ESL is not same as learning-disabled

I read "Modesto schools try new ideas to boost English learners" (Jan. 31, Page A-1) with amazement. Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) is not some new concern for our schools. This issue has been faced by our teachers in their classrooms for decades. Highly qualified TESOL experts have been working in our school districts for years, but their hands are tied by administrations and school boards that just don't get it.

School districts are still forcing English as a Second Language students to use materials designed for learning-disabled students simply because they are scoring on the standardized tests at the same level. It is time to stop the charade. Students who aren't both verbally fluent and literate in English should not be forced to take standardized tests.

Administrators need to wake up and utilize the expert TESOL teachers they already have, and hire more if needed, to meet the demands of fully educating our ESL kids, thereby bringing them to full literacy. Free these experts to do the work they have been trained to do.

MARK WILBURN

Waterford