District on the right track teaching English

Marisa O’Neil

The school district is doing the right things to teach elementary

students how to speak English, according to a review team from the

state.

Following a weeklong visit to school sites, the reviewers from the

state board of education found that the district’s programs are where

they should be for elementary English learners. Secondary schools,

the report found, need more work but are close to state goals.

“[Newport-Mesa Unified School District has] completed a lot of

work at the elementary level,” bilingual education consultant Leroy

Hamm, told district leaders. “You just have a small piece left, and

we feel your district will be a model for the state.”

The district volunteered four years ago to be reviewed by the

Comite des Padres unit of the state board of education, said

Newport-Mesa board President Dana Black. The review focuses on the

district’s data-collection, assessment, monitoring and education of

students who are learning to speak English.

“We knew that we were letting kids fall through the cracks but

didn’t know where the cracks were or who the kids were,” Black said.

Volunteering for the inspections helped the district find the

children who need help and figure out how to help them learn, Supt.

Rob Barbot said.

“This is about: How do we do things better?” he said. “Not: How do

we get around it?”

Through the review process, inspectors identify weaknesses in the

school’s language education plans. Once this team finds that a

district is in full compliance with state expectations, the district

will undergo the normal review process by the state.

The part of the equation that needs work in Newport-Mesa, Hamm

said, is the process of transitioning nonnative speakers into classes

with the regular student population. Teachers in those classes need

to do a little extra work to help those students go from being

competent in English to being proficient enough to fully comprehend

course material, he said.

A review team will return in May to see what changes the district

has made. Hamm said he expects the district will be in full

compliance when the team comes back in the fall.