You are the principal of Pine Elementary school. Pine Elementary is located in a low-socio economic school district that has a diverse student population. Fifty-one percent of the student population in the district is Latino/a.

Pine has a student population of 500 students. The median family income is $15,000 and 70 percent of the students are on free or reduced lunch. Fifty two percent of the students at Pine are Latino/a. Of the 52% Latino students, 20% come to school speaking Spanish. The rest of the student population is made up of 3% Native American, 1% Asian, 1% African American, and 43% Anglo.

Pine Elementary has a student mobility rate of 32%. Thirty two percent of the students will register or withdraw during the school year. The school has a Two-Way Bilingual Program. There are four classrooms at each grade level. At the primary level (K, 1, & 2) there are two Bilingual classrooms at each level. At the intermediate level (3, 4, & 5) there is only one Bilingual classroom at each grade level.

You have a fourth grade level teacher vacancy. There is a shortage of Bilingual teacher candidates. You and the District have been unable to find a candidate that has all of the qualities needed in your fourth grade Two-Way Bilingual Program teacher position.

The candidates have been narrowed down to two. A highly skilled Latina teacher candidate that has previous successful classroom experience and some Spanish speaking skills but, is not fluent in Spanish and an Anglo candidate. The Anglo candidate has also had previous classroom experience. She is fluent in Spanish. The Latina candidate has been teaching in the district for several years. This is the first time she has taken an interest in the Bilingual Program. She has lost her Spanish fluency. However, she is interested in teaching the history of Mexico and Mexican folk dancing in the after school program.

You and your staff designed the Two-Way Program model and want it to be successful. Two of the major goals of the program are language oriented. Goal one is to have the Spanish speaking students proficient in English and Spanish by the end of the fifth grade. The second goal is to have the English speaking students proficient in English and have Spanish as a Second Language skills by the end of the fifth grade.

This is the first and only elementary school in the District to attempt to implement a Two-Way Bilingual Program. If successful, it will clear the way for principals, staff, students, and parents in other buildings to do the same.

The Latino Board members have asked the Superintendent to support the Two-Way Bilingual Program at Pine Elementary with teachers fluent in English and Spanish and who are steeped in the history and culture of the United States Latino/as.

If you recommend the Latina it will hurt the schools ability to reach the goals of the program in Spanish language proficiency. In addition, she would not meet the requirements set forth by the Board of Education. The existing Bilingual staff would have to carry her in this area and would become resentful. You would be perceived as making additional and special accommodations for Latinas.

If you recommend the Anglo, you do not have a Latino/a role model for the students. Having spent many years in Spain, she meets the board requirements for Spanish language fluency. However, she does not have the cultural background of some of the parents in the community. She does have the ability to help the students reach the goals of the program in the area of Spanish language proficiency and Spanish as a Second language. You would be perceived as biased towards the main stream culture.

Questions:

1. What pressures can you expect to receive given one choice or the other?
2. What would be the fair thing to do?
3. Is it more important to be able to teach the culture or the language?
4. Will your recommendation be accepted?
5. What is more important the program goals or the qualities of the candidates?