April 1, 2005: Headlines: COS - Swaziland: Education: Heartland: Reed Hastings Sacked from State Board shortly before positive CELDT results
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April 1, 2005: Headlines: COS - Swaziland: Education: Heartland: Reed Hastings Sacked from State Board shortly before positive CELDT results
Reed Hastings Sacked from State Board shortly before positive CELDT results
Reed Hastings Sacked from State Board shortly before positive CELDT results
Latest California Test Scores Bring Good News for English Learners
Written By: Don Soifer
Published In: School Reform News
Publication Date: April 1, 2005
Publisher: The Heartland Institute
When California voters passed Proposition 227 in 1998, opponents of the measure predicted it would be a disaster for students whose primary language is not English. But according to the latest test scores, the new focus on English fluency is producing remarkable improvements for English learners.
The law required California schools to abandon "transitional bilingual education programs" that taught immigrant students predominantly--and often exclusively--in their non-English native languages. Instead, Proposition 227 called for schools to implement English immersion programs designed to close the language gap in one year.
[Excerpt]
Hastings Sacked from State Board
Ironically, shortly before the positive CELDT results were announced, English immersion's strongest advocate lost his seat on California's state Board of Education. Reed Hastings, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who championed Proposition 227, was denied his seat by a vote of the State Senate Rules Committee.
Hastings was originally appointed by Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in 1999, and current Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to reappoint him in 2004. But Hastings, a lifelong Democrat, had his nomination shot down by Democrats opposed to his position on bilingual education.
"What signal do you send to parents and children when a qualified and well-respected community leader like Reed Hastings is sacrificed to advocates of a narrowly focused agenda who wield power in Sacramento?" asked Margita Thompson, the governor's press secretary, in a January 12 statement.
Don Soifer (soifer@lexingtoninstitute.org) is executive vice president of the Lexington Institute.
When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Heartland
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Swaziland; Education
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