A California elementary school teacher discusses the school-wide transitional bilingual education (TBE) program in her school, the problems associated with it, and her participation in an initiative to promote English language instruction for language minority populations. The institutional context of the TBE program, demographic changes that prompted its development, and school district policy are described, and ways in which the TBE program did not serve its intended function are detailed. A number of problems are attributed to Los Angeles School District policy and procedures, including discrepancies between the way the program is presented to parents and teachers and the way it actually works, program placement deficiencies, inappropriate testing and exit criteria, and the waiver system by which bilingual education teachers are transferred from their local schools. A reform effort, the Learning English Advocates Drive (LEAD), begun in 1987 is also chronicled, and the major reasons that reform has not occurred are outlined. These include political influences, unrealistic teacher education requirements, teacher unions, and teacher morale. Appended materials include a list of acronyms, the California home language survey form, school form letters to parents, and a teachers' union referendum ballot. Contains three references. (MSE)