Federal

Ariz. Educators to Get Mandatory Training in English Immersion

By Mary Ann Zehr — September 21, 2004 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Educators say Arizona’s new plan to train all teachers and administrators in how to teach English-language learners is a good idea, but they say its success will depend on how the initiative is carried out.

Arizona appears to have become the first state to require educators who are already on the job to acquire such skills. In June, the state board of education passed a plan requiring all school administrators and classroom teachers to take 15 hours of training in structured English immersion by August 2006.

Teachers and administrators must take an additional 45 hours of instruction in structured English immersion for recertification, under the plan.

As required by statute, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard must first approve education rules so that the requirement can be implemented.

The debate over teaching English to immigrant children heated up in Arizona in 2000, when opponents of bilingual education won passage of Proposition 203, which aimed to replace such education with English-only instruction, or “structured English immersion.” (“Arizona Curtails Bilingual Education,” Nov. 15, 2000.)

Once the training begins in September, more teachers will have the tools to allow English-language learners to be moved to mainstream classes quickly, which was the intent of Proposition 203, according to Margaret Garcia Dugan, the associate superintendent for academic achievement for the Arizona Department of Education.

Ms. Dugan was a high school principal when she co-chaired the campaign to get Proposition 203 passed. The training for educators, she said, will give students who are learning English access to a greater range of teachers and thus lead to less segregation of such students.

“We believe all students should have access to all teachers and all curriculum,” she added. “We also believe that as soon as kids learn the vocabulary and are taught language early on, they should be able to mainstream as quickly as possible.”

Jennifer M. Azordegan, a researcher for the Denver-based Education Commission of the States, said she did not know of any state other than Arizona that requires training in instruction for English-language learners as part of its recertification requirements, though the organization doesn’t specifically track the issue.

Six states require teacher-candidates to take English-acquisition training for initial certification, she noted. Those states are Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, and New York.

Quality of Instruction

Barbara J. Merino, the director of teacher education at the University of California, Davis, cautioned that the success of Arizona’s new requirement would depend on the quality of the instruction provided to educators.

“Even a limited amount of in-service training can make a huge difference,” she said. But she said that the training must be highly focused on giving teachers strategies for making their lessons understandable and providing bridges for students to acquire English skills.

“We can also put teachers in an empty, low-accountability setting, where there is a talking head, and they are simply satisfying the requirement,” she said.

Arizona educators appear to support the new requirement, but have concerns about how it will be implemented.

Maria Patterson, a supervisor of principals for the 62,000-student Tucson school system, said her district has been training teachers in structured English immersion for two years, so it’s reasonable to extend the training to all teachers.

But she said she hoped the hours that some teachers have already acquired in such methodology would be counted by the state toward meeting the new requirement.

Ms. Dugan said that the state would have to examine whether such training meets its criteria, which are being fine-tuned.

John Wright, the president of the Arizona Education Association, said the new plan doesn’t address what will happen to Arizona’s current system of providing an “endorsement” for teachers of English as a second language or bilingual education.

He said it would be a mistake if the new plan replaced or watered down such endorsements, because the state still needs teachers who are highly specialized in working with English-language learners.

Nonetheless, he believes Arizona should arm future teachers with strategies for working with English-language learners, through its teacher-preparation programs.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the July 28, 2004 edition of Education Week as Ariz. Educators to Get Mandatory Training in English Immersion

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Personalized Learning Webinar
Expanding Teacher Impact: Scaling Personalized Learning Across Districts
Explore personalized learning strategies that transform classrooms and empower educators.
Content provided by DreamBox Learning
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
How to Leverage Virtual Learning: Preparing Students for the Future
Hear from an expert panel how best to leverage virtual learning in your district to achieve your goals.
Content provided by Class
English-Language Learners Webinar AI and English Learners: What Teachers Need to Know
Explore the role of AI in multilingual education and its potential limitations.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Is Funding for School Archery and Hunting Programs Really at Risk?
A U.S. Department of Education document led to confusion among school administrators about funding for archery and hunting programs.
4 min read
Students participate in a school archery program. A group of congressional lawmakers are working to amend federal law to ensure schools can purchase bow and arrows and other supplies for archery, sharp shooting, and hunting programs in schools.
Students participate in a school archery program. A group of congressional lawmakers are working to amend federal law to ensure schools can purchase bow and arrows and other supplies for school archery, sharp shooting, and hunting programs with federal education funds.
Courtesy of the National Archery in the Schools Program
Federal A Senate Committee Takes Up School Book Wars, Complete With Sharp Partisan Divisions
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "book bans" included one Republican senator reading sexually explicit passages.
4 min read
Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois secretary of state, talks with Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill., right, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature," in Hart Building on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.
Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois secretary of state, talks with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., right, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature," on Sept. 12, 2023.
Tom Williams/AP
Federal WATCH: 5 Key Takeaways on Education From the 1st GOP Presidential Debate
Among the highlights: take on the teachers' unions, scrap the Education Department, and boost reading.
8 min read
Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum stand on stage before a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel on Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee.
Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum stand on stage before a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel on Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee.
Morry Gash/AP
Federal Broad Calls to Ax Education Department and Take On Teachers' Unions at 1st GOP Debate
Republican presidential candidates also used the first primary election debate to call for expanded school choice.
4 min read
Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum stand at their podiums during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel on Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee.
Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum stand at their podiums during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel on Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee.
Morry Gash/AP