District to Add Teachers to Boost English Instruction

Responding to state demands and a federal civil rights investigation, the Los Nietos School District Governing Board has unanimously agreed to remedy teacher shortages and other problems in the district’s programs for students who do not speak English as a first language. Under the plan, adopted June 26, the district will hire or train at least three teachers per year from now to 1994, either to conduct classes in Spanish or teach English as a second language. The district, whose student population is 90% Latino, now has two teachers certified to teach bilingual classes.

Investigators from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded that the district:

* Has too few teachers to serve non-English speakers.

* Lacks proper educational materials for bilingual students.

* Gives instructors insufficient guidance on teaching non-native speakers.

* Neglects the reading and writing skills of students who are only fluent as speakers.

* Classifies students as fluent in English before they are fully prepared for regular classes.

About 406 Latino students need immediate language aid in the 2,000-student district, which straddles parts of Santa Fe Springs and Whittier and consists of three elementary campuses and one middle school. The district now places bilingual teaching aides in classes as needed to help teachers communicate with students who lack English fluency.

Adeline Rocha, the school board president, said she knew about problems in the district’s bilingual program even before the report was finished: “I heard from two parents that their children were not being put into the bilingual classroom. The parents wanted their children to learn immediately in their language, and then move rapidly into learning English as a second language. That wasn’t happening.”

When news broke about the U.S. civil rights investigation, the district was already responding to state officials who had expressed concerns similar to those of federal investigators.

The state review happens every four years. The Office of Civil Rights investigation began in response to a complaint filed Dec. 5. It alleged “a pattern of discrimination” against Latino students because of a dearth of language services.

Interim Supt. Charles Menzies recalled saying to federal investigators: “I’m familiar with other districts. Some of the things that you’re telling me we need, I know are also needed in other districts.”

But, Menzies said: “They received a complaint about us (not the others). At the beginning, we were very defensive, upset. We wanted to know who blew the whistle, how dare they say they’re afraid to come forward.”

Later, he talked to an administrator who had a similar experience earlier. “She made me see it from a positive view,” Menzies said. “It got them off the dime, and now they have a very good program, one that they’re very proud of.

“If they tell us we need to do it, then we can’t ignore them, and we’re going to do it.”

Because unemployed bilingual teachers are rare, the district will pay 10 of its own teachers $19 an hour to learn Spanish this summer. The district has also paid the course fee for them.

Most will probably not know enough Spanish to earn bilingual certificates in time to teach classes next fall, he said.

Menzies said the district’s efforts mostly “came about after December. Our population hasn’t changed. Just our attitude has changed. It’s a very positive thing.”

The regional Office for Civil Rights, which monitors school districts in California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii, investigates about 300 complaints a year, said John Palomino, regional director. The office is charged with making sure that students receive equal educational opportunities, regardless of sex, race, color, national origin or handicap.

About 80% of the investigations turn up problems, investigator Michael Riggin said. The most frequent deficiency found is in special-education programs, which serve students with mental, emotional or physical handicaps. The No. 2 source of violations occurs in programs for students with limited English-language skills.

Since 1977, 30 Los Angeles County school districts, including Los Nietos, have been investigated and found to offer inadequate language assistance. Each district has submitted a plan to address the problem. If they had not, the districts could have lost their federal money.