Statement of Julio Fuentes, President and CEO, Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options
Statement of Julio Fuentes, President and CEO, Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options
Connecticut legislators must properly address the needs of Latino and English Language Learning students this year
“Latino and English Language Learning (ELL) students in Connecticut are struggling by any measure. Whether you compare their achievement and graduation rates with that of their non-Latino and non-ELL peers in Connecticut, or with students like them in states around the country, these students are being set up to fail year after year.
“Legislators in Connecticut have an opportunity to address the needs of these students with tested reforms like turning around failing schools through a Commissioner’s Network and matching the best teachers and principals to the classrooms and schools that need them the most. Yet indications about the bill being negotiated right now suggest that these students will continue to be overlooked while the status quo is preserved.
“This latest bill appears to remove all provisions from the Commissioner’s Network, guaranteeing that the schools serving the kids who are already the furthest behind will not have any additional means to change anything. It also appears to prevent any progress toward connecting teacher and principal performance to school staffing, making it impossible to provide the incentives and structures to get the best educators in front of the neediest kids.
“Not only that, this bill appears to fly in the face of decades of work to undo segregation in our schools by requiring that the state approve two charter schools focused on English Language Learners before approving any other charter applications. While the intention of this provision may be to make sure that charter schools address ELL needs at the same rates as other high-needs students, this is not the way to go about it.
“Legislators must not let down Latino, ELL, and other high-needs students for another year by refusing to address these issues. We all know our future is tied up in all children succeeding, no matter whether they live in our town or the next town over. Lawmakers must pass reform policies this year that actually address the failures in Connecticut’s school system and demand that all students get a quality education.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2012
For more information, contact Albert Collazo at albert@hcreo.com or 305-297-9043.
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About Hispanic CREO:
Hispanic CREO's mission is to improve educational outcomes for Hispanic children by empowering families through parental choice in education. We achieve this by providing parents with free information and resources, which help them to become advocates for their children. For more information, please contact us at www.hcreo.com or 561.340.1408.