Grand Prairie teen overcame language barrier to rise to top of his class

This student's success in learning English may help educators figure out how to teach better. It definitely takes hard work, practice and parents who encouraged him. DP

By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News

Knowing only Spanish wasn't the only obstacle Ruben Jauregui faced five years ago when he left Mexico to start a new life in Texas. He had to put up with Latino classmates who ridiculed him for wanting to speak English.

Ruben, now a 17-year-old senior at Grand Prairie High School, didn't let the teasing stop him. He mastered English, rose to No. 1 in his class and is deciding whether to accept a full scholarship from prestigious Rice University or ultraprestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"I think whatever you want to do is possible, and if you work hard, you can do it," he said, sitting in front of a computer in the school library. "It's about believing in yourself."

Ruben's transition from native Spanish speaker to stellar student provides solid clues to one of the most vexing mysteries in Texas public education: How do schools teach English to Spanish-speaking kids to prepare them for success? And what should the child and his family do to support the school's curriculum?

More than half a million public school students in Texas carry the "limited English proficient" label. The vast majority are Latino. And many of them understand little of what they hear in class from their English-speaking teachers.
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