Se Habla Espanol? USD 501 in Topeka does not

I used to think that it would be really cool to speak another language. Mostly because if someone was making fun of me, I could in turn make fun of them and they would have no idea what I said to them. When I met my husband, I learned just how hard it was for those that spoke another language to be able to get an education and employment. My husband is fluent in both English and Spanish. If he does not put down on his application that he knows Spanish, he is usually overlooked.

So if it is difficult for a grown man to get employment even if he knows both languages, how hard is it for a child to get an education that only knows one language? It seems in Topeka, Kansas; this task is almost near impossible if your child does not know English as their primary language. I was even told by the coordinator of ESL (English as a Second Language) services that this special service is only offered to a few schools in the USD 501 school district. Out of the schools I do know about, I have only heard about two schools offering the services.

Why make a huge stink over a language barrier? One student at a USD 501 school is being forced to transfer to another school because of ESL services. Well, at least that is what the parents are being told. At the time of enrollment to Bishop Elementary, this child and his mother were told that the Spanish-speaking child could attend Bishop and that the language barrier would be no problem since there was an ESL teacher. This was confirmed to this writer by the principal after an incident that involved my daughter and this student, that there was an ESL teacher. What did the coordinator of ESL services have to say? That there was no ESL services available to Bishop.

Lundgren Elementary is, unfortunately, not testing very high and due to the ‘No Child Left Behind’ act; the parents have the right not to send their child to that school if they feel their child would not get a good education. Lundgren does, however, offer the ESL services that this student requires. This school is also 46 percent Hispanic. Bishop only has 6 percent of students that are Hispanic. So why are parents being forced to send their student to a school that is less than what their child was in before?

This is an outrage when we cannot send our children to school to get an education regardless of the situation. This reminds me of when I went to school and got teased because I was poor. Now, we have to fight for our children if they are of a different race or need special services.

We are told that if we have discrimination issues that we have to speak to the Clerk of the Board of Education. I was told by the coordinator of ESL services that not any parent can call and ask about why ESL services are not available to every student. Why is it so hard to believe that a community can come together for one common goal which is to make sure our children is educated in the best way possible?

I implore those that live in the Topeka area to contact the Clerk of the Board of Education and help those that need these services to ensure that they are available at every school. If you do not live in Topeka, I implore you to contact your local school district to see if these services and special education services are offered to every student at every school as they should be. No child should be left behind nor be forced to leave the established school just because the school district does not want to offer these services to every student.

For more information you can go to USD 501’s website at www.topekapublicschools.net