Hiring of Bilingual Asian Teachers Urged : Education: Advisory panel tells Long Beach school board that there are many Asian students who do not speak English.

The stereotype of Asian-American students is one of “super-bright, highly motivated overachievers who come from well-to-do families.” But the reality is that many are recent immigrants who speak little or no English and need special help.

School board members were reminded of that contrast this week by an Asian Education Advisory Committee, which asked the board to hire more bilingual teachers for the growing Asian student population.

“As a group, Asian-Americans have often been characterized as a ‘model minority’ for perceived educational and economic successes. What is important to understand is that this stereotype is not reflective of the actual experiences of many Asian populations, particularly many recently arrived Southeast Asian refugee communities,” according to a report the committee presented to the school board Monday.

The committee recommended that the Long Beach Unified School District develop a written plan to increase the number of Asian teachers, with specific goals and timetables. The committee also suggested that the district, along with other agencies, sponsor a conference to encourage Asians to consider careers in teaching.

“It’s a very historical moment. It’s the first time an Asian committee has made recommendations to the school board,” said Ding-Jo H. Currie, who heads the committee.

Of the nearly 17,000 students who cannot speak English proficiently in the district, more than one-third are Asian and Pacific-Americans, according to the committee. The majority are Cambodians. There is total of nearly 70,000 students in the district.

Board members were sympathetic to the committee’s concerns, and they referred the committee’s recommendations to staff members for review before voting on them Sept. 24.

“All the recommendations in the report piggybacked (similar) recommendations that we’re working on,” board member Mary Stanton said after the meeting. “The general feeling on the board was very positive.”

In the Southeast Asian community, district officials recently begun looking for fluent speakers of English and Cambodian or Vietnamese who are qualified to teach in their native lands but who lack California teaching credentials. With a $15,000 grant from General Telephone Co., the district’s survey also targets university graduates interested in becoming teachers and others who would like non-teaching jobs in education but who lack adequate English skills.

Once some prospective teachers are identified, district officials hope to help them pass the California Basic Educational Skills Test while paying them for their training. The board authorized staff members to apply for a $171,000 federal grant that would pay prospective teachers wages while they are studying for their certification.

Finding new pools of teachers and helping them with their state certification were among the suggestions by the committee, formed last year by the district at the request of Asian leaders.

The district is also considering lobbying for changes in the state test that will make it easier for minorities to pass the exam, without lowering its standards, said Supt. Tom Giugni. Extending the time limits for the written portions of the test, for example, would help minority teachers without altering the exam, Giugni said.

This is not the first time that the board has been approached by a group of minority leaders asking that more attention be paid to their children. Latino groups have repeatedly urged the board to provide better services and hire more bilingual teachers for students who do not speak English.

One of every four students in the district is not proficient in English. The majority of those students are Latinos.

School officials said they are attempting to hire more bilingual teachers and staff, but the task is not simple. There is a dearth of bilingual teachers across the country. For example, there are three certified Cambodian teachers in California, according to district officials. None are in Long Beach.

This summer, district officials unveiled a sweeping plan to force schools to provide more services for children who don’t speak English. The master plan mandates that every school with 10 or more non-English speaking students establish its own programs.

District officials are also looking to tap into their own ethnically mixed pool of students for prospective teachers.

When school opened Wednesday, three high schools started new yearlong classes to encourage students to return to their campuses as teachers. Students in the classes at Millikan, Poly and Wilson High Schools will learn how to develop lessons, select teaching materials and help teachers in the elementary schools.

“There is no pool now. We’ve gone national in our recruiting efforts, but it’s very difficult, “ said district spokesman Dick Van Der Laan. “That’s why we’re looking for new ways to find bilingual teachers.”