Tag: English Learners

  • How Fewer Classes Can Mean More Progress for English-Learners

    By Mario Koran and Rachel Evans In 2014, when San Diego Unified released data that showed how many students were on track to meet more rigorous graduation requirements, the numbers felt like a punch to the gut. Districtwide, only 59 percent of students were on track to graduate. The numbers were far worse for students…

  • 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 Case Against Isolating English-Learners

    Ángel Solorzano spoke so little English when he arrived at Kearny High he had to communicate with the school’s principal, Ana Diaz-Booz, through sign language. That’s not unusual for Diaz-Booz. The students who enter her school run the gamut in language skills. She gets those with a basic grasp of English, and those like Solorzano,…

  • 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.…