English Only Rule Aimed at High School Valedictorian

The Co-Valedictorians at Ellender High School in Terrabone Parish in Louisiana are Hue and Cindy Vo. They are first generation Americans, and their parents are immigrants. The girls certainly did their parents proud, and on the face of it this seems a great example of the American Dream. Now the elder Vos aren’t completely fluent in English, so in her Valedictory speech Cindy Vo included a sentence in Vietnamese just for them. How sweet. Alas, the powers that be at the School Board are a bit put off by Cindy’s including words that aren’t English in her speech. Here’s a bit of the story from the New York Times: David Bourg, the secondary education supervisor with the Terrebonne Parish School District, is forming a committee of educators to study the graduations at the four high schools and to make recommendations to the school... [read full story]