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By Jessenia Pineda<\/strong><\/p>\n The BPS district is very diverse. Almost one in every two students speaks a language other than English at home.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> However, according to the BPS website, only five of 125 schools in the system offer dual-language programs.[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> There\u2019s an inequality within the BPS system because there aren\u2019t enough dual-language opportunities for the students whose first language is not English. More dual-language schools will bring an increased amount of benefits to all students who are in the Boston Public School system–not only the non-English speakers.<\/p>\n According to Julie Calderone, Director of World Languages in the BPS, students who are fluent in more than one language tend to have better opportunities, stronger cultural communication skills, and better community relationships. These skills lead to a better understanding of cultural differences. Becoming a dual-language student gives an important advantage to all students. Dual-language students will have superior cultural communication skills to a non-dual-language person. Broader language skills help decrease the amount of communication impediments and create a stronger cultural bond in our communities.[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> Boston Public School communities are populated with people from different cultural backgrounds which makes it very important to provide dual-language schools to meet their needs. This is one way to resolve conflicts between cultures in our city and improve communication between each other.<\/p>\n An examination of Boston\u2019s Public Schools conducted in 2000 and 2009, showed increases in out-of-school suspensions, grade retention, and dropout rates for most of the five largest non-English-speaking language groups after Massachusetts restricted bilingual education.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> Across the country where there are more dual-language programs, the success rates for students are higher. In their article \u201cBilingual Education: Reviving an American Tradition\u201d Stanford Professor Claude Goldenberg and educator Kirstin Wagner write, \u201cIn Massachusetts, the achievement gap has increased somewhat in both grade levels. In contrast, in the country as a whole, where general bilingual instruction remains an option, the reading achievement gap has decreased by nearly a grade level in fourth grade and has decreased slightly in eighth grade.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> They also maintain that \u201cinstruction in a student\u2019s home language can improve achievement in English.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> Students in dual-language schools are more comfortable in their schools and fit in better so they don\u2019t feel excluded or left out. As the evidence shows, they also are likely to learn better and if that\u2019s the case they will feel more successful and less likely to drop out.<\/p>\n