Press Release

November 13, 2002

Sonya Sanchez or Jim Bradshaw
(202) 401-1576

Secretary Paige Kicks-Off First-Annual Summit on English Language Acquisition in Washington

Conference to Highlight Improvements, Changes under No Child Left Behind

More than 1,600 educators and policymakers from across the United States are attending the Department of Education's First-Annual Summit on English Language Acquisition under No Child Left Behind. Secretary of Education Rod Paige kicked-off the three-day event in Washington called "Celebrating our Rising Stars" by underscoring the importance of focusing on results.

"For the first time ever, federal funding is based upon the child, not merely the program," said Paige. "President Bush's vision of No Child Left Behind is that every child, regardless of race, ethnicity, income or zip code, has an opportunity to succeed in school, to learn English and take part in the American dream."

The Department of Education's summit will focus on discussing and sharing information on teaching children who enter the public school system unable to speak English—currently numbering five million children nationwide.

Highlights of the event include presentations by nationally recognized experts in education, a presentation on initial findings of a study on how Spanish-speaking children learn best, a U.S.-China partnership for learning, and vital information related to the implementation of the historic No Child Left Behind Act. Information sessions include: scientifically-based research in education; what teachers need to know to be successful in the classroom; and effective methods to notify and involve parents.

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) provides national leadership in promoting English language proficiency and high-quality education for the nation's population of English language learners. The director of OELA, Maria Hernandez Ferrier, organized the event with the goal of "building the team" or helping to prepare our nation's educators and policymakers to provide the best education possible for our newest immigrants.

"All you have to do is look at these children's bright and hopeful faces to understand why this initiative is so important," said Ferrier. "President Bush nearly doubled the funding for the Office of English Language Acquisition to $665 million in 2002, a 49-percent increase from the year before. He also provided $38 million in new funds for professional development of teachers working with English language learners in our nation's public schools."

Research shows that students who can't read or write in English have a greater likelihood of dropping out of school, and they often face a lifetime of diminished opportunity. No Child Left Behind makes the best use of every tax dollar spent on education by changing the way the federal government provides funding. Rather than fund particular programs, the new law provides for a system that funds all English language learners, regardless of their participation in a particular program or the state where they reside.

Under No Child Left Behind (Title III):

The academic progress of every child will be tested in reading and math, including those learning English. For the first time, all English language learners will be tested annually to measure how well they are learning English, so their parents will know how they are progressing. They can be tested in their native language for the first three years. States and schools will be held accountable for results.

A particular method of instruction for learning English and other academic content is not dictated. States and local education agencies must establish English proficiency standards and provide quality language instruction, based on scientific research for English acquisition, in addition to quality academic instruction in reading and math.

States and local education agencies must place highly qualified teachers in classrooms where English language learners are taught. No Child Left Behind calls for all schools to use scientifically based instruction methods. For this reason, President Bush has called for new research to study the most effective ways to spur English language learning for Spanish-speaking children, the most effective methods for teaching children who may use a non-Roman alphabet (such as Korean, Chinese, Navajo and Russian) and how to transfer their skills to learning English, and methods for teaching all young learners.

The most commonly spoken languages in the United States, besides English, are Spanish, Vietnamese, Hmong, Haitian Creole, Korean, Cantonese, Arabic, Russian, Navajo, Tagalog, Cambodian, Chinese (unspecified), Mandarin, Portuguese, Armenian and Serbo-Croatian. The largest percentage of English language learners in the U.S. is Spanish-speaking at about 75 percent.

For more information about the Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition, visit: www.ed.gov/offices/OELA.

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