Education’s changing faces

Jessica Garrison

College Park Elementary School Principal Kathy Sanchez is not afraid to

admit it: There has been some controversy at her school this fall.

Some parents living in the middle-class homes near the school have pulled

their children out and sent them to private schools or transferred them

to Newport Beach schools.

In response, school board members and district officials have met with

parents to discuss their concerns. And Sanchez has taken to meeting with

a group of parents every week to talk about issues at the school.

Though no one denies there is a problem, when it comes to explaining

exactly what the controversy is, why parents are upset and what they

want, parents and district officials stumble over their words.

“I’m trying to figure out what the problem is,” said PTA president Renee

Bowen.

Many parents are dissatisfied, she said, but she has yet to find an exact

reason.

Of the 21 children on her block, she said, only a handful attend their

neighborhood school.

Most agree the problem has something to do with the changing demographics

at the school, which is nestled in a leafy middle-class neighborhood near

Orange Coast College, but which draws many students from the mostly

Latino west side of Costa Mesa.

Ten years ago, most of the little faces at the school were white. Walk

across the school today, and you will see that’s no longer the case.

Now, most are the children of poor Latino immigrants. More than 50% of

those students are still learning English. More than 75% qualify for

federally subsidized lunch programs.

“I guess my sense for parents’ discomfort is that this is a school where

people of a different culture and a different language are learning

alongside [one another],” said Sanchez. “Some parents feel that their

children will not have the best possible education because of the people

who are of a different language and culture.”

Supt. Robert Barbot said district officials are watching the conflict at

College Park very closely.

The tensions at College Park, Barbot said, are in some ways a microcosm

of tensions that are sweeping the Newport-Mesa district as a whole.

Newport-Mesa, he said, is one of the most diverse school districts in the

state -- both economically and racially.

And it’s only going to become more so. Whites will be a minority in

Orange County very soon, said Barbot.

The story of College Park, then, is in many ways the story of the

district.

Though white and Latino students at the school tend not to hang out with

each other in social groups, most students seem to be getting along fine.

Some parents, including Debbie England, who pulled her child out of the

school last year, say the problem is not that there are more Latino

students at the school. Rather, they say it is the way Sanchez and

district officials have concentrated on teaching reading to

non-English-speaking and lower-achieving students to the exclusion of all

else.

“Kids weren’t being challenged,” England said. Her children did not have

adequate homework assignments, she said, and worked on nothing but

reading. And it wasn’t as if children were reading Shakespeare.

“Those that know how to read aren’t being challenged in other areas.”

Math, language arts, science, and “everything else that’s necessary” were

not being addressed, she said.

“There’s more to school than reading,” England said.

Sanchez acknowledged parents’ charges that teachers and administrators

focus on the needs of English-learners to the detriment of

English-proficient children who need more challenging course work and

different lesson plans.

Since becoming aware of these concerns, Sanchez -- who is in her fifth

year as principal of the school -- said she has worked aggressively to

address them.

Teachers at College Park are receiving instruction on how to reach all

students, even when they are at dramatically different skill levels.

Administrators and teachers are working together to make sure homework

reflects students’ skill levels, and Sanchez is having weekly meetings

with parents and teachers to talk about the school’s mission.

Sanchez said the notion that College Park cannot meet the needs of

bright, English-speaking children is a false one, born of ignorance and

fear.

Once the school’s average test scores -- now in the lower range of the

district -- are broken down by English-speakers and non-English speakers,

English-speaking students are actually scoring well above grade level.

What’s more, Sanchez said, though school-wide scores declined last year,

English-speaking scores actually increased.

“What I do is look very critically at what we’re doing,” she said. “And

we’re doing well. Should those test scores have fallen, I would be very

concerned.”

“I think fear is a factor, in terms of parents wondering, ‘Is my child

going to get the best education?”’ she said. Sometimes, she added, that

fear prompts parents to send their children to other schools.

But Sanchez said it is crucial for everyone to work together to improve

the situation for all students at College Park.

“We’ll hit some bumps,” she said. “But it’s what we do when we hit bumps.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen great improvement in

communication, and these issues are certainly not resolved, but I will

not allow this to get me disheartened about things.”

Barbot, too, has high hopes that the school and the district can meet the

challenges of diversity gracefully and wind up better off in the process.

“It’s a community going through some changes. When you go through changes

as a community, that’s not an easy thing to do,” he said. “I think the

real story in this case is that you have parents, staff and a principal

working together. I am confident they will have an outstanding school.”