Heard on the radio: SHOULD STUDENTS BE SEPARATED BY THEIR ENGLISH PROFICENCY?

AirTalk with Larry Mantle| KPCC 89.3 | http://bit.ly/1bQm0SA

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[22 min 55 sec]

smf: while the debate on the policy is interesting – it seems that the current situation with the rushed mid-semester implementation is either the District’s fault …or each individual principal’s – with a whole lotta lack o’ communication going down!

Mario Villafuerte/Getty Images

October 21st, 2013, 11:10am  ::  The Los Angeles Unified School District is moving toward enforcing a policy of grouping students with similar language ability in the same classes. Last week parents got together in protest, asking that their English-learning students be taught in the same way as native English speakers. Proponents of the policy say it's too difficult to teach concepts to students who are also struggling to learn English.

What do you think? Is grouping students based on their language abilities a good idea?

Guests:

• Cheryl Ortega, Director of Bilingual Education, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA); Kindergarten Teacher for 43 years, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), currently retired
• Patricia Gándara, Research Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA