We can work with the parents on different solutions because we understand their situation. One reason, she said, is experience. Colmenares had worked as the only teacher at a village school in Mexico, serving a class of children spanning six grades. After moving to Los Angeles, she became a supermarket cashier, studying late at night and volunteering as a teachers assistant. Many of us have been there before.
Skeptics say they are most concerned about the thorny issue of language.
Unlike Arizona and Texas, which are seeking to train more bilingual teachers, California under Proposition 227 requires an English-only curriculum. Immigrant teachers still grappling with English may not have the fluency to work effectively with children or colleagues, said Gloria Matta Tuchman, an elementary school teacher in Santa Ana and the coauthor of Proposition 227. One Los Angeles principal said a Mexican teacher she hired from the Cal State Long Beach pilot program is doing poorly. Alianza supporters dismiss such concerns, contending that teachers must pass English reading and writing exams before earning state credentials. Such worries are remote to the 20 teachers enrolled in Alianza's first class.