ADAM KAYE

Staff Writer

ENCINITAS -- More than 100 parents have signed a petition protesting the possible transfer of a popular teacher from Capri School to another campus in the Encinitas Union School District.

Sixth-grade teacher Bruce DeMitchell belongs at Capri, three speakers told the school board on Tuesday.

Parents said DeMitchell, 52, has shown his devotion to Capri by creating and operating a before-school math lab without pay and by lobbying for the school's interests before the state Board of Education.

In response to the parents, superintendent Doug DeVore said declining enrollment has caused Capri to become overstaffed, forcing him to move a teacher to another school.

And because Capri serves many students who are English learners, teachers who don't have a Cross Cultural Language and Academic Development, or CLAD, certificate must be the first to be transferred, he said.

Except for DeMitchell, every other Capri teacher has the CLAD certificate, DeVore said. To transfer one of them before DeMitchell would be a violation of teacher contracts and state law.

"We respect and value Bruce just like we do any other teacher," DeVore said Wednesday. "That's why we have this kind of (contract) language to keep us out of harm's way when this kind of decision is made."

Training to receive the CLAD certificate prepares teachers to tailor their instruction to fit the needs of English learners.

Although DeMitchell does not have a CLAD certificate, he said Wednesday he would prefer to stay at Capri, a school he appreciates for its diversity.

"There's something very unique about this school," he said.

"Personal problems," DeMitchell said, have prevented him from completing the coursework to obtain his CLAD certificate.

This summer, DeMitchell intends to pay roughly $1,300 in fees to take courses and obtain certification through the University of California Extension program, he said.

By August, DeMitchell said, he should be "CLAD certified."

But that would be too late to place him back onto Capri's roster without inviting a grievance from another teacher about an unfair, involuntary transfer, DeVore said.

According to the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 12,000 of 26,000 teachers receiving credentials in the 1999-2000 school year received CLAD certificates. Another 6,800 teachers who already had credentials earned the certificate by taking coursework and testing.

"Within the next couple of years, (CLAD training) will be incorporated into the credentialing structure so all new teachers will have these skills," said Marilyn Errett, a consultant for the state teacher credentialing commission.

DeMitchell, for his part, is disappointed but not protesting his potential reassignment.

"I'm just overwhelmed by the amount of support by the community to keep me here," he said.

At Tuesday's board meeting, some of that support came from a parent, a grandparent and one of DeMitchell's former students.

"My child is struggling in math," Heidi Grau said of her fifth-grade son. "I was looking forward to having (DeMitchell) as his math teacher next year. This is the kind of teacher I want my son to have."

Dolores Luevano told the board she appreciated the fact that DeMitchell offers his home phone number to students and parents and welcomes their calls -- as long as they're before 9 p.m.

That phone number has helped Luevano assist her grandson with his math homework, she said.

"I'm telling you, he saved my life a lot of times," Luevano told the board.

Naomi Mijangos, now a Diegueno Middle School student, told the board DeMitchell has a "God-given talent for teaching" that helped her overcome a hatred of social studies.

When a Diegueno teacher asked Naomi to describe an influential adult, "right away, Mr. DeMitchell came to my head," she said.

After school on Wednesday, Gian-Marco Ciallella, 12, said DeMitchell is his favorite teacher.

"He's turned my whole perspective about math around," Gian-Marco said. "He doesn't make it so tense. He makes it so you can relax and have fun with math."

Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 943-2312 or akaye@nctimes.com.

5/17/01