, 2000: 92). The participants also found many hidden benefits for themselves, as they said they felt more a part of the wider California community and had expanded job opportunities as a result of their greater level of English proficiency. The study "Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on the Education of English Learners, K - 12" notes that the main aim of the program was to improve the performance of children in school. The study criticized the tutoring for not being coordinated with the programs at the local school districts. While over 50% of the CBET coordinators surveyed said that they had the impression that the CBET program had improved the English proficiency of the students in their district only 15% of those surveyed reported having data to support this impression. (Parrish et al., 2002: 93) However, one might point out that substantial gains in English literacy are unlikely to show up within a 2-year period on student tests, while there still might be an unquantifiable improvement in children's comfort level in speaking English at home.

Certain facets of the program might necessitate some modification. For example, in exchange for the free tutoring, parents had to sign a pledge card stating they would tutor their children in English several hours per week, which might be difficult for parents working multiple jobs with large families. Surely the presence of English...

For parents still gaining comfort with the English language and American schooling system, community tutoring fills a clear need. Although the fact that funds for community tutoring were tied to a mandatory end to bilingual education may have caused some advocates to downplay the success of the program, the achievement of the teachers and parents committed to the program must be acknowledged. A bad law can still give rise to a good program, and the funds for the program should continue.
Works Cited

Heredia, Christopher. (4 May 1999). "English for Parents: Literacy programs help immigrants tutor their kids." San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 15 Feb 2007 at http://www.onenation.org/9905/050499a.html

Parrish, Thomas,

Robert Linquanti, Amy Merickel, Heather E. Quick, Jennifer Laird,

Phil Esra. (2002) "Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on the Education of English Learners, K - 12." Wested Online.…