Oregon high schools adopt Mexico's curriculum to educate Spanish-speaking students
Some Oregon high schools are adopting Mexico's public school curriculum to help educate Spanish-speaking students, with textbooks, an online Web site, DVDs, and CDs provided free by Mexico to teach math, science, and even U.S. history. The Oregon Department of Education and the Mexico Secretariat of Public Education have been discussing aligning their curricula so courses will be valid in both the U.S. and Mexico. Similar programs have been adopted in Yakima, Washington, San Diego, California, and Austin, Texas. Oregon officials say the approach is intended as a supplement to keep students learning in Spanish while also gaining English skills. Until now, Oregon school districts generally have relied on bilingual aides or used Spanish material different from the English material others are studying. "That's not enough," says Patrick Burk, chief policy officer with the superintendent's office of the Oregon Department of Education. He says the idea is minimal disruption for immigrant Latinos. "The availability of resources is astounding," says Mr. Burk, who flew to Mexico with Oregon curriculum officials in August to discuss making equivalency standards official. "We're able to serve the students so much better if we're working together." Mexico has made its national curriculum available to communities across the U.S. since 2001 to encourage Mexican adults and youths to continue an education often abandoned back home due to limited resources. Nearly 30 schools in Washington state have already implemented Mexico's curriculum into the classrooms. In Oregon, learning materials are free, but districts must pay for staff. So far, two computer servers supporting Mexico's website cost the state about $10,000 to install and about $2,200 annually to maintain. One of the biggest challenges will be finding more Spanish-speaking instructors, says Mr. Burk. He says about 15% of Oregon students are Latino, compared with 2% of teachers.
FoxNews.com By Associated Press