Teaching the three R’s becomes more of a challenge when almost one-fourth of your students speak limited English. That’s the case in Forest Grove, where about 1,200 students are considered English Language Learners (ELL).

At the elementary level, the percentage of limited English speakers is even greater – about 40 percent.

While that presents obvious challenges, the district sees many benefits as well. 

“We recognize a tremendous resource in our Hispanic children,” said School Board Chairman Mike Steele, “and an opportunity for other students to grow in cross-cultural understanding.”

About 10 percent of district enrollment was Hispanic in 1990 – today it’s almost 30 percent. At Cornelius and Echo Shaw elementaries, over 55 percent are Hispanic. The language issue has been a hurdle but not a barrier, as both earned “exceptional” ratings on this year’s state report cards.

A key in helping all students achieve has been to teach academic basics in their native language. Elementary students are assigned to reading blocks based on their skill level. Blocks are offered in English and Spanish. For the Spanish speakers, once they’ve mastered basic reading in Spanish, they transition to English.

Elementary teachers have been trained in GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design), a teaching model that uses visuals to teach English skills.

The district was the first in Oregon to adopt the program, and four teachers have become certified trainers. About 75 percent of the district’s K-4 teachers are now trained in GLAD.

Forest Grove was also one of the first in Oregon to offer a dual language immersion program where students are taught in both English and Spanish. The program is offered at three elementary schools; enrollment is almost evenly divided between Spanish- and English-speaking students. A fourth school will be added next fall. The goal is for ELL students to become bilingual when they reach high school – a requirement of the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM).

A migrant grant funds an after-school math program at two schools to help migrant students meet state benchmarks. “It’s exciting that all the children who started the program stayed with it, even though they have to stay an hour after school,” says Betty Flick, assistant director of student services.

Communication is an essential part of the program. School news-letters and other parent materials 
are printed in English and Spanish. Translators are provided at public meetings.

The district also makes a concerted effort to hire bilingual staff. About 15 percent of all teachers are bilingual. Finding bilingual principals was a priority when filling two elementary positions this spring.

Other ways Forest Grove is closing the achievement gap: 

• The superintendent, high school principal and staff meet with Hispanic parents to explore how they can better serve Hispanic students.
• An alternative program called CREATE targets Hispanic students who dropped out – or are on the verge of dropping out.
• The district hired a school community liaison to call and visit 
  the homes of at-risk Hispanic students.
• An evening program, in concert with Portland Community College, helps dropouts get the credits they need to return to regular classrooms.
• A committee of teachers, administrators and parents meets monthly to evaluate programs for Hispanic students.
• A summer school program for migrant K-8 students focuses on literacy skills.
• The district participates in the Pathways program at Portland State University, which allows bilingual instructional assistants to work as teachers while earning their teaching credentials.

Salem-Keizer: Working with a coalition [Top]

Oregon’s second largest school district has been working with the Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality to address the diverse needs of its student population. The following is a review of some of the major issues the district and coalition have been working towards (adapted from a memo dated March 22, 2001 from Superintendent Kay Baker):

Work force diversity

• Hiring - Efforts made in hiring a workforce that reflects the diversity of the student population: 14% of new licensed teaching staff and 23 % of new administrative staff reflected the diversity of our students.
• Recruiting efforts - increased expenditures and efforts to recruit and hire minority staff members.
• “Grow your Own” - efforts to advance minority staff members are being expanded.
• Welcoming committee - minority staff and community members host events and provide support to assist new minority staff members who move to Salem-Keizer.

Volunteer Diversity

• Training - