EL NOTICIERO BILINGUAL DEPT NEWS
MAYRA ORTIZ
ENGLISH ONLY-This
soft English ONLY movement is just the
beginning. No, the leaders have not spoken
the words, but their actions shout it from
the top of 131 West Broad Street. These
allegations can be substantiated.
-The slow
dismantling of
bilingual education
For those of you have worked in
Bilingual Education for decades,
you can attest to the invisibility
and inequity of the bilingual
program. Where is our EQUITY?
How many thousands of your own
dollars have you poured out for
your classroom resources,
libraries, RtI resources, online
subscriptions, countless of hours
of translation which in the
business worlds would cost
thousands and yet that is what you
do for your children because you
believe in bilingual education.
How many times have you stood
by your English ONLY peers and
watched box after box after box of
resources being poured in while
bilingual programs received 15
read-aloud books (Common Core
learning modules 2012-13) and
when asked for more resources,
the response, NYSED did not
translate so, too bad so sad. It was
no different with math where
YOU have had to translate the
missing pieces with NO
compensation for this unique skill.
But who cares? I DO.
Because we are held to the same
standard of growth and
accountability as everyone else.
YOU CALL THAT EQUITY?
Review the RCSD Budget Book -
2016-2017. It is on the district
website. You will see that the
lions share of Title III LEP funds
went to support ENL programs,
staffing and PD. We got the
leftover and even that we had to
El
Noticiero
Bilingual
Dept News
ISSUE 6
Issue Date
share with ENL (double jeopardy).
Out of close to 600,000 we go
about $40,000. Where is our
EQUITY?
The Bilingual Department has had
to rely on the left-overs from other
departments to attempt to get
resources for our classrooms. I
have purchase orders with budget
codes that do not belong to our
department to prove this. Where
is our EQUITY?.
The Bilingual Department
becomes invisible when it is under
the leadership of the ELL
department as opposed to being at
the table and report to the Deputy
Superintendent as the job
description calls for.
Why should you care? When you
are not at the table, you are on the
menu. Here are some examples of
how Bilingual Department is
invisible under the Department of
ELL:
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Your work and accomplishments
are not communicated to senior
leadership because 1) they have no
clue how to look at growth and
programs for bilingual. 2) they
dont know the research behind
the sound practice of bilingual
education 3) the need for
resources is greatly underplayed.
The bilingual classrooms in this
district continually suffer with
lack of resources to properly do
your job while your peers are
provided with a bounty of both
material resources and human
capital. Where are your reading
teachers, where are your
intervention supports, where are
your on-line credit recovery
programs for your students?
By the way, the ENL department
requested an increase of ENL
coaches and ZERO for bilingual.
The bilingual department is absent
from meetings with senior
leadership so its interest are not
communicated and even ignored.
Under the ELL leadership,
bilingual programs were forced to
use ENGLISH ONLY curriculum
and translate on their own.
Under ELL leadership the only
scope and sequence for language
development was for ENGLISH
ONLY despite that primary
Spanish language development is
absolutely different than English
ONLY.
Many will recall that under the
ELL leadership, RIA and a new
bilingual program at Charlotte
developed.
While RIA (rightfully so) got a
full staff with supports, the
bilingual program at Charlotte
got ONE substitute teacher with
Adult Ed credentials to teach in
the bilingual program as a self-
contained setting. And this is
EQUITY under the ELL
department.
At Monroe HS teachers were only
used for 2 to 3 sections (out of five
sections) closing out opportunities
for Hispanic newcomers and
dooming them to ENL as the only
support (most expensive, least
effective form of instruction
Freeman and Collier 1997).
There are actual schools with
100% Hispanics in NYS, but a
program like RIA keeps being
denied for Hispanics.
Once the bilingual department
found its voice in 2014, here were
the accomplishments:
K-6 curriculum with full
resources
Scope and sequence for
NLA
3 reading teachers (district
had plans to give us none)
PART 154 is continually
championed throughout
1 Full Time highly
effective special Ed Coach
SLOs in Spanish for K-2
HS teacher schedules are
100% bilingual
NWEA in Spanish
(advocacy began last
April) this new reporting
structure delayed it by 10
months
Translated math modules
Greater access to Title III
funds for Bilingual
Programs
Push for greater access to
CTE programs
2
Substantially increase the
number of Hispanics at
Monroe obtaining college
credit
And much more
The change in reporting structure
has made us invisible and
representation at the table is
mediocre at best and consistently
misinforming. This backwards
move is ill informed and despite
the listening and learning tour,
apparently you werent listened to,
your voice was not heard.
Members of the bilingual
department have been
reassigned to fulfill ENL and
LOTE initiatives. Bilingual is
becoming invisible.
Leadership talks about EQUITY
but makes the bilingual
department invisible again. We
are not even at the table when
decisions are made that impact our
jobs, our students our families and
our communities.
Despite efforts to fully support
and man a Multilingual parent
center, this administration has
repeatedly ignored our petition.
Why is this important? Because
parents have no clue about
graduation requirements in NYS
and are confused when they get to
schools and learn about earning
credits and NYS Regents exams.
They also have no clue about the
different types of bilingual
programs in the district and their
rights as parents. They appear at
your door as deer in the
headlights. They are confused and
discouraged when they get to the
buildings for the first time. Im
sure you all have stories such as
EL NOTICIERO BILINGUAL DEPT NEWS | Issue # 6 3

this. And yet, this administration
has said to me, and I quote, while
we see the value of this type of
interaction with the parents, we
only see it would benefit
Hispanics so we will talk about it
at a future date. You all know I
keep these communications and
will personally share if you wish.
Again, Hispanics are not a
priority. Instead of soaring with
the momentum of the improved
PART 154 amended in 2014,
which champions increased
bilingual programming, the district
is moving backwards towards the
English ONLY movement that
existed in this district in the past
by way of policy, decision making
and representation.
Two bilingual schools have been
closed to new students without a
plan to support newly arrived
students. A plan that requires
rigorous recruitments and
incentives to attract new teachers,
a suitable location that our
community would agree to and
would benefit them, training and
resources. NONE of this is being
spoken of nor communicated.
Again the voice of bilingual is
suppressed.
Here is what I encourage you to
do:
Be present at all Board meetings-
and sign up to speak. YOU are
NOT invisible.
Encourage parents to file
formal complaints for lack
of entitled services for
special ed : Special
Education complaint forms
are available in Spanish
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/spe
cialed/formsnotices/sampleco
mplaint.htm
.
BENCHMARKS, BASELINES
AND PORTFOLIO
Please continue to document
baselines, benchmarks and
update Portfolios.
NYSED.GOV - NEWS
Please visit the new Office of
Bilingual Education and World
Languages site on NYSED.Gov
http://www.nysed.gov/program-
offices/office-bilingual-
education-and-world-languages-
obewl
The site has organized Educator
Resources and Parent Resources
for easier accessibility.
to reach out to us for your
instructional needs.
I fully understand the
consequences that this newsletter
will bring. I am being targeted for
being a whistleblower and the
retaliation has not ceased but at
least I sleep well at night that I
dont go along to get along. I do
what I am charged to do and that
is stand for teachers and students.
Department Contacts:
Mayra Ortiz, Director
Mayra.ortiz2@rcsdk12.org
(please make sure to note my last
name has the number 2 at the
end)
585-262-8203
Madeline Strong
Madeline.Strong@rcsdk12.org
585-262-8234
Maria Petrella, Special Ed,
Bilingual-Coach
Maria.Petrella@rcsdk12.org
585-262- 8674
Jeannette Gonzalez, Home School
Assistant-Bilingual
Jeannette.Gonzalez@rcsdk12.org
585-262-8382
Gloria Echevarria, Home School
Assistant-Bilingual
Gloria.Echevarria@rcsdk12.org
585-262-8296

Give parents the bill of

rights which includes a
hotline for their voices to
be heard:
http://www.nysed.gov/bilingual-
ed/parents/parents-bill-rights-new-
york-states-english-language-
learnersmultilingual
PROFESSINAL
DEVELOPMENT
We have conducted PD both in the
setting where you work and at
various schools. Please feel free
EL NOTICIERO BILINGUAL DEPT NEWS | Issue # 6 4