delawareonline The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. 'First Steps' in two languages: Bilingual education helps integrate fast-growing Hispanic population
At the new First Steps Primeros Pasos early learning center in Georgetown, lessons are repeated in English and Spanish. Signs and posters around the classroom are bilingual, and two of the three instructors are native Spanish speakers.
"We deal with integration here," said Executive Director Lynne Maloy. "We're teaching our Spanish speakers English and our English speakers get to learn Spanish. We want everyone to have an equal chance to succeed, because education is the name of the game."
With Hispanic students less likely to graduate from high school than blacks or whites, educators are looking to bilingual and multicultural early education programs as one way to narrow the gap.
But even as dual-language programs like First Steps are opening across the country, Hispanic children, whether because of language, cultural or economic barriers, are less likely than their non-Hispanic counterparts to be enrolled in preschool.
