District’s English Program Praised

Newport-Mesa Unified School District, which state and federal authorities said was doing a spotty job of educating students who aren’t fluent in English, already has made significant improvements in its program, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Comite de Padres, a division of the state Department of Education that monitors school districts and their programs for non-English-fluent students, commended Newport-Mesa’s staff for working hard to improve its program, but it still found a number of areas in which the district falls short.

The district still does a poor job of, among other things, identifying students who may have become fluent in English and moving them to appropriate classes. But it has corrected other problems, such as testing students who are learning English and notifying their parents of the results.

‘We anticipate the positive approach the district is taking will resolve the ongoing issues,’ Comite official Lauri Burnham said Tuesday. The district has ‘a significant number of noncompliance issues, and they agree. . . . We expect the issues will be resolved very soon in some cases, and in others it may take a little longer, but they will all be corrected.’

District officials said they welcome the state’s input and are heartened by the latest report.

‘We appreciate the support and assistance from the state Department of Education,’ said Susan Despenas, the district’s assistant superintendent of elementary education. ‘We really feel this is going to help us’ educate students learning English.

Parents of those students have complained for years to district officials. Late last year, they went to federal and state authorities.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found, among other things, that Newport-Mesa placed many students who didn’t speak English into regular classes without proper support, and that it did not hire enough qualified teachers to help such students. The district agreed to correct the problems last month.

In a separate agreement with the California Department of Education, signed in September, the district agreed to create parent committees to advise schools on English-learner issues. Despenas said Tuesday the committees are in place.

Mirna Burciaga, the parent who lodged the complaints on behalf of other parents, said Tuesday’s report bodes well for students.

‘I know [the district is] trying hard, and I am really happy,’ she said. ‘I hope these changes are long term and not short term.’

The Comite de Padres’ report Tuesday said the district has made other inroads, including proper credentialing of teachers and providing after-school support for struggling students.

The Comite’s review was unrelated to the parents’ complaints.