I am very interested in bilingual education and the unique situation that students of foreign language descent face upon entering into the United States, and specifically into the education system. During my undergraduate career, I had an internship at an international high school with over 80% of the students from the Dominican Republic. I worked closely with these students for two years, following their careers from junior to senior year and examining their progress, or lack thereof.
There are many organizations working to advocate for bilingual student achievement, but one in particular caught my eye.
CABE, 2007
CABE is a non-profit organization created in 1976 to advocate for bilingual education and the academic success of bilingual students in California. With California being rich in cultural and linguistic diversity, CABE strives “to promote equity and student achievement for students with diverse cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds” (CABE).
Two of CABE’s project initiatives include:
I will be following the INSPIRE campaign sponsored by CABE which is particularly interesting because it focuses on the parents of these bilingual students. Most campaigns focus on the students and the ways in which they cope with balancing two cultures and languages. Parents, however, play a significant role in the academic and transitional “success” of their children. Parent involvement in education is crucial for bilingual students in terms of feeling support and encouragement. Often, parents who are undocumented or waiting on legal status are afraid to get involved in their child’s education. By offering support, I’m interested to see how well CABE is able to encourage parents to get involved and stay involved in their bilingual child’s education.
Sources:
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