FULLERTON : Targeting Students With Little English

Fullerton Joint Union High School District officials gathered Tuesday to discuss plans for dealing with students with limited English skills.

Students who come from homes in which the primary language is not English now make up 32% in the district of about 10,000 students; minority students account for 55%.

Within the next year, district officials plan to create an advisory committee on multicultural affairs to advise the superintendent on issues related to changing demographics. A staff person will act as a liaison to the committee.

The district also plans to translate major forms and documents into the most common of the more than 20 native languages of district students.

Other plans include encouraging minority students to participate in all extracurricular activities and recruiting staff members with diverse cultural backgrounds and language skills.

Changes in the Fullerton district reflect those in the state and the county, where minority students make up 48% of the school population.

Trustees recently passed a resolution calling for quality education for all students, regardless of English proficiency, ethnic or cultural background.

“We need to be aware of, understand and interact with each other, regardless of background,” said Gary Mieger, assistant superintendent of instructional services.

Mieger said the district will measure the plan’s success by the level of minority involvement in certain activities, parental involvement and the number of minority students in the district’s college-bound population.

“It has been done successfully elsewhere,” said Cindy Ranii, director of instructional services, “and it can be done successfully here.”

District officials said there is no firm timetable for the plans.

“The intent is to implement these ideas as quickly as we can and as smoothly as we can,” Mieger said. “It’s my perception that one will grow out of another.”