Does the English as a Second Language Program Work?

The state is forcing the schools to cut back on what they spend - even telling them to give some money back. But there is one program in the states education budget that has not had to face deep cuts. It’s the" English as a Second Language” program. And last year, you spend 71 million of your federal and state tax dollars to run the program in North Carolina. There are those who say the program itself violates your rights as a taxpayer. So why does it exist? Two reasons really; Growth and a 27 year old ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.


I talked with Diana Carolina Castano was 8 years old when she and her family legally immigrated to the U.S. from Columbia. She spoke only a few words of English but as time went by, she actually got used to speaking English in class. Today, she is a 17 year old academically gifted junior at South Central High School and credits the ESL language program for that success.
"They help me build my foundation for my English” She says, “ and then from that I could go on and build more on it"

However, Beaufort county Commissioner Hood Richardson doesn't care; "I don't think we should have it at all."

Richardson tells me we should do away with the ESL program all together. These are his words:
"Tell me why, because you come to work in the Unites States and undercut the wages of other people that citizens of the United States are obligated to educate your children."

Each year your tax dollars help schools teach 112- thousands kids English. Most- more than 70% - are Hispanic students. Unlike Carolina and her family - many of those students are here illegally. Eastern North Carolina has the highest growing number of illegal immigrants in the state. How many? Well, educators can't even ask. In fact, school officials tell me there job is not to question whether a student is here illegally. It is there job to give every child the education they deserve. Besides, it’s the law. Worth Forbes with Pitt county schools says the schools have an obligation. "We are not to worry about whether these students are legal or illegal. We provide them the education that they deserve. So what we're doing is, we're following the rule of law."

But according to Hood Richardson, we are creating a tower of Babel which is ultimately going to create problems for us. “Keep in mind the people violated the law when they come to the united states” he told me, “and we're saying here, we'll educate your children for free, you can go to the health department and you can get benefits over there for free, by the way social services is available to you and we'll teach you English.”

But many people believe this country, built on the backs of immigrants has a larger responsibility to the children. Worth Forbes says, "if you're in another country and you had young children and you enrolled them in a school, wouldn't you want them to be able to speak the language of that country to be successful and to be able to be a productive citizen?"
But Hood Richardson says it goes against more than just our basic rights as Americans, he says it goes against the constitution.

But the fact is, it is constitutional. In 1982 the United States Supreme court ruled in the “Plyler Vs. Doe” civil case in Mexico that no school district can deny enrollment to children who do not speak English and are in the U.S. illegally. That case had to do with illegal immigrants crossing the border into Texas. The high court said that was because it violates the right to equal protection clause of the 14th amendment which was designed to protect minorities from abuse. I looked up the 14th amendment and it says: no state can deny any person the equal protection of the laws”. That would include the legal protection to go to school.

But for Hood Richardson says it goes deeper than that – it’s about being a good American.
"What’s the difference between the illegality of robbing a bank and the illegality of coming into the United States illegally? You are automatically a bad citizen."

So I asked Richardson why punish the children for the crimes of the parents. He said withholding ESL classes is not punishing the children. But when I said the kids have no control over what their parents do, he replied "You know Allan that's the surrender mode, they are here. Gee they got into the United States illegally so we must let them get away with it."

But others say it goes much deeper than that. We need to look at why immigrants are moving to this country, both legal and illegal. Many say its because of the prosperity and opportunity we offer everyone. But for Hood Richardson, that opportunity is not cheap. He points out there are more than 400 people in the Beaufort County School system who need ESL help. He says that works out to 20 class rooms and teaches and that means Beaufort county, like most other counties of the east, have to pay hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to get it done. And even though the money comes from the Federal Government and the state, it is still your tax dollars in the end. But students like Carolina and countless others say, it would be a mistake to do away with ESL. She says "The English as a Second Language class is needed because you just put somebody in a class and they'll be confused for a while and it will take a long time to get what the teachers are trying to explain to them."

Here is no doubt there are many dedicated teachers in the program. But there are other problems. A 1998 study found little difference in the income of those who went through the esl program and those who did not. It simply costs more to teach a non-English speaking student.
And it's not just those who speak Spanish. In Pitt County alone for instance students speak 38 different languages – everything from Chinese to Japanese and each must be taught English.

17 year old Carolina and her family legally migrated to the U.S. from Columbia 8 years ago. Today she excels as an 11th grade student in Pitt County. But she speaks mostly Spanish at home and on any given day you may find her helping her mother learn English. And that is one of the problems facing bilingual students. They learn English during the day at school, but speak only their native language at night. And educators are trying to counteract that with more contact between ESL teachers and students during the school day.

ESL programs came into existence because of a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling from Texas which said the government must provide education to illegal immigrants from Mexico. Those who sold the program to the schools in the beginning said it would be a tool to turn around problems in the Hispanic community especially since 75 percent of ESL students in our state, speak Spanish. And while there are many students like Carolina who are bright and capable, the statistics also show the drop out rate among Hispanics is the highest of any group except native Americans. Law enforcement says the influence of Hispanic gangs in the east is growing and that isn’t wasted on educators like Forges who says, "Societies problems a lot of times are reflected in the school system."

Forbes and others say the ESL program is not the panacea for all of the problems. It is just a piece of the puzzle.
But Hood Richardson says it’s a puzzle that taxpayers should not have to support. "Families have taught each other English. Small children will learn English rapidly enough but when you have to have 21 class rooms in a school system that needs English help that tells you there is something definitely wrong with the system." But does the program work? Richardson and other say “No”, but Forbes and other educators say it’s not as black and white as that, "There is not an answer that will fit the entire equation." And Forbes believes to make it a success you must get more parents involved. However, parents who are in the country illegally tend to avoid getting involved. They worry they could be deported.

We are not saying most bilingual students haven't been successful in the schools. They have! but the question is, why? Is it because kids just learn languages more quickly or is it because of the 71-million dollars a year spent you spent on ESL in our state? No study has definitively answered that question. However there have been studies that say ESL works much better than the total emersion method in teaching non English speakers in school.