California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL) advocates quality education for English language learners. CATESOL promotes sound educational policy and practices, and strives to increase awareness of the strengths and needs of English language learners. CATESOL's members include classroom teachers, teacher educators, students, classroom aides, and administrators throughout California and Nevada.
At a time when a third of California's children need to learn English at school, when experts have decided that California needs all K-12 teachers to have special training to meet the long-term needs of English language learners, and when California is working to raise promotion and graduation standards, California voters are being asked to vote for an initiative that will prevent students from receiving an effective education.
Ron Unz's "English for the Children" Initiative mandates no more than a year of structured English immersion, followed by mainstream classes. CATESOL members' teaching experience shows that students need more than a year to be able to benefit from classes designed for students from English speaking homes. Widely published research by Ramirez, Berman, Cummins, Collier and Thomas shows that it takes several years for these students to be on a par academically with other students in mainstream English classrooms.
CATESOL strongly opposes Ron Unz's English for the Children Initiative, because this initiative:
CATESOL urges parents, educators, and all voters who care about children in California to OPPOSE this initiative. The Unz initiative will not fulfill its promises. Everything ESL professionals know about English language learners mandates against it. The Unz Initiative will hurt the efforts to help every student in California learn English for success in school and in society.