For example,
Calderón’s (2002) study reports the results from a
national survey of 100 bilingual teachers regarding
their specific professional concerns. Among
these, they noted that (a) mainstream teachers developed
misconceptions about the bilingual program;
(b) bilingual teachers are treated as secondclass
citizens; (c) the transition of students from
bilingual to mainstream classrooms is too abrupt
and detrimental; (d) there are few opportunities
for bilingual and mainstream teachers to discuss,
plan, and address the needs of individual
students after their transition; (e) mainstream
teachers always blame the bilingual teachers if
a student does not do well after transition; and
(f) each year there are “silent and not so silent
battles” over resources between bilingual and
mainstream teachers (pp. 131–132).

English is the default language in American education, but this poses a huge limitation on many students. 1 out of 6 school-aged children speak a language other than English at home, classifying them as language-minority students. This number is increasing, and these students do not have a strong background in English. These students have a greater tendency to fall behind in their academics and need support to learn in a language they are not fluent in.

strong bilingual programs not only meet the need of bilingual students, but also introduce monolingual students to diverse cultures and languages. English-based classrooms has the opportunity to take advantage of the linguistic and cultural diversity of our mixed society. (Brisk, 2006)

command of two or more languages bolsters the ability to focus in the face of distraction, decide between competing alternatives, and disregard irrelevant information. (Schwartz, Casey. "Why It's Smart to Be Bilingual." Newsweek 15 Aug. 2011: 26. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.)