Philadelphia Program Builds Bridges With Latino Youth

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A Philadelphia after-school program known as Puentes Hacia El Futuro (bridges toward the future) is targeting working with Latino children who are English Language Learners in kindergarten through sixth-grade, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The program was created in 2010 through the nonprofit group Puentes de Salud, which operates a medical clinic and promotes health and wellness in South Philadelphia’s Latino immigrant community.

College and graduate students mentor and tutor students three times a week at the Southwark School in the Philadelphia school district. Many of the students are from Temple University. There are 57 students and 100 volunteers. Parents are also offered the opportunity to take English classes on campus.

This year the school has about 545 students, about 27 percent of whom are Latino.

Steven Larson, a doctor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School who is one of the founders of Puentes de Salud, believes that the education program plays a role in improving public health. He points out that there are “social determinants of health,” such as language, that can impact wellness.

The program began when a medical student approached him with the idea.

“A lot of doctors say, ‘It’s not my problem,’” he told the Inquirer. “I beg to differ. It certainly is.”

What role do you think that healthcare organizations can play in helping school districts?

- Puentes Hacia el Futuro

- Puentes de Salud

- Southwark School Profile

Activists Protest Philadelphia School Closings

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Plans to close 37 Philadelphia schools have set off an emotional firestorm and allegations of discrimination.

This week, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed that it was looking into complaints that school closings in Philadelphia, Detroit and Newark discriminate against Latino and black students, the New York Times reported. Officials are also looking into the impact on students with disabilities. About 19 percent of the school district’s students are Latino and 55 percent are black.

The Philadelphia plan aims to rid the system of a $1.1 billion deficit and cut the number of underused and low-performing schools. Final approval on the closures is scheduled for March.

The situation is complicated. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that there are about 53,000 empty seats in schools in the city, most heavily in the north and west part of the city. Meanwhile, the schools with greater numbers of white students are more likely to be at or over capacity.

If the activists are able to win over the U.S. Department of Education, that would be a big change. The Huffington Post reports that the Office of Civil Rights has investigated 27 school closings between October 2010 and January 2013, but found no violations in any of the cases. The office has 33 open cases in 22 states.

How much do school closings impact children’s education? If your district is considering closing schools, what are the demographics of that campus versus the entire district?

- “City school closings target vulnerable students, critics say,” The Philadelphia Inquirer.

- “School Closures Violate Civil Rights, Protestors Tell Arne Duncan,” The Huffington Post.

Analysis Challenges Calif. School District’s Touted Achievements

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The San Jose Unified School District set a lofty goal 11 years ago. The district announced that all students would be required to pass the classes needed to be admitted to California’s public universities.

At first, the majority-Latino school district earned accolades for its seemingly miraculous success. Other districts wanted to emulate San Jose.

But an analysis of data by The Los Angeles Times and The Hechinger Report casts doubt on the district’s much-touted achievements.

The news outlets found that the majority of the district’s students are not qualifying to attend a state university–and that the percentage of students qualifying has barely budged in all the years since the policy change.

In 2000, prior to the program’s implementation, about 40% of students met requirements to enter the University of California or California State university system. By 2011, despite the program’s implementation, only about 40.3% of students qualified.

Even worse, the analysis found that only about one out of five Latino and black students who began high school in 2007 were eligible to apply to state colleges after four years. (During the 2011-12 school year, about 52% of the students were Latino.)

So how did it come to pass that the district was able to claim so many students were graduating that were qualified to be admitted to college? The article mentions that the number of qualified students was overestimated because the district misreported data by counting seniors who had not yet completed their college-level coursework as having done so.

Two loopholes also played a role. Students could meet requirements by earned just a “D” in their classes, even though universities required a “C.” In addition, students were allowed to transfer to alternative schools with less challenging coursework if they were struggling in school.

Latino students, in particular, struggled. As a result, many ended up pushed out of the regular high schools and attending less-demanding alternative schools. The story notes that alternative programs enrolled about 50% more Latinos than regular high schools.

“The ethnic imbalance is ironic given that San Jose’s college-prep program grew out of concern that far too many Latino students, the largest group in the district, were not on track for college,” the article notes.

