Learning the Lingo : School Paper Fosters Unity in Six Languages

Three years ago, Marco Jimenez spoke no English. Today, as editor of Artesia High School’s Pioneer Express, he presides over a student newspaper that publishes not only in English, but in five other languages.

Some of the paper’s articles are translated into Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Thai and Tagalog, the language of the Philippines.

Jimenez is one of several dozen students--many of whom are foreign-born--working to overcome the obstacles that stand between them and getting their multilingual paper into the news racks every month.

Language barriers are not their greatest problem. The staff’s $800 annual budget doesn’t even cover two month’s printing expenses, so students sell advertising to local businesses and candy apples at community festivals to cover the rest.

Reporters and editors can use a state-of-the-art computer lab at the school, but they must share it with nearly 2,000 students. So the student writers and editors generally use computers built in the 1970s, inefficient models that if replaced with newer machines would allow them to publish weekly in less time than it now takes to produce a monthly, faculty adviser Judy Keller said.

Still they persist. For Jimenez, the journey from Guadalajara, Mexico, to the editor’s desk has been a great achievement. “The satisfaction for me is seeing my name as editor-in-chief for an English newspaper. That means a lot to me,” he said. “It says I’ve come a long way.”

Edmund Sullivan, director of the Columbia Scholastic Press Assn. that evaluates thousands of student publications a year, said he knows of no other student newspaper like the Pioneer Express. “To publish consistently in six languages--that would be unique,” he said.

Parents, teachers and administrators have praised the students for helping unite Artesia High, a campus where whites are the minority and more than 14 languages are spoken.

“Given their constraints, it’s phenomenal that they can produce a newspaper of that caliber in so many languages,” said Yvonne Contreras, the school’s principal. “We’re absolutely supportive of the program and I wish we could be more so monetarily.”

Contreras said cutbacks at the state and district levels forced her to decrease school spending by 25%. Eventually, those budget cuts work their way into the classroom, she said, but the school will continue to support the paper. “We’ll keep getting the paper out,” she said. “We just have to keep finding ways to do it.”

At the center of the newspaper’s success, Contreras said, is Keller, a specialist in teaching English as a Second Language. Keller was asked to take over the newspaper a year ago. Since then, the paper has increased from four to 12 pages and has gone from an English-only publication to its present format.

Producing a multilingual newspaper made a lot of sense, she figured, since many students and parents aren’t fluent enough to read English.

Artesia High, in the ABC Unified District, has a special program for students who speak limited English. Half the student body is foreign-born. “A lot of my Hispanic friends are afraid to write in English,” said editor Jimenez. “But I’ve never had that fear. Writing is a way for me to express myself, to express feelings, opinions, all the things you can’t do in a test.”

Jimenez is typical of many students. His parents came from Mexico seeking a better way of life. His father, a college graduate in accounting, helps run a lawn-mowing service in Lakewood. Jimenez, who works at Burger King to help the family, said he wants to become a lawyer and plans to attend UC Riverside next year.

“I like to learn. It’s cool,” he said. “My mother and father are working hard for me, so I want to do something to show them I appreciate it.”

Working with Keller and co-editor Patti Rowe, Jimenez oversees the newsroom operation, making sure the reporters and editors submit clear prose in English to Keller’s foreign students, who translate it. Using computer programs--some borrowed from parents--students typeset the stories in the various languages.

The majority of the articles in a recent issue featured cheerleaders, basketball games, marching bands and the nominees for homecoming court. The horoscope is printed in all six languages.

But the students also tackle serious issues: When teachers walked out of the classroom last month to strike, reporters followed them to the picket line, tape recorders in hand, asking tough questions. A recent editorial denounced U.S. military involvement in Bosnia. And a news story in the paper about unexcused absences prompted a debate among school board members about whether they should censor the student newspaper, Keller said.

“They do it all themselves,” Keller said in her classroom on a recent Tuesday, as students edited stories, discussed photography, transcribed notes and prepared questions for interviews. “I’m here to guide them, but I let them make their own decisions. I’m real proud of them,” she said, beaming. Renah Salib, a senior and the paper’s advertising manager, looked up from her work. “But Mrs. Keller,” she said solemnly. “A tree can’t grow without a seed. We couldn’t do it without you.”

Keller, a member of a Cal State Long Beach writing project, is always looking for ways to improve the newspaper. Most days, she is in the classroom from 6:40 a.m. to 4 p.m., but during production week, she and the editors practically live at school. Along with training students, Keller spends a lot of time looking for money and supplies.

“Everyone at school has been incredibly supportive,” she said. Various departments on campus have subsidized one month’s newspaper production cost. The student government has donated money for a camera and tape recorders. And a coalition of parents, students and teachers allocated funds for a computer and printer, she said.

Though Keller has solicited donations from newspapers, corporations and parents, no one in the private sector has responded with money. “We’ve gotten a lot of moral support,” she said. “But with the economy the way it is, there’s not much financial support out there.”

Keller said her reward is her students and their growing self-confidence. “Some of these kids thought they could never do anything. And now they have words as a way to explore themselves.”

Jimenez said his job at the newspaper has given him a sense of accomplishment. “My mom and dad tell me all the time, ‘If you’re responsible for something, you have to do it well.’ As editor, I have to fulfill that responsibility,” he said. “I really like the feeling of doing it well.”