César Azcarate Calle was impressed with what he saw at a bilingual-education classroom at Riverside High School. Students were reading and discussing aloud a novel that just months ago they would not have been able to understand.
"It's amazing the level of progress students are making at this school," said Azcarate Calle, an English instructor in his native Peru. "We hope to learn a lot from the techniques being used here in El Paso."
Seven English-language educators from countries on three continents were in El Paso on Thursday to study bilingual-education instruction in hopes of improving instruction in their schools.
The visit was part of the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, which will take 21 foreign educators to cities throughout the country for about a month.
The educators in El Paso -- who hail from Algeria, Ivory Coast, Iran, Peru, Russia, Sri Lanka and Uruguay -- will be in the area until Sunday.
They will visit bilingual-education professors at UTEP today and travel to New Mexico for other visits on Saturday.
On Thursday, the educators visited Riverside and Alicia Chacón International School -- a foreign-language magnet campus in the Ysleta Independent School District.
"This is one of many visits we get from people throughout the country and throughout the world who are interested in the way we are teaching students with limited English proficiency," said Triana Olivas, Ysleta's interim director of bilingual education.
"This speaks volumes of the level of instruction and learning that is going on in our schools. Our reputation is well-earned."
Laura Escuder, a high-ranking educator in the Uruguayan department of education, said she enjoyed speaking with students in bilingual education.
"We've been in Seattle and in San Francisco, and this (district) is the one that I am the most impressed with," she said. "We also received the best welcome here out of any place we have visited."
Gustavo Reveles Acostamay be reached at greveles@elpasotimes.com; 546-6133.
