Orange County NC Website
13 <br />recognition of their service. In recent natural disasters like hurricane Katrina in New <br />Orleans, many of the people responsible for rebuilding have been immigrants. <br />Immigrants do not want to learn English. According to the report, The Economic Impact of <br />the Hispanic Population on the State of North Carolina, over the past twenty years, Hispanic <br />enrollment at the public schools has increased by 2,614 % (from 3,735 in 1985-86 to <br />101,380 in 2004-05), while overall enrollment grew by only 24 percent (from 1,086,130 in <br />1985-86 to 1,347,177 in 2004-05). Hispanic enrollment growth has been especially strong <br />since the mid-1990s, increasing by 33,933 students between 1995 and 2000 and by <br />45,148 students between 2000 and 2004. Over the past four years alone, Hispanic <br />enrollment has accounted for 57 percent of total enrollment growth in N.C. public school <br />system. According to the ESL (English as a Second Language) Program at Durham Technical <br />Community College, in the fall of 2005, Orange County residents enrolled in ESL programs <br />were 52% Hispanic (predominantly from Mexico)39%Asian and 8% other. Additionally, <br />scholars at the University of North Carolina estimate that it takes approximately two (2) <br />generations to acquire another language proficiently within a family unit. <br />11 <br />