Basic English & Esl (2 Pk) / Instructional At a school where 75 percent of the students know very little English — and their parents even less — teaching English is the goal, but speaking Spanish makes the connections. It turns on those little lights in a child’s brain and comforts intimidated parents. Improving their own Spanish skills is one way teachers are reaching out to Hispanic students, who are often struggling to catch up with their English-speaking peers. Educators call this disparity the “achievement gap,” and it’s one of those daunting problems that gets bigger every year as more Hispanic families move into the county. It’s a dilemma that shows itself publicly around test time, when people see how poorly students perform when they can barely read the questions on a test.

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