CROSSING LANGUAGE BRIDGE; DECATHLON SPOTLIGHTS LATINO SCHOLARS.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Diego Espino wanted just one thing Sunday as he competed in a bilingual academic decathlon: to prove that students who learn English as a second language have what it takes to be winners, too.

Espino is on the Van Nuys High School team that was among eight from throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District that made it to the quarterfinals of the first Desafio Academico, or Academic Challenge, whose final episodes were taped Sunday in a Van Nuys television studio.

Born in Mexico, Espino spoke no English until he enrolled in classes two years ago to learn English as a second language.

Sunday, he was firing back answers as quickly as his classmate William Romero, 17, of Van Nuys, a Latino born in the United States.

``The first thing we are proving is that we have the knowledge,'' said Espino, 17, also a Van Nuys resident. ``William was born here and he speaks English, but we have the same abilities to think.''

Romero, who is bilingual, was quick to back up Espino's assertions.

``People think it's an intellectual barrier just because you're from another country, but it's not a barrier. . . . It's a bridge,'' said Romero.

The Academic Challenge, taped in Spanish with English interspersed, is a collaborative project of the LAUSD, executive producer Kim Soares and KWHY-TV (Channel 22), which will award $35,000 in scholarships and computers to the winners.

Teams from 35 high schools were competing in March when the decathlon began airing on Channel 22 on Sundays. Van Nuys High and Verdugo Hills High in Tujunga are the only San Fernando Valley schools that made it to the quarterfinals.

For students whose first language is Spanish, the decathlon is a chance to prove themselves academically in competition, said LAUSD board member David Tokofsky, who represents part of the San Fernando Valley.

``There were some feelings initially that the regular academic decathlon (in English only) was exclusive,'' said Tokofsky during the show's taping Sunday. ``So we're trying to develop something here to expand the decathlon.''

Discrimination against immigrants seems to be on the rise, and it is a plus for Channel 22 watchers to see immigrant students successfully tackling the same problems as their U.S.-born peers, he said.

The decathlon is also a chance for the LAUSD to show the intellectual strength of its Spanish-speaking students, said school board member Jeff Horton.

``There's been talk of Spanish-speaking students being a liability,'' said Horton. ``But the success that many of them show, as evidenced in this decathlon, proves that it's an incredible resource to the district to operate in both languages at this high level.''

Another goal of the Academic Challenge is to show that students can succeed academically while using both Spanish and English, said Horton's deputy, Ricardo Velasquez, one of the show's two moderators.

``We have kids who are headed to Stanford, MIT and Berkeley,'' said Velasquez. ``This shows they can have it all. ``They are able to balance their cultural values and language in a healthy way instead of having to choose.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Students from Verdugo Hills and Van Nuys high schools square off against each other in a bilingual academic decathlon taped by KWHY-TV (Channel 22).

Myung J. Chun/Daily News