Columnist hits bull’s-eye on one point, misses on others

I feel it necessary to respond to Steve Smith’s comments that the

failure of Latino parents to participate in school issues is the sole

reason for their children’s lack of success in school. It is

regrettable that Smith, in stating his point, had to dedicate such a

large portion of his column to pointless sarcasm.

For years, the State of California has worked on developing

standards for the education of English learners. Also, for many

years, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has chosen to ignore

English as a Second Language (more commonly referred to as ESL)

services. This led to parent complaints, requesting support from

state and federal agencies. A recent investigation by the State Board

of Education and the Federal Office of Civil Rights found that there

was no district ESL curriculum and no ESL director for the district

services, in spite of more than 6,000 students who needed those

services. It required an investigation, in which 11 violations of the

California State Code of Education and of students’ and parents’

civil rights were found.

To address Smith’s emotional issues, the violations involved: lack

of curriculum, lack of textbooks, lack of certified teachers, lack of

office personnel who could commutate with parents, lack of efforts by

the schools to allow parent representation and lack of communications

to Hispanic parents.

Smith was indignant that parents were not proficient in English.

The schools in question had administrators who had served in these

schools for years and still could not communicate with their

community.

We all agree that communities suffer if the children are not

educated. I agree that parents must do their part and that children

must do theirs. But the State Board of Education and the Federal

Office of Civil Rights has found that our school district had not

been doing its part.

I love my community and will continue to work toward improving our

quality of life. I will continue to be proactive -- working to be a

part of the solution -- and improvement will happen. It is time to

work together, time to put aside biased and ill-tempered attitudes.

Let’s adopt a broader perspective and work as a community for

success.

MIRNA BURCIAGA

Costa Mesa

* Editor’s note: Mirna Burciaga is a member of the District

English Learners Advisory Committee and lead the charge in finding

the above mentioned violations in ESL services at the Newport-Mesa

Unified School District.

Thank you for finally acknowledging in print that the reason

Pomona, Wilson, and Whittier elementary did not meet federal

improvement guidelines for the “No Child Left Behind Act” is because

of the high “English-language-learner” population in those schools.

Thank you, Suzanne Charlton, for clarifying that high test scores

don’t necessarily mean a school is better -- only that the students

know enough English to do well on standardized tests. Charlton also

stated that it takes three to seven years to become proficient in

English. It is not surprising that the schools in Newport Beach and

Corona del Mar do so well on tests. It is not affluence but the

educational level of the parents that has the highest correlation to

test scores of children.

Unfortunately, attempting to raise the educational level of our

parents on the Westside won’t happen overnight. But there is also a

strong correlation between test scores and parent involvement. Let me

tell you, Steve Smith, what Pomona Elementary School is doing to help

parents become more involved with their child’s education.

Our community coordinator, Luciana Puyo, runs a program called

Families and Schools Together, also known as FAST. It is an

eight-week program, with classes held every Friday from 5 to 8:30

p.m. This series helps the parents become more familiar with the

school system by getting them involved in school activities and

volunteering in the classroom. It teaches parenting skills and how to

spend quality time with their children. Along with this program,

Puyo also offers monthly parenting classes on various topics, such as

“How to help your child in reading,” healthy meals, discipline

techniques, and drug and gang prevention. She has established a

Parent Information Center where parents can get information on

various agencies and self-improvement programs.

Just before the beginning of each school year we have a “Jump

Start” program for children entering kindergarten. Parents attend

with their child each day for two weeks to learn how to help their

child in school. After school begins, we continue with parent and

child workshops and tutorial programs, where parents continue to

learn how to help their children with schoolwork.

In first grade we have Family Literacy nights each month. We also

have teachers who visit the homes of their students to help bridge

the communication gap between home and school.

The work that we are doing on the Westside may not show up on test

scores now, but we are building the foundations for future success.

If you have not already visited one of the Westside schools, I invite

you to come and see just how hard we are working to make a

difference.

PEGGY ENGARD

Costa Mesa

* Editor’s note: Peggy Engard is a teacher at Pomona Elementary

School.