State education department upholds training for ESOL teachers, for now: Leaders in education rethink idea to cut ESOL training hours.

Byline: Marc Freeman

Feb. 19--GREENACRES -- One out of every four students at Heritage Elementary School comes from a home where English may be spoken little or not at all. So, for 90 minutes daily, these children leave their regular classrooms and receive instruction from teachers who specialize in a program called English for Speakers of Other Languages, or ESOL.

"We're immersing them into the language," said Principal Seth Moldovan, observing small groups of kindergartners practice basic letter sounds.

Moldovan's faculty -- including an ESOL coordinator and five ESOL teachers -- helped the Palm Beach County school achieve an A-rating last year. His 210 students …