VUSD explores best ways to teach English
By: STACY BRANDT - Staff Writer
Consultant will bring report to district tonight | ∞
VISTA -- Vista Unified School District administrators say they're hoping a report on how the district serves English learners will give them new ideas for how best to teach them.
A consultant, Flora Lenhart, will present the report tonight at the school board's monthly meeting. Though she said there is plenty of room for improvement in how the district teaches English learners, she wouldn't give specifics before the board gets the information tonight.
Over the last month or so, she has met with teachers, parents and administrators to compile the report.
"This is a labor of love," she said. "I took it on because I saw a great need in this district."
District officials are looking for ways to teach students to read and speak English more quickly and effectively, said Sandy Gecewicz, the district's chief academic officer. The district has more than 7,000 students classified as English-language learners and has tried for years to raise low test scores, especially among these students.
"We still have a lot of work to do to close that achievement gap," she said of the difference between the scores of native English speakers and students learning the language. "Given the fact that we have to do that this year, we really needed to have someone with some expertise that could come in and evaluate our entire program to see if there's anything we could do to accelerate their success."
Superintendent Joyce Bales asked Lenhart to come last month after the two worked together at Bales' former school district in Pueblo, Colo. The district is paying her roughly $3,200 for 20 days of work.
Lenhart worked for Pueblo School District 60 with Bales as a director of language and literacy before moving on to the Colorado Department of Education to oversee bilingual programs across the state. She now works as a consultant on students learning to speak English and lives in Pueblo.
Bales said she picked Lenhart for the job because of her success in Colorado, where she was responsible for putting together an action plan for teaching students learning to speak English across the state.
"When you're trying to lead change, you try to identify people who have been the path makers for kids," Bales said.
Lenhart said she will tell the school board and administrators where they can improve their education for English learners, but won't give specific recommendations. How the information is put into action will be up to district officials, she said.
"This report basically is about creating the structures for change," she said. "It's about bringing people together to have conversations."
The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. tonight at the district office, 1234 Arcadia Ave.
Also at the meeting, the trustees are expected to vote on a recommendation to change the board's policy on English Acquisition Education to include a guarantee that students can speak whatever language they want when not in class.
A change in this policy -- which hasn't been revised since 1994 -- was recommended after a parent filed a complaint with the federal Office for Civil Rights, Gecewicz said.
The complaint, filed in March, accused the district of discriminating against English learners by prohibiting them from speaking Spanish, said Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education.
This office investigated the complaint and last week asked the district to address the complaint, which prompted the change in board policy, officials said.
-- Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.
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HUH wrote on Oct 18, 2007 6:21 AM:Am I correctly reading that headline?
Sounds good but wrote on Oct 18, 2007 6:36 AM:So was this complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights or with the U.S. Department of Education? They are different branches and departments. Regardless, changing policies does very little unless district officials train the teachers and staff on the policies. Unfortunately college educated professionals have a hard time understanding that they have structure and boundaries that they have to conform to when they work for public agencies...
Robert24 wrote on Oct 18, 2007 7:19 AM:Here's a novel idea; Have it taught at home as the child is growing up, just like I did. That way, when you get to school, you don't have to be taught and hold up all of the others who have learned it at home. Worked for years; why should it be any different (or cost anything) now?
OCR is behind wrote on Oct 18, 2007 9:46 AM:Why did it take OCR 8 months to investigate the complaint?
How about this wrote on Oct 18, 2007 2:21 PM:You must be able to pass a basic English proficiency test BEFORE you attend our public school.
To "How about this" and "Robert" wrote on Oct 19, 2007 8:20 AM:Both of you have nice ideas, but we need to face the fact that if our Federal Government is not going to do its job of regulating immigration we at VUSD and other districts are stuck with a problem that is seriously impacting our students. Now then, even the English speaking students who start in Kindergarten have a very limited set of English skills, and the clear majority don't read. At that point we have our best opportunity to level the playing field. With our teachers teaching in English only, and not pandering to the many languages that could find their way to our schools, the children will (as children do) pick up the language very fast. If we continue to encourage them to learn in English, and only teach in English the results will be astounding! This method has worked for thousands of years around the world in every country everywhere. In fact, you will find that immersion language learning is the best method for learning a language, as necessity it the best learning tool ever invented. If you have to speak the language to get what you need you will quickly learn to communicate using whatever methods are available. But, as time goes on you will begin to pick up the language skill needed to communicate in the local manner. Pandering to other languages simply because you feel uncomfortable is actually a disservice to those you are attempting to teach, and a disservice to yourself in the long run. You only serve to stifle and confuse the learning process as you remove the number on motivator, necessity! This does not mean that you can't aid these students and their parents by providing some additional training in their language, but this extra help should only be like any other extra help provided for any other student: tutoring. And, if you push reading and writing in English you will find that it opens the door to learning in all the other subjects, not to mention that it provided significant amounts of self-esteem to those who are traditionally seen as having low self-esteem due to their language barrier. So, if VUSD and other districts around CA really want to improve the English skills of English Learners they will teach them to read and write in English!
Danny wrote on Oct 21, 2007 11:34 AM: OCR is slow and very inefficient in comparison to VUSD high power, high paid lawyers. OCR investigators (with little education or experience) have to go up against VUSD and SDCOE Joint Powers of Authority. It is a little more complicated than answering a complaint and investigating it. Virtually impossible to get justice when the fox is in the hen house.
To Danny wrote on Oct 21, 2007 2:17 PM:The best way to deal with a Fox is to get a couple of big mean dogs. Next election we can replace a few of teh Fox's best friends and supports sitting on the Board: end the Union control and replace them with Taxpayer Citizens!
Enough Billable Hours wrote on Oct 21, 2007 4:32 PM:I agree next election we need to elect some PIT BULLS that are going to protect our CHILDREN and have respect for their PARENTS. These PIT BULLS need to CLEAN HOUSE. Fire these greedy lawyers and run the VUSD with dignity, respect and integrity. Enough is enough we must protect our FUTURE.
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