ual education programs, Feliz's experience testifies to the effectiveness of a good bilingual education program. At Oyster Elementary School in Washington, students are taught half the time in English and the other half in Spanish in a bilingual education program from kindergarten through sixth grade. The school district claims that their low dropout rates are an indicator of the availability of a strong bilingual education program. The fact that some bilingual education programs need to be altered and improved cannot negate the advances made by effective bilingual education programs (Chavez & Lyons, 1996, p. 26).
Bilingual education programs have also fostered a multicultural environment that acknowledges the need for children and their families to be involved in the school activities through an extensive use of bilingual professionals. Since the advent of these programs, workshops were conducted for educators to learn about historical and cultural backgrounds
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