The number of Prince William County Public School students enrolled in a program for children whose first language is other than English rose 13 percent this year, climbing 1,546 to a total of 13,393.
The number of students in the program has been growing steadily, though this fall saw the smallest percentage increase since 1992 ,when there were only 444 students in the program. The jump in enrollment is driven by the influx of kindergarten students, said Carol Bass, the program’s director. More than 100 languages and 140 countries or cultures are represented among the county’s population, she said.
“All the data is fairly consistent with what we anticipated,” Bass said. “The good news is we know that if students come to us early enough, it is easier for us to help them acquire English and decrease the gap in learning they may have.”
The data appear to contradict assertions by immigrant advocates who claimed the county’s July move to pursue one of the nation’s toughest illegal-immigration crackdowns had frightened entrenched families into leaving the community.
Teresita Jacinto, a leader of the Woodbridge Workers Committee, told the Human Rights Commission the proposal was responsible for an unprecedented drop in the number of students in the English program as families fled the county. She defended her claims by saying that, countywide, new students replaced those who left.
“It’s very difficult to takea look at those figures and make any conclusions,” added Greg Letiecq, president of the anti-illegal immigration group Help Save Manassas.
Fellow Woodbridge Workers Committee representative John Steinbach said the enrollment numbers show the immigrant community did not leave overnight when the resolution was proposed, but may indicate fewer immigrants are choosing Prince William County.
“It doesn’t surprise me that the enrollment has increased, and it doesn’t surprise me that it’s the smallest percentage in a number of years,” Steinbach said.
“It’s not going to be, tomorrow, all the immigrants are gone. It’s when my job is ending, I will think, ‘Do I have better luck in Maryland or somewhere else?’ ”