The Contra Costa Times reported that school district officials defended the program.

“We are clearly in a better place than we were,” Superintendent Vincent Matthews told the newspaper. “However, clearly, we still have a long way to go.”

The paper notes that the district places in the middle of the pack among the 11 districts in Santa Clara County, in terms of the percentage of Hispanic graduates meeting requirements for entering state universities. For the class of 2011, the percentage was 26.6%, compared to a high of 44.1% in Palo Alto Unified School District.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is moving toward new standards that will require this year’s freshmen to pass a certain number of college-prep courses with a D or better to graduate, and eventually move toward requiring a C or better for next year’s freshmen. It remains to be seen what sort of impact that may have on the district’s students, and in particular, the Latino majority.

- “San Jose Unified defends 40 percent college-preparation rate,” Contra Costa Times.

- San Jose Unified School District

CDC Study Finds Obesity Common Among L.A. Preschoolers

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that between 2003 and 2011, obesity rates among poor preschool-aged children in Los Angeles rose at one point to a high of 21 percent, according to a story by the Associated Press.

The study found that at the same time obesity rates among children in New York fell from 19 percent to 16 percent.

Sadly, the reason given for the higher rates in Los Angeles is that obesity rates among Mexican-American children are particularly high when compared with other groups, the AP reports.

The study found the obesity rate in LA was initially 17 percent, peaked to 21 percent in 2009, and then dropped to 20 percent.

The AP reported that researchers focused on three- and four-year olds who were enrolled in the WIC government program, which provides food vouchers to low income families. About 85 percent of children in the L.A. study were Hispanic, most of whom were Mexican-American. In New York, just 46 percent of the children studied were Hispanic, including not many Mexican-Americans.

According to the CDC, about 12 percent of all preschool-aged children are obese.

Parents Rally in Support of ‘Parent Trigger’ at Calif. Elementary School

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

At the predominantly Latino 24th Street Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, frustrated parents are rallying to take over the failing campus and turn it around.

They are seeking to use California’s new and controversial “parent trigger” law passed in 2010. The law empowers parents to petition to make major campuses at campuses, which they can achieve by getting the signatures of at least 50 percent of parents of students enrolled. Changes include turnaround models such as staff changes or converting to charter schools.

Parent Amabilia Villeda began attending protests about the poor quality of education at the 24th Street school three years ago and is among those trying to gather enough parent signatures.

“We have the opportunity to make a change at this school because now we have the right support to do it,” she said in Spanish, reported The Hechinger Report. “They weren’t listening to us before, and with the law, now they’re listening.”

The school serves a population that is 80 percent Latino, with many of the students from low-income households. The campus has failed to meet state standards. Hechinger reports that more than 80 percent of third-graders and 71 percent of fifth-graders are not reading on grade level, and the campus has the second highest suspension rate among elementary schools in the L.A. school district.

After a long battle, parents at Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, Calif., recently became the first to use the law, and plan to turn the campus into a charter school. By state standards, 24th Street is actually lower performing.

Members of the group Parent Revolution are organizing the 24th Street parents.

On the web site GreatSchools, the school is rated a one out of 10. Many of the parent online reviews are highly critical of the principal.

The school’s website lists a positive vision very different from the one that parents see: “24th Street Elementary is committed to creating a healthy, safe and positive environment that develops lifelong learners who will become socially responsible, global citizens.” According to the site, the school has a parent center that provides workshops and a parent representative.

We hear so much about the lack of Latino parent involvement. But in this case, parents are actively protesting and mobilizing around the issue of education reform. It should be interesting to see how well known the law is among Hispanic parents in California, and how many of those parents plan to pursue it.

- “Parent Trigger Law at LAUSD: 24th Street Elementary School the Target of New Parent Petition.” Reuters.

- 24th Street Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District.

- Parent Revolution.

Will Tucson’s Desegregation Plan Bring Ethnic Studies Back?

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Plaintiffs in a decades-long federal desegregation case against the Tucson Unified School District have filed a plan with the court calling for a culturally relevant curriculum for Latino and black students, among other requests. While it does not mention it in name, the proposal could mean a push to resurrect the district’s controversial Mexican American Studies program, which was dismantled last school year. The plaintiffs want to see courses that reflect the history and culture of Mexican Americans.

