Bilingual Report Cards Aggravate Some Parents

The Orange Unified School District for the first time began issuing bilingual report cards for elementary school children this week, angering some parents who said school officials never notified them of the change.

The report cards, which appear in English and Spanish and were mailed to parents or delivered during parent-teacher conferences, symbolize the district’s growing immigrant student population and its emerging bilingual needs, district officials said Friday.

“I think that there is a concern that the English-only (educational) concept is at risk,” district Trustee Lila Beavans said.

Several parents complained that the district never announced the switch to bilingual cards and that the district should not make such changes to accommodate those who speak Spanish.

“I had two grandparents who came here and spoke only German,” said Villa Park parent Sue Shelton. “They didn’t get report cards in German and had to learn to speak the language when they came here. Why are we accommodating one group of people?”

“I hate to sound bigoted,” Shelton added, “but this is an insult to all of us who pay to support the public school system.”

The Latino student population in Orange Unified is 28%, up 3% over last year’s figures, according to district records. Latinos are the largest single ethnic group in the district, which is 43% minority. In all, 43 languages are spoken by district students.

Gretchen Hansen, assistant superintendent of elementary education, said a committee of teachers, principals and others developed the plan for a bilingual report card before she joined the district last year.

“The intent certainly was to keep up with the Hispanic population, and one of the important things for the district is to be able to communicate as effectively as possible with all our parents,” Hansen said.

Distribution of bilingual report cards did not require a school board vote, Hansen added. Trustees and other district officials were briefed on the plan last June and informed that the new report cards would be ready for use at elementary schools this fall.

Hansen said the district will “examine alternatives to see if we should make a change or not.”

Several district officials reported receiving phone calls from a few angry parents, but it was not known how many parents have called to complain.

Trustee Russell Barrios, who received several complaints, said he supports the bilingual report card, adding that racism could be at the heart of the opposition.

“I would be appalled if anybody wanted to change it,” Barrios said. “Unfortunately, it’s not pretty, but I think we have to be honest about it. There is in every community a small enclave of racism and that’s what we could be seeing here.”

However, a parent of a fifth-grader who asked not to be identified said Orange Unified officials misjudged the people in their district.

“I’m disappointed that (district officials) didn’t have a better feel for this community, where they think they can come in and change the language and think that people are not going to be taken aback by it,” the parent said.