Priscilla Der, a second grade teacher at San Francisco's Francis Scott Key Elementary School, said her school uses various bilingual models. Other teachers use more Cantonese than she does. The Filipino Education Center in San Francisco serves Filipino newcomers from kindergarten through fifth grade. Leni Juarez, its principal and a former teacher, said most students know little English because they come from rural areas or were poor city dwellers in the Philippines. As a result, teachers use a great deal of primary language while also using English, Juarez said.
Bilingual education can clash with some parent expectations.
Louie is demanding his son be placed in an English-only classroom, and he is being represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, which has challenged other bilingual programs. Not all teachers support bilingual education. Jaime Escalante, the famous Los Angeles high school math teacher whose story became a movie, is honorary chairman of the Proposition 227 campaign. He has worked to eliminate his school's bilingual programs, which he felt were holding students back. Gloria Matta Tuchman, a Santa Ana kindergarten teacher, co-authored the Unz Initiative.