Guerillera II

This is a tricky situation. I do understand this logic: to see ESL classes as a form of segregation, but is that REALLY the case? Is student advancement TRULY compromised if the assimilated are taught along side the nonassimliated?


Preston Hollow is the first suit that could spawn more research on the effectiveness of ESL programs. Is it a tool handsomely formed to protect its true functions? Or does it allow a transition from culture shock? How and why could this program differ from school to school? What other factors are contributing to minimal success of Latinos in school? Is the feared and small perception of what it means to come from another country, separated by us and them, the fundamental issue?

How can we solve multilingual education? What if all classes were taught in both languages by students teaching each other with a proper guide?


Source: "Nina Perales"


MALDEF
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

110 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78205 Office: 210-224-5476 www.maldef.org

NEWS RELEASE CONTACT:

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION David Hinojosa: 210-224-5476

April 18, 2006 Laura Rodriguez: 213-629-2512 ext. 124

MALDEF FILES SEGREGATION SUIT ON BEHALF OF LATINO CHILDREN

Lawsuit alleges ESL used as a proxy to discriminate against minority students in
Dallas public school

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Today, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational
Fund (MALDEF), the nation's leading Latino legal organization, filed suit in federal district
court against the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) and the principal of Preston Hollow
Elementary School alleging civil rights violations by segregating and discriminating against
Latino schoolchildren.

The Latino parents represented by MALDEF, Organizaci*n para el Futuro de los Estudiantes
(OFE), allege that Preston Hollow illegally uses its English as a Second Language program to
segregate Latino and minority students from Anglo students, irrespective of their language
abilities. The documents in the case show that Latino students who are proficient in English are,
nonetheless, channeled into classes masked as "English as a Second Language." Preston Hollow
organizes its general education classes and even combines some grades to ensure that Anglo
students, who comprise just 18 percent of the school, sit in majority white classrooms.

"Fifty years after Brown v. the Board of Education, it is a shame that segregation continues to
plague our schools," said David Hinojosa, MALDEF staff attorney and lead counsel in the case.
"Using ESL as a proxy to segregate schoolchildren can not be tolerated. This lawsuit is intended
to send a message that there is no justification for any school to treat Latino students any
differently than white students," Hinojosa added.

Ms. Lucresia Mayorga Santamaria, lead plaintiff and mother of three children attending Preston
Hollow, stated "The school attempted to omit Latino children from the school brochure because
they did not want the surrounding neighborhood to get the wrong impression. Well, I hope they
all get this impression: we will not stand by any longer because our children deserve the same
opportunities as all other children of Preston Hollow."

Calling on the leadership of Dallas ISD to now answer Latino parents' calls for justice, Mr.
Hinojosa added, "We condemn efforts such as these to keep white students together for the sake
of deterring white flight. We call on the superintendent and the Dallas Board to swiftly end the
segregation at Preston Hollow," Mr. Hinojosa added.

Founded in 1968, MALDEF, the nation's premier Latino civil rights organization, promotes and protects the rights of Latinos through advocacy, litigation, community education and outreach, leadership development, and higher education scholarships.