Bilingual Champion Leaving Orange School District Post

When Tom Saenz leaves his job, which is managing special programs in the Orange Unified School District, many parents, teachers and co-workers say they will be losing an advocate and a friend.

Some in the school district also fear that without Saenz, the district’s administrative assistant for special programs, the bilingual program and other services for minority students will founder, or even die.

“We worry that Tom will be replaced by someone from outside the community who doesn’t speak the language and doesn’t want to associate with people from the barrio,” said Judith Jimenez, president of the district’s bilingual committee. “We worry that the program will cease to exist with no driving force behind it.”

Saenz is leaving his special programs job this month to become principal of Prospect Elementary School.

Jimenez sent a letter to Supt. Norman C. Guith last month, requesting that Saenz be replaced by “a Hispanic that has experience in bilingual programs and who has demonstrated support for the philosophy of teaching children in their dominant language while they are learning English.”

Jimenez also requested that the district hire more bilingual teachers, translate all school notices into Spanish and hold classes to teach Latino families how to be more involved in their children’s education.

Guith said the district is seeking a “top-notch” replacement for Saenz. District officials are discussing how to strengthen the program and restructure Saenz’s position.

“This is a key position, and I can understand the concern on the part of the public,” Guith said. “This is a window of opportunity to find someone to champion the cause of bilingual education, and the public understands that and so do we.”

When he began as administrative assistant of special programs 17 years ago, only three schools in the district served bilingual students and the program had a budget of $175,000. Today, about 20% of the district’s 25,000 students have limited English skills; the department serves all of the district’s 38 schools and operates on a $2-million budget.

During Saenz’s tenure, he supervised the bilingual program, a federal program for the educationally disadvantaged, and the American Indian Education Program, among other duties. Guith said that Saenz’s successor probably will focus primarily on services for bilingual and students who speak limited English.

The district hopes to find a replacement for Saenz during summer break, and officials are expected to consult a parents’ committee before a job description for the position is posted. The district has made no decisions on what type of administrator will be hired or on what the future philosophy of the program will be, Guith said.

But parents and teachers who gathered last week to say an emotional goodby to Saenz hope the district will keep in mind words from his farewell address. “What makes all of us different is that we have a real sense of mission in what we have set out to do,” Saenz told them. “It is more than just a job.