San Mateo County, CA November 2, 1999 Election
Smart Voter

Press Release 7/21

By Colleen Jordan

Candidate for Council Member; City of Redwood City

This information is provided by the candidate
Emergency Funding for English Instruction
The recent test scores placing Redwood City school children in the bottom 10% in the nation are unacceptable. Our schools have failed. We must put aside, for the moment, the reasons for their failure and start rescuing our children. I will request an emergency allocation of $1.3 million for the purpose of establishing an Excellence in English program. It will be run by the city. My father learned Spanish in four weeks when his company transferred him to Colombia. He studied for 48 hours a week in a classroom environment where no English was spoken. When he finished the course, he was speaking like a native. We can and must have a similar program for English instruction here. I am not talking about children as some abstract concept. These kids are the next generation of doctors who will operate on us and pilots who will fly our planes. Does anyone feel comfortable knowing that their education has no solid foundation in the ability to communicate? English is the international language of commerce, the language of prosperity, and the language of our country. We sow the seeds of our peril if we do not make it our first priority in education.

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ca/sm Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 4, 1999 09:10
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