At the Sep 26, 6pm meeting, long time Lynwood Club member, Raj, called the meeting to order. Before the speaker’s presentation, introduced by Daniel, several items were briefly discussed. As at the Sep 19 meeting, there was applause for the fun and financially successful Good Festival, held Fri, Sep 13, at Martina Rodriguez’ home. Martina’s financial report showed a net profit of $2,568.12. It was noted that additional food festivals are being planned during the year, with the next one to be at Ramon Rodriguez’ home on Nov 15. Member Raj mentioned the possibility of a food festival based on foods from India. Fernando and Tila Millan encouraged Rotary members to come to the Youthact event at Roosevelt ES, the next day on Fri afternoon at 3pm, at which event the new District 5280 Governor will meet with Youthact members and some of their parents and will present awards to Youthact officers. Note: Daniel and Martina attended this event and both were recognized by the new Governor, also by last year’s 5280 Governor, Joe Vasquez, who also attended and spoke to all in attendance (at the school library).
Daniel mentioned that Mark Flores, Director of Recreation and Community Services, would like to have Rotary members participate in the City’s Halloween Festival, scheduled for Thur, Oct 31, from 5pm to 8pm, in Lynwood Park. Daniel suggested that the Rotary meeting for Thur, Oct 31, 6pm, be cancelled so that Rotary members can participate in the City’s Halloween Festival.
Member Raj said a decision can be made at the coming Rotary meeting on Oct 3. Daniel noted that the next meeting will not be in Bateman Hall, due to a cleaning and treatment of the flooring. Instead, the meeting will be in the Community Services Building, across the street, in Room 2, where Rotary has held meetings when Bateman Hall roof was being repaired during several months.
Daniel introduced the speaker, Armanda Noriega, Principal of Will Roger ES, LUSD. Her topic was the Dual Language Program at Will Rogers ES, which has been in effect six years. This is the first year that Ms. Noriega is serving as principal at this school. Previously served as a principal at the El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera. Using PowerPoint, Amanda had a detailed presentation on the dual immersion program, Spanish – English, at Will Rogers ES.
Amanda mentioned that some schools teach fluency in English and other languages, besides Spanish, noting the example of Glendale schools, teaching English and Farsi languages. Amanda explained the difficulties in teaching pronunciation in English, compared to Spanish, in that English pronunciation require subtle differences in sounds compared to Spanish pronunciation rules and uses. Among the statistics Armanda cited, Will Rogers ES has 718 students, of which 211 are in the Dual Immersion Program. In the school as a whole, 50% are learning English, with the first language being Spanish. Among the statistics presented, Armanda explained that for Will Rogers ES students, acquiring fluency in English is a gradual process that takes 5-7 years to fully learn the other language.
Language fluency in English is gradual so that by the 4-6th grades, students can communicate in both languages. The below chart indicates the gradual increase in English fluency.
Grades Spanish English Grades Spanish English Grades Spanish English
K 90% 10% 2 70% 30% 4 – 6 50% 50%
1 80% 20% 3 60% 40%
A quote is provided from a flyer for the English & Spanish Dual Immersion Language Program at Will Rogers ES. “Your child will be bilingual, biliterate, bicultural, and be ready for the future!” (Also written in Spanish.)
The Rotary Foundation event that member Raj is coordinating is Sun, Oct 27, at The Taglyan Complex, Hollywood (1201 Vine St. Los Angeles, 90038).