Tag: English Language Learners

  • English Learners Find their Voice through Film

    English Learners Find their Voice through Film

    Teacher Sheri Sevenbergen talks about her experinece partnering with the Media Arts Center San Diego in her classroom. Students from ten different countries learn English through filmmaking. In the process, they learn powerful skills and break through barriers. Read more at Speak City Heights http://www.speakcityheights.org Produced by the Media Arts Center San Diego Community Production…

  • The District’s Ambitious New Plan to Serve English-Learners

    I opened a story last year by zooming in on Ángel Solorzano, a student at Kearny High. Solorzano arrived at Kearny speaking very little English. When he met his new principal, Ana Diaz-Booz, the two communicated in sign language. He was one of 32,000 English-learners in San Diego Unified schools who aren’t proficient in English.…

  • District’s Plan for English-Learners Still Getting Lost In Translation

    A year after San Diego Unified promised it would compensate for cutting a crucial lifeline for English-learning students, the parents of those students say they’re still no better off. At the end of the 2013-2014 school year, Superintendent Cindy Marten directed every school to cut one full-time position. For 52 schools, that meant cutting the…

  • The School District’s Plan for English Learners, in One Graphic

    By Mario Koran Parents of English-learning students showed up to the San Diego Unified school board meeting Tuesday night – angry. They felt manipulated, stepped on and ignored, they told Superintendent Cindy Marten and the school board, because of Marten’s decision late last year to cut back the teachers who supported English learners. Despite the…

  • Another Blow for English-Learning Students

    By Mario Koran It just keeps getting worse for English learners in San Diego Unified. This past summer the district started cutting a program for English learners – who already have the highest dropout rate in the district – and parents are now wondering what happened to the teachers who used to help their kids.…