Mayor Bloomberg Hurts Immigrants By Strengthening A Failed Bilingual Education System

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. ENGLISH, Inc. believes that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s decision to commit $20 million taxpayer dollars to strengthen bilingual education is a disservice to residents of his city, including newly arrived immigrants. Immigrants need to learn English to succeed in America and the evidence is clear that English immersion programs are more successful at teaching English than the discredited bilingual education method.

Under Mayor Bloomberg’s plan, a “teacher’s academy” will be set up to train 107 English language specialists, and about 100 math and literacy coaches. In addition, 14 new dual-language programs will be implemented, including an English-Mandarin high school to open in Manhattan this fall. New York City is already facing a severe financial crisis that has resulted in firehouse closings, yet was able to find $20 million for this program.

U.S. ENGLISH, Inc. believes Mayor Bloomberg missed an opportunity to improve opportunities for immigrants and to help unify his city. The record of bilingual education, particularly in New York City, is abysmal. More than 83 percent of New York City students who entered bilingual programs in ninth grade did not have a firm enough grasp of English to test out of those programs four years later. More than 16 percent of all New York City students do not become fluent enough for mainstream classes after nine years.

On the other hand, English immersion programs are helping to equip immigrant students with the tools for success. A 2000 Education Department report found that students taking English-as-a-second-language (ESL) courses moved to all-English classes faster than those in bilingual programs. The state of California switched from bilingual education to English immersion in 1998. By 2002, a third of California's Limited English Proficient (LEP) students were able to pass the state’s English Language Development Test and transfer into higher level courses. This is triple the number who were able to meet the minimum language standards the previous year. Teachers and students alike credit the gains to the English immersion method.

“Mayor Bloomberg has said that he believes in English immersion, so his decision should be seen as an act of political maneuvering,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. ENGLISH, Inc. “While he might have placated the teacher’s unions and the radical activists, he is hurting the chances of immigrants who need to learn English in order to succeed in America. Unfortunately, as other parts of the nation encounter success with English immersion, New York City will be seen as an example of what not to do if immigrant students are to learn English.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.