynne Brook, Edgartown

November 21, 2013 - 5:38pm

Sandi , OB

November 24, 2013 - 11:22pm

Esther, Edgartown

December 5, 2013 - 10:36am

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