While Mexican-American communities have lamented laws and referenda such as the acceptance of Proposition 227 that limit and destroy the aims of bi-lingual education, Mexican-American officials have found ways to continue their commitment to Spanish-English education. Dual-immersion language programs, for instance, have grown across the United States as a way to work around laws restricting bi-lingual education. In San Bernardino, California, 320 students are participating in the fledgling voluntary dual language program, and the school district hopes to extend this opportunity to all 57,000 students within ten years. By having “language buddies” in each class, the students, both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking, can help one another with the intricacies of each language. While the program is beneficial to Mexican-American students as young as five years old, the creators of the dual immersion program focus on these students’ futures as the main goal behind their program. San Bernadino, for example, has been declared a bi-lingual city, and its Mayor Judith Valles stated, “`It’s not a matter of being tolerant. It’s a matter of being smart and business savvy. It’s an important part of our identity. It’s here, and we need to recognize it.’” The Mayor’s comments indicate that the dual-immersion program is a necessary part of creating vibrant lives of the students by teaching English writing, reading, and speech skills to the ethnic minority at a young age in San Bernadino. For many parents of the district, the system answers the “`immediate need for children to know two languages, looking at the now and the future.’” Thus, the dual immersion system has emerged in communities as a way to circumvent restrictive policies regarding bi-lingual education. Many communities have discovered a system to teach children in both English and Spanish as a way to prepare their students for a modern society that uses two languages in both the work place and the home. Therefore, Mexican-American officials have continued to work at finding programs that help their students excel in the classroom.

Some topics in this essay:
English Spanish, Spanish English, According Klein, Social Science, San Diego, Spanish Non-Spanish, Education Council, Santa Ana, English Martinez, Advocates Drive, bi-lingual education, mexican-american students, english language, school districts, learn english, spanish language, english skills, students learn, bi-lingual education programs, american society, learning english, help mexican-american students, dual-immersion language programs, learning english language, mexican-american students learn,