Ahead of nationwide trend

Santa Diaz, left, and Maria Cervantes, along with several other Heritage School Elementary parents, discuss their experiences during a Latino Literacy Program on Tuesday. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Ahead of nationwide trend

Local schools already dealing with increase in Hispanic students

By Jennifer Bonnett
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 5:34 AM PDT

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The number of Hispanic students in school districts has nearly doubled and now accounts for about 60 percent of the total growth in public school enrollment across the nation.

Since 1990, this growing trend has created many specialized programs aimed at reaching out to this specific student body, both socially and academically. Some programs go one step further in reaching out to their parents, as well.

Lodi Unified's Multilingual-Multicultural Education Department provides services for English-learners and migrant education students. While the department focuses on all student subgroups, the largest is Hispanic, according to coordinator Christine Malandro.

She said there are roughly 11,000 Hispanic students enrolled in Lodi Unified schools. Of those, 38 percent list Spanish as their primary language.

To assist them, the district employs bilingual para-educators that help bridge communication between students and parents, and students and their teachers, Malandro said, adding that there are specialized programs in place as well.

Hispanic students in the nation's public elementary and high schools make up about one in every five students, according to the report released earlier recently by the Pew Hispanic Center.

And, according to the U.S. Census Bureau population projection, Hispanic school-age population is expected to increase by 166 percent by 2050.

By the numbers

1 in 5 students in schools nationwide is Hispanic.

38 percent of Lodi Unified School District's enrolled students list Spanish as their primary language; 80 percent go to Heritage Primary Elementary School.

60 percent of total enrollment growth nationwide between 1990 and 2006 were Hispanic students.

11 million estimated Hispanic students are currently enrolled in the nation's school system.

116 percent increase anticipated by 2050 (comparatively, non-Hispanic growth is estimated at 4 percent).

Sources: Pew Hispanic Center, Lodi Unfied School District

Hispanic students make up two-thirds of San Joaquin Valley children

Figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau recently show that nearly two-thirds of all children living in the San Joaquin Valley are Hispanic.

The figures show that Hispanic residents make up 48 percent of Fresno County's overall population and 60 percent of children younger than age 10.

According to the newly released data, 31 percent of Fresno County residents and 25 percent of San Joaquin County residents speak Spanish at home. Nationally nearly 20 percent of U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home.

While immigration accounts for some of the gain, those who study the Valley's changing demographics say that Hispanic women are having children at a rate one-third higher than non-Hispanic white women.

— Associated Press

In Galt elementary schools, that figure has already made a steep climb in recent years.

A report from the district shows 2,209 Hispanic students enrolled this year, compared to 1,685 white students. Just five years ago, there were 2,068 Hispanics. Of those, 1,083 were English-language learners; today, the district serves 1,224. In addition to providing education programs for those students during the regular school day, curriculum director Judy Bullard said the district has offered adult English classes. They are held two days a week for two hours at a time, and parents can bring their children with them so childcare is not a concern.

While the parents are learning, according to Bullard, older children receive help with their homework while the youngest ones do educational activities to prepare them for school.

Additionally, the district has sponsored a parent conference for Hispanic families for the last three years. Guest speakers provide parents with training regarding their rights and responsibilities and on pertinent educational laws, Bullard said.

All Galt elementary schools have an English Learner Advisory Committee, which is required by law. This committee of parents of students identified as English-language learners and serves in an advisory role to school personnel in matters related to the education programs and services for English-learners, Bullard explained. Meetings are held monthly at each school site.

Lodi Unified, too, reaches out to through on-campus committees that help keep Spanish-speaking parents informed so they can better understand their students' curriculum, Malandro said.

"Our focus has been on implementing the core curriculum," she added. "We make sure teachers are trained in working with English-language learners."

Elementary school campuses such as Lawrence and Heritage with a high number of English language-learners have offered programs like the Latino Literacy Project, a national reading program that teaches parents how to read in their primary language then translate what they learn into English.

Maria Cervantes, the principal at Heritage Primary Elementary School, and several teachers trained to lead the program are ready to kick off its fifth year following the fall break. Parents meet once a week to read aloud and complete projects such as making a family tree or writing a letter to a child.

"The goal is to train parents to read in both English and Spanish. It is very effective in promoting literacy in the home," Cervantes said of the Latino Literacy Project.

"The more we offer these opportunities to the parents, the more they get involved with what's happening in the school and with their child."

More than 80 percent of Heritage's enrolled students are English-language learners, according to Cervantes.

In addition to the English Learner Advisory Committee, Galt Elementary school district also has teachers trained to teach the Latino Family Literacy program.

"Both programs are culturally and linguistically relevant to the families we serve, with the purpose of helping parents help their children academically, while at the same time reinforcing the family unit, the home language and culture," Bullard said.

Lodi Unified, as a whole, is already paying attention to the high number of English-language learners in the district and related discrepancies among test scores based on race by creating the Equity Initiative five years ago. The focus is improving academic achievement among black and Hispanic students who have consistently scored lower than other students on state mandated tests.

Between 2004 and 2007, the gap between the number of black students in the second through eighth grades who scored as proficient on the language arts portion of the CST and their white peers closed by 2.6 percentage points, according to district data. A similar discrepancy between Hispanic and white students lessened by 1.3 percentage points.

In math, the gap between Hispanic and white students narrowed by 1.6 percentage points.

District officials say that while their focus on equity has brought Lodi Unified closer to overcoming the achievement gap, they still have a long way to go before completely closing the door on the issue. They continue to work on connecting with students and involving parents, according to Odie Douglas, associate school superintendent.

The Pew Institute is a nationwide think-tank that conducts many of its own surveys, including this one of profiling Hispanic public school students. To read the entire report, go to www.pewhispanic.org.

Contact reporter Jennifer Bonnett at jenniferb@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

voter wrote on Oct 23, 2008 6:19 PM:

" Oh goody, a racist thread. Can I drag out some ignorant stereotypes and play with you guys? "

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