By FRANK NARDOZZI

After much discussion, the Bedford Central Board of Education has decided to discontinue the dual language program at Mount Kisco Elementary School (MKES) that was begun in September 2000.

The action was taken by6-1 vote of the school board at its meeting on March 26 on the recommendation of Schools Superintendent Bruce Dennis. School board member Mel Comberiati was the only board member to oppose the action.

Dr. Dennis based his recommendation on the fact that in the fall four of the six teachers responsible for teaching the program had expressed a desire to stop participating because they felt it was not meeting their students' instructional needs.

Dr. Dennis stated that the teachers had complained that they lacked the time necessary to provide Spanish dominant children with the English skills they needed to meet state stan­dards in reading and writing.

Some Hispanic parents removed their children from the dual language program, also feeling that they were not learning enough English. This attrition caused the dual language classes to become smaller and the non-dual language classes larger, plac­ing an extra burden on teachers in the regular classes.

Dr. Dennis stated that some unexpected behavioral problems also occurred as the same group of 35 or 40 dual language students moved through the grades.

"They started acting almost like siblings," Dr. Dennis quoted one teacher as saying. hahahahahahaha

Both teachers and parents noted that the opportunities for children of different backgrounds to interact actually seemed to diminish, rather than increase. The program never achieved the 50/50 English-to­Spanish-speaking model that was originally intended.

Weakness into strength

About 35 percent of the students at Mount Kisco Elementary are not proficient in English. The dual language program was intended to turn this weakness into a strength by offering classes in both English and Spanish all day long in which the English-speak­ing students would be helped to learn a second language by the Spanish­dominant students, and the Spanish­speaking students would improve their English skills by exposure to the English-speaking students.

After presenting an analysis of the problems and benefits that had been encountered with the program over the last three years, Dr. Dennis recommended, and the school board agreed, to discontinue the dual language pro­gram at the end of this school year.

Students currently enrolled will be regrouped with their peers in September.

The school will seek to meet the educational needs of its Spanish­speaking students through its English as Second Language program. Students who have fallen behind in their core subject areas as a result of their participation in the dual language program will be helped to get back to grade level through academic intervention services.

In response to the many parents who expressed disappointment at the termination of the dual language program, Dr. Dennis proposed an after­school program for those students currently enrolled.

Proposal withdrawn

However, this proposal struck other parents as being unfair and divisive. So, Dr. Dennis, with the school board's approval, withdrew the after­school proposal in order to give it fur­ther study.

Dr. Dennis agreed with several parents who spoke at the meeting that the school district's communication with regard to the fate of the dual language program had been poor and vowed to correct that in the future.

However, he explained that the sudden recommendation to cancel the program, after making two years of adjustments, was based on the information, only recently received, that teachers were not willing to continue their participation in September.

Dr. Diane Ramos-Kelly, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, commented that the attention paid to the language component of the dual language program had taken away valuable time from other core subject areas, such as social studies and science.

"There was a great deal of frustration that we weren't getting to those subjects as well," she said.

Parents comment

Jason Black, whose daughter is a kindergarten student at MKES this year, said that the dual language pro­gram had been "the best academic experience she had all year." He stat­ed that the school district's decision to discontinue the program was a "huge disappointment."

Mark Santora, who said that he had four children in the schools, criticized the "fear and suspicion" that had been engendered by the dual language program's division of the student body into "two separate camps" dual language and non-dual language.

He proposed that a second language be taught at all of the elementary schools in the district.

Rubin Garcia expressed his disappointment that the program had never received separate funding and had "no champion" this year. He crit­icized the district for not having the proper planning and support to exe­cute the program.

Mr. Garcia was the first of several parents to state that MKES was in need of some "tender, loving care" to improve its morale and perception in the community as a result of the failure of the dual language program.

Jim Reichert of Mount Kisco stated that the school had missed an opportunity to make the dual language program "a defining characteristic" of the school and school district.

"It was a gutsy move, and now we have abandoned it. 1 think we should try to keep it going in some form," he said.

Pilot program?

Dolly Ferraro also said that she did not accept the premise that the pro­gram had to be terminated completely. She proposed a dual language for all that would increase unity in the community.

In support of this idea, school board member Mark Slivka proposed creat­ing a pilot program for dual language instruction open to all students at MKES that would be supported by a voluntary fundraising campaign.

While not commenting on this proposal, Susan Messina Berry, MKES principal, echoed many of the sentiments expressed by the parents stat­ing that the school needed a period of "stability and healing."

"It's time for us to come together, to support and celebrate one another as a bilingual community," she said.

The school board's president, Dot Fallon, noted at the conclusion of the discussion that the salutatorian at Fox Lane High School last year was a Spanish-speaking student who was not born in the United States.

"I just don't want the success we have always had with our English as a Second Language program to be lost in this conversation," she said.