“The restoration and expansion of literature and social studies courses that focus on Mexican American experiences recognizes the important role these courses play in engaging students and improving their academic achievement and graduation rates and is a critical strategy for closing the achievement gap for Latino students,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney Nancy Ramirez, with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, in a news release.

The school district has been overseen for more than 30 years under the desegregation case.

The ”Unitary Status Plan” proposal also calls for integrating magnet programs and schools, increasing diversity among administrators, and setting goals for increasing Latino and black student enrollment in gifted programs, reports the Arizona Daily Star.

Further bolstering the plan, a new study by the University of Arizona concludes that the MAS courses positively affected student achievement.

The Daily Star reported that school board members had a mixed reaction to the proposal, but overall called it an improvement over previous plans.

Board member Adelita Grijalva expressed hopes that the plan would give “specific direction” for the return of the MAS program. Board member Michael Hicks took the opposing view and disagreed with the proposal calling for culturally relevant courses. He thought such courses could segregate students. But he didn’t entirely reject it.

“Although the board had reservations with some of the requests, it’s a good plan,” he told the newspaper. “Let’s see what the judge does.”

- Mexican American Studies: Tucson Courses Improved Achievement, New Report Says.” The Huffington Post.

- “MALDEF joins in filing draft plan to desegregate and improve educational achievement for Latino students in Tucson Unified School District.” MALDEF.

- “Ethnic Studies Could Return to Tucson in Desegregation Plan.” Learning the Language Blog. Education Week.

San Antonio Moves Forward With Pre-K 4 SA initiative

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

San Antonio is moving forward with plans to dramatically expand access to pre-K for low-income children, in hopes that the investment will result in raising the city’s education levels over time.

Last week, voters approved a one-eighth cent sales tax increase to fund the Pre-K 4 SA initiative.

The measure is a passion project of Mayor Julián Castro. He campaigned hard for its passage, even mentioning the importance of pre-K as a smart investment in a keynote speech he gave at the Democratic National Convention. Castro proposed the initiative after a city-commissioned task force recommended that expanding early learning would have the greatest positive impact on improving education levels in the city.

According to the mayor’s office, there are about 5,700 4-year-olds in San Antonio who are eligible for state-funded pre-K but are not enrolled in full-day programs. Some are not enrolled in any programs and others are in half-day programs. Officials estimate that the funding raised by the tax increase could provide full-day classes to more than 22,000 children over the next eight years. The city plans to open four education centers of excellence with classrooms, rooms for use by parents and teacher training space.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that the tax should generate about $31 million a year, which could serve about 3,700 children each year.

The San Antonio initiative represents a substantial commitment to improving access that Hispanic children have to pre-K classes. Hispanic children lag other groups in participation rates in preschool.

Latinos comprised about 91 percent of the roughly 55,000 students attending the San Antonio Independent School District in 2011. About 93 percent of the district’s students are classified as economically disadvantaged. The district plans on working with the city on carrying out the plan.

The Express-News reported that voters in more heavily Latino and black precincts tended to favor the measure far more than those living in areas with mostly white voters. Voters from low through middle income levels supported the measure more than those in affluent areas. The measure passed with about 54 percent of the vote.

“Folks from across the city made a great decision to invest in education today so that we can be more economically prosperous tomorrow,” Castro told the newspaper. “I am proud of the broad coalition behind the effort. It showed that in San Antonio, we’re working well together to accomplish important things for our city.”

Related Links:

- Pre-K 4 San Antonio

- “Pre-K wheels are turning in election’s wake.” San Antonio Express-News.

- “Pre-K plan stimulated important decision.” San Antonio Express-News.

- “Pre-K support was tied to income.” San Antonio Express-News.

Miami Prepares For Impact Of Common Core Standards On ELLs

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

School districts around the country are scrambling to phase in the Common Core State Standards. The consensus seems to be that more teacher training and professional development is needed, especially because the new standards are much more rigorous.

But are districts considering their English language learner population as they phase in the changes?

I recently wrote a piece about how the Miami-Dade Public Schools are trying to address how the changes will impact ELLs. The district held training about the common core and ELLs for 200 teachers in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program over the summer. In addition, the school district has developed pacing guides for teachers that include notes on how lessons can be adapted for ELLs.

“We are modeling for the teachers how to make the instruction very explicit and very concrete,” said Beatriz Pereira, executive director of bilingual education and world languages at Miami-Dade. “The standards are extremely high.”

In Miami, the common core standards have been implemented in kindergarten through third grade. Miami-Dade has about 70,000 ELL students district wide.

Some teachers feel there needs to be more training on how to teach ELLs–not just for ESOL teachers, but also for core subject area teachers and teachers who are not solely dedicated to teaching ELLs.

“The common core standards for ELLs sound great,” said Gustavo Rivera, a history teacher at Miami Springs High School and member of the Hispanic Educators Committee of the United Teachers of Dade. “It’s all very nice until you get to the area of application. How do you apply them? That, to me, is the most worrisome.”

You should ask your local district about the training they are offering to teachers on the common core–and if any time is spent addressing how the standards impact ELLs. Is the school district putting time into addressing the group?

EWA hosted a conference last week about the impact of the common core on ELLs along with the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University’s ”Understanding Language” initiative. Click here to view videos from the seminar. To read tweets from the conference, look up the hashtag #ewaell.

- Understanding Language. Stanford University.

- Colorin Colorado

- Council of the Great City Schools.

How Are School Districts Handling ‘Deferred Action’ Records Requests?

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

School districts play a key role in providing the records necessary for undocumented immigrant young people to apply for the federal government’s deferred action program. The program will protect qualified applicants from deportation for two years and allows them to work.

Because students need to prove they have attended and completed their education in U.S. schools, many districts are seeing requests for high school transcripts and other documents spike. Some are struggling to keep up with the pace of requests.

The Associated Press reports that the school district in Yakima, Wash., is taking almost a month to provide transcripts and San Diego schools have added employees to keep up with the pace of requests.

The Los Angeles Times recently reported how such requests are placing a strain on the Los Angeles Unified School District. As many as 200,000 current and former students could be eligible for the program. In addition, the labor and postage associated with all the requests could result in about $200,000 in costs to the district.

Are your school districts seeing an increase in document requests? How quickly are they responding to the requests? Are counselors also working with students to make them aware of organizations that can help them apply for deferred action?

- “Deferred action program puts strain on L.A. Unified.” The Los Angeles Times.

- Deferred Action. USCIS.

NAACP Says Entry Exam Bars Blacks, Latinos from Top N.Y. Schools

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Several civil rights organizations filed a complaint on Thursday with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights arguing that the exam determining admissions to the most elite New York City public high schools effectively discriminates against black and Latino students.

The complaint filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund focuses on eight competitive admissions high schools. The most prominent and nationally known schools among the group are Stuyvesant High School and Bronx Science.

The NAACP press release notes that the Latino Justice PRLDEF also joined in the complaint. A number of other organizations also support the complaint.

Reuters reports that even though blacks and Latinos make up more than half of New York City residents, at Stuyvesant High, Latinos represent only about 2.4 percent of the enrollment and black students, 1.2 percent. Asians make up more than two-thirds of the students at Stuyvesant.

The complaint places the blame on the multiple-choice Specialized High School Admissions test, which is alone what admissions are based on. Reuters reports that the group wants the schools to base admissions on more than just a test–expanding considerations to grades, attendance, recommendations, interviews and writing samples.

The NAACP press release says that of 967 eighth-graders offered admission to Stuyvesant this year, 19 (2 percent) were black and 32 (3.3 percent) were Latino.

“Without a predictive validity study, there is no way that the NYCDOE can know whether the test provides useful information,” said Damon Hewitt, director of the education practice group at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc, in the NAACP press release. “And education experts agree that using a test as the only factor to make a high stakes decision is bad educational policy. It also defies common sense. Even elite institutions like Harvard do not misuse tests in this way.”

This is not the first time that disparities in the city’s elite schools have been in the spotlight.

- NAACP press release

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