hispanic commission

I’m about to become an official “commissioner”. I’m not really into titles, but this one, I want. This commission, I want. This work, I want to do because it’s work that matters.

Because so much depends on the success of the work of this commission. (The White House Commission on Excellence in Hispanic Education).  It will advise the President of the United States on what needs to be done to create state-of-the-art, high-quality, proven learning opportunities for our Hispanic students. These are students who so often come to our schools needing something special, something customized to fit them.

These are students who come to us often speaking English as their second language or not speaking English at all. The ability to speak English is essential if you’re going to succeed in the United States. But the ability to speak two languages is a gift; it’s a strategic advantage to our country.

In a global economy where more and more employers are looking for employees who are bilingual, how do we nurture an immigrant student’s first language while ensuring he or she is proficient and comfortable speaking English.

How do we provide learning environments where they become bi-literate? How do we open new and exciting pathways to careers that will treasure and reward the skill of being bilingual?

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