Among 187 Arizona Mexican-American children with limited proficiency in both Spanish and English, participation in a maintenance bilingual education program during grades K-2 produced significant gains in oral language acquisition for both languages. Students with the lowest proficiency scores in kindergarten showed the greatest gains. (SV)

A study of 215 Temple University (Pennsylvania) students investigated patterns in achievement (as measured by course level and grade), language attitudes, attitudes toward and acquaintance with Spanish speakers, and foreign travel experience. Results support previous studies and suggest that the relationship between attitudes and foreign-language…

Experiences of a bilingual multicultural elementary school in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) illustrate how concepts of social justice, equality, and respect for ethnic differences can be introduced. The school is distinguished by its two-way bilingual program that gives every child a chance to master English and Spanish. (SLD)

There is no hiding the underlying assumptions of Anglo cultural superiority in our school systems. Educators must come to see things from the points of view of students, recognizing the importance of parent participation, the reality of minority underrepresentation, and the necessity of minority teacher recruitment and retention. (SLD)

Teachers in a Spanish/English dual language elementary school in Tucson (Arizona) promote Spanish literacy using a school-designed program. The schoolwide, nonscripted program has been successful in supporting the transfer of reading skills from Spanish to English and in including special education students in dual language schooling. (Contains 33…

This study examined schooling characteristics of 46 Hispanic limited-English-proficient elementary students referred to or participating in bilingual special education in New York City. Findings suggested most referrals to special education were due to general academic deficits and reading/language factors, although few interventions had been…

Explores the compatibility of computer-mediated communication (CMC) with two basic objectives of modern foreign language curricula: development of functional and pragmatic abilities, and instructional materials informed by what is known about cognitive processes responsible for acquisition. It is suggested that CMC is particularly compatible with…

Discusses the response of Hope College (Michigan) language departments to shifts in language enrollments, particularly the rise in Spanish enrollments and declines in other languages. Strategies include using the smaller classes as an opportunity to enhance the teaching-learning environment and make those courses more attractive, placement…

Surveys and interviews compared school-related attitudes and activities of 47 Spanish-speaking parents who received training in parental involvement strategies with 84 who did not. The group receiving parent liaison training participated more frequently and in a wider variety of school-related activities. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/TD)

A study assessed an intensive fluency intervention for low-achieving at-risk beginning Spanish readers in grades 1-2. Data from 53 first- and second-graders in bilingual classrooms in southeast Texas indicated that implementing intensive reading fluency interventions in bilingual classrooms is feasible and valuable if conducted with fidelity and…

Describes an interdisciplinary program offering modified Spanish classes to students with special needs. Through preliminary identification, eligible students are signed up for classes. Exemplifies an effective way to confront problems related to a more diverse student population; to comply with regulations imposed by the Americans with…

A study of four high-performing third-grade Spanish reading programs in Texas found six common features: explicit support for Spanish literacy and biliteracy; high expectations; skills-driven reading instruction beginning in kindergarten; shared understanding of program practices; alignment between Spanish and English programs; and explicit…

More than a decade ago, no one held out much hope for the poor, immigrant children at Kennedy Middle School. Nobody thinks that now. This article presents how Kennedy Middle School transformed and beat all the odds to be a "school to watch." In many ways, Kennedy Middle School has become a model of middle-grades improvement. Test scores,…

This article presents data from two yearlong ethnographic studies of the biliteracy instruction and development of young Latina/o children in two counter-hegemonic English immersion classes in the English-only milieu established by California's Proposition 227. The author first describes the struggle that the teachers engaged in as they sought to…

This study examined the equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 (CBCL/1 1/2-5) in 682 parents of 2- to 4-year-old children stratified by parent race/ethnicity (African American, Latino, and non-Latino White), family income (low vs. middle-upper), and language version (Spanish vs. English). Externalizing Scale means differed by income…