Reaching beyond language barriers

Deirdre Newman

Imagine walking into an elementary school classroom in a foreign

country. You don’t know the language, you don’t know anyone else in

the class and the lesson is about to begin.

Your hands start to sweat as the teacher asks the class a

question. Your heart beats faster as you lower your head and avert

your eyes, praying the teacher won’t call on you.

This is the nerve-wracking scenario facing many students in the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District. They come from a variety of

countries, mostly from Latin America; some know a bit of English,

some not one iota.

During the past school year, those worries eased some for students

in a new program the district put together in response to a critical

report by the U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights. That

report, issued a year and a half ago, faulted the district’s English

Language Development program in several areas.

By March, a state review found that eight of those problem areas

had been resolved.

The plan, developed by Karen Kendall, the district’s director of

English Learner Programs, is close to solving more.

“[The state review] noted the ‘significant and rapid progress made

by the district in 18 months,’” Kendall said. “It’s really been

exciting the metamorphosis that has occurred with everybody working

together.”

Kendall’s plan is now used as a model throughout the state.

A tough place to learn English

Before Proposition 227, non-English speaking students were placed

in bilingual education classes where they could learn the core

curriculum in their native language, while being taught English as

well. But everything changed in 1998 when the proposition essentially

wiped out bilingual education, except in cases where parents

requested waivers. That left school districts scrambling to fill the

void to help students learn English.

Most districts, including Newport-Mesa, fulfilled this obligation

through structured English immersion classes, where teachers used a

strong, structured, sequential “English language development”

process.

But parent Mirna Burciaga did not feel the district was giving

enough support to English language learners. In November 2000, she

filed a federal complaint claiming that the school district did not

provide significant access to the district’s full curriculum.

The federal Office for Civil Rights conducted an investigation. It

found that the district did not meet the needs of students with

limited English proficiency. Too much emphasis was put on teaching

them English at the expense of other classes, the office determined

in October 2001.

In response to the findings, Kendall devised a comprehensive plan

to reach all English language learners and make the program more

consistent. Last year, the district also adopted a new English

language development textbook and has trained teachers on how to use

it for their particular students.

Some of the eight areas the district significantly improved in

include establishing English Language Advisory Committees at every

school that had 21 or more English learners, and establishing a

thorough data collection and retrieval system.

The areas the district is still working on getting up to par

include ensuring that students learn the language in a sequential way

and that they all can have “meaningful participation in the core

content subjects, when they have developed a foundation in English

and can benefit,” Kendall said.

“We’re committed to spending some focused time on continuing to

have this be really clear and consistent throughout the district,”

Kendall said.

A investigation in 2001 by the state Department of Education

looked at six schools in Costa Mesa: Wilson Elementary, Rea

Elementary, Whittier Elementary, Sonora Elementary, TeWinkle Middle

School and Costa Mesa High School. Taking a look at these schools

provides a glimpse of the diverse techniques used to help students

with their English language development.

The work will continue as the district begins the new school year.

Level ground at Wilson Elementary

Wilson Elementary School uses a technique called “leveled

grouping” for its English language development. Each day, students

are regrouped in different classrooms to receive 45 minutes of

English instruction as determined by their language proficiency

level.

“It’s working out really wonderfully,” Principal Candy Sperling

said. “Our scores are going up. We’re noticing the kids are doing

better generally in reading.”

First-grade teacher Jenny Dory, who is now in her eighth year of

teaching, uses a variety of techniques to foster language

development.

When she taught a lesson introducing her students to various

tools, she used phonemic awareness with poetry, while her student

teacher demonstrated how to use the tools, making the lesson

interactive.

She used rhyming words to review the words as she drew pictures of

the various tools on the white board. Using this method, the students

were able to learn words as simple as “nail” and as sophisticated as

“trowel.”

“I think by using different modalities, reinforcing it and

repetition is so important, it eventually becomes part of their

vocabulary,” Dory said.

Accelerating reading at Rea Elementary

At Rea Elementary School in Costa Mesa, about 65% of students are

English language learners. Officials there use an “accelerated

reading” program to aid the students.

In the past, students would read books and then take quizzes on

them independently. Now, a teacher reads to the students and quizzes

them as a team so they can talk about it and gain consensus. The

questions increase in difficulty as the students answer the questions

correctly.

The group approach has benefited students like Beatriz Ramirez,

who is now in eighth grade and says the quizzes helped her learn.

In math, the students work on a similarly paced program called

“Accelerated Math.” The program complements the core math curriculum.

Students work at their own pace on skills appropriate for their

abilities, so a sixth-grader might be working on mastering

third-grade skills. The worksheets don’t show the grade level,

though, so the students’ self-esteem won’t be harmed, said teacher

Jenith Mishne.

“No one has to know,” Mishne said. “The whole idea is we want them

to be showing growth.”

The students are also arranged in groups based on their level so

they can help each other.

Mishne gets immediate results from her students’ work by running

it through a scanner. The resulting display shows how many problems

were answered correctly and how many objectives the student got

right. Mishne encourages her students to learn five objectives a

week.

Working together at Whittier Elementary

At Whittier School in Costa Mesa, teachers get together both

formally and informally during the day and after school to develop

curriculum, analyze student work and examine data on an ongoing

basis. Teachers find that this time is valuable for pinpointing the

needs of English language learners and for improving professional

practice.

English Learner Coordinator Sarah Cook, in her fifth year at

Whittier, said that these sessions are an important part of

addressing the whole child.

“Often times a dip or rise in progress is based on many

contributing factors, and collaborating in this way allows for a

closer analysis of what is making the difference,” Cook said.

The school also employs a monitoring system to keep track of

student mastery of the standards. At times, teachers seat students by

language levels to assess comprehension, Principal Sharon Blakely

said.

One of the techniques teachers use to hasten language development

and help students gain mastery of standards like retelling stories is

having them watch silent movies, discuss the plot and then encourage

them to write stories and draw pictures about the movie.

“Using movies and films to get children to express themselves [is

helpful] because so many [students] have low experience and

knowledge,” said teacher Martha Blair. “A lot of families are just

trying to survive.”

Reaching parents at Sonora Elementary

At Sonora Elementary School, one of the priorities is reaching out

to parents of English language learners to establish a connection to

the school and to help them learn English. The philosophy is that

when parents make a concerted effort to learn English, it will set an

example for their children, former Principal Lorie Hoggard said.

Parents of English language learners are also encouraged to

participate in the school’s English Language Advisory Committee.

“There’s been a huge increase [in participation],” Hoggard said.

“I think parents feel more welcome and comfortable to talk about

anything on their mind.”

The increased parent involvement has given the school a stronger

community feel, which is vividly illustrated during the school’s

annual Cinco de Mayo celebration, said Marcy Shands-Brown, the

school’s community coordinator.

“One Anglo-Saxon mom said the reason why she brought her son [to

attend Sonora] is because she had come to Cinco de Mayo years before

and saw the warmth,” Shands-Brown said.

Part of the crowd at TeWinkle Middle School

At TeWinkle Middle School, school officials try to integrate

English language learners in as much of the school life as possible.

The school provided a “Parent Institute for Quality Education” last

fall to help parents learn how to better access the school and its

offerings.

“So when a child comes home and wants to be involved in an

after-school or special activity, a parent can be a partner and

encourage and promote it and have full awareness,” Kendall said.

The school has also been expanding its after-school tutoring

program, Project Success, to the point where it now attracts more

than 90 students on a daily basis.

One of the students who benefited from the tutoring was Katya

Pescador, who is now in ninth grade. Katya, who came from Mexico

City, said she was embarrassed when she first got to TeWinkle because

of her low level comprehension of English.

“Now I feel much better because I feel like I know a little bit of

English,” Katya said.

TeWinkle has continued to support English learners by hiring

additional classroom teachers and bilingual aides. It has also funded

a staff position to assist English learners and their parents.

Extracurricular activities that students are encouraged to

participate in include Club Live, a leadership training/school and

community service organization. Every Friday, between 20 to 40 kids

attend meetings and plan events like a school cleanup, Red Ribbon

Week and Secret Angels at the Senior Center, said Principal Jeff

Gall.

Anabel Diaz, 13, is one who takes advantage of the Club Live

experience.

“You help your community and school to get better through

fund-raisers, learn to be a leader and respect your group,” Anabel

said.

COSTA MESA HIGH

At Costa Mesa High School, where there are more than 550 English

learners, students receive a structured program called “English

Language Development” as well as a developmental reading program.

Students at the beginning levels of English proficiency receive up

to three hours a day of explicit, sequential teaching using the new

state-approved and district-adopted textbook series. As they advance

in English proficiency, students are placed in both sheltered English

and other classes, which use research-based strategies specially

designed to meet the needs of English learners.

Graduate Noemi Garcia came to Costa Mesa from Mexico and started

in the beginning level.

“It was weird -- at first, I was nervous because everything was

different,” Noemi said. “Now I feel good. I can communicate now. It’s

really important because I have to speak it [English] anywhere.”

The developmental reading program expands students’ skills through

the use of the reading component of the newly adopted curriculum.

Students receive daily instruction in English communication skills,

vocabulary development, verbal and written fluency and the

fundamentals of reading.

But there is still room for improvement, said Alena Mankovecky,

who teaches various levels of the program. She suggests more

communication among the people who deal with English learners at the

school.

“It’s better to figure out how to place the students before they

get to campus -- we don’t really coordinate,” Mankovecky said. “It’s

just like [there] are suggestions and recommendations, but the

parties don’t meet and say, ‘This is where we place them. What do you

think?’ And now we’re finding out, they’re not where we suggested and

what are we doing?”

Kendall said that processes like scheduling are continually

improved upon as those focused on English learners work together. The

English Language Coordinators maintain collaboration between school

and district resources and promote communication among staff members

at each school, Kendall explained.

“Teamwork is a top priority--with student success the goal,”

Kendall said.

A MODEL PLAN

Despite the criticism, Kendall’s plan has garnered praise from

state officials and consultants not just because of the content, but

because of the participation invite to help develop the content.

“It’s one thing to write a plan that is understandable and clear

and gives good direction to folks about how to do these programs,”

said Norm Gold, an education consultant. “In developing the program,

Karen was careful to work with and through a number of groups so they

now have wider ownership than I find in many districts.”

Gold said Newport-Mesa’s plan is one of a few he uses as models

for other districts that are trying to wrestle with their own English

learner programs.

WORKING ON THE FUTURE

Even if a child has come from another country during elementary

school and received a few years of English Language Development, they

still might struggle in listening, speaking, reading, and/or writing.

Language acquisition usually takes about seven years, Kendall

explained.

Middle school, therefore, is an essential time to help students

attain proficiency in all four areas, Kendall said.

As district officials and staff become more familiar with the

program, Kendall hopes to see strong results in English acquisition

and access to the core curriculum. She would also like to see an

increase in English learners’ enrollment in gifted programs, Advanced

Placement classes and college enrollment.

“Empowered with English language proficiency and content academic

knowledge and language, our English learners can really soar,”

Kendall said. “Overall, we are working hard to empower English

learners to respond with advantage to the many opportunities

available at school, in their home life and in wider society.”

Burciaga, who along with other parents, helped develop the

program, said she is impressed with the district’s efforts to ensure

consistency in the English Language Development program.

“I saw the [textbooks] and it is amazing what they are trying to

do,” Burciaga said. “So if a child is moving from one school to

another, they will be having the same instruction. I hope,

eventually, we will have more teachers working with the students.”

And Burciaga said she takes pride in the fact that her original

complaint has resulted in so much reward for the students.

“I am happy about what I did,” Burciaga said. “We are seeing now

that there are results and that’s good for the benefit of the

children.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].