Here is my video blog talking about my experiences with tutoring students and also one of the biggest problems that I face as a volunteer at the library. Though I've touched on it before, I wanted to go more in depth about the language barrier that many of our students that we tutor at the library face in their schools/ in the Lexington community.
According to Kentucky.com, the hispanic population in Fayette county has more than doubled since 2000 and actually makes up more than 7% of Fayette county's overall population. These statistics show that due to this increase in hispanic population, we need to meet that with increased programs at our schools to best serve the hispanic children and ensure that they get the best education. Though the article says that ESL (English as a Second Language) programs have increased, I believe more funding should be placed into programs like those at the public library to assist with after school tutoring.
Do you know if the schools are taking any measures to account for the rising hispanic population and rising problem of the language barriers? If so, what steps are they taking?
ReplyDeleteYes, according to Kentucky.com (aka the Herald Leader - link in text above), Fayette County Public Schools have implemented more ESL (English as a Second Language) programs within schools so that students who are spanish speakers first can also develop strong english skills. This being said, there is no information about whether or not there is any outreach to the parents of these students. Of course half of the barrier lies with the parents, as many communications go through them, so that could be a possible alternate program that FCPS look into in the future.
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