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Wall Street Journal — More than a year after the state Education Department warned New York City that it was short-changing students whose first language isn’t English, officials announced Wednesday that the city has agreed to improve instruction.

The state warned city officials in March 2010 that the Department of Education failed to quickly identify students who needed English language classes and did not have enough certified bilingual teachers available.

To fix that, the city agreed to open 125 new bilingual programs by 2014, to encourage teachers to become certified to teach English as a second language and to make other changes.

Khin Mai Aung, attorney for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, called the plan a “major step forward.” For years, the group has been pushing for better services for students learning English and issuing reports about problems, such as the disappearance of some bilingual services when large high schools were broken up into smaller ones.

State Education Commissioner John King said students who don’t speak English as a first language lag on state tests, graduation rates and college preparedness.

“The outcomes are quite poor, and my view is that where students aren’t achieving, that means the adults have a responsibility to change their practices to help students achieve at a higher level,” he said. The city Department of Education said it will be able to meet the goals within its existing budget. But the city doesn’t have a cost estimate yet, so it’s unclear where resources will come from, or whether other areas would lose teachers or funding, a spokesman said.

Principals who don’t meet the department’s goals could lose funding, lose points on annual progress reports or have a letter placed in their personnel files.

In the 2010-11 school year, 650 eligible students–out of nearly 165,000–didn’t receive any English language or bilingual education, and 2,395 students were not being taught by a certified bilingual or English as a second language teacher.

Ms. Aung recalled a girl who had recently emigrated from Myanmar when she enrolled in a sports management program. Beyond trying to learn English, she was also lost in a mess of sports jargon.

“She was plopped into these courses. She was able to follow a little bit, but she spent hours at home on the Internet trying to figure out what words were used in class,” she said. “Those are the types of things that can happen. The students just fall between the cracks.” The city provided data to show it has been improving in some areas. For example, in the 2009-10 school year, 78% of new students whose home language was not English were assessed within 10 days of enrolling in the system. That number rose to 86% last year. In a statement, city schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said he looked forward to implementing the “bold plan.”

By Lisa Fleisher, Wall Street Journal

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