LOS ANGELES : Schools to Seek 4 Days for Bilingual Teacher Training

Students at 79 middle and high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District are likely to have four extra days off next semester so their teachers can learn how to better serve pupils who speak little or no English.

The Board of Education unanimously agreed Monday to seek a waiver from the state Department of Education for “pupil-free days” to enable secondary teachers to take 24 hours of courses aimed at improving the district’s troubled bilingual education program.

The training--in which instructors will learn techniques to communicate and present lessons to students who are not fluent English speakers--is at the heart of a state-mandated plan to improve the district’s failing marks in bilingual education in secondary schools.

“This will not meet all the needs for all time, but it’s a beginning,” said Wade Reynoldson, head of the state division that oversees bilingual education. He added that his department strongly supports the training effort and that the waiver is likely to be approved.

Last summer, the district came under fire from state education officials after an audit revealed that thousands of middle and high school students who are not fluent in English are stuck in remedial classes and prevented from taking basic courses needed for graduation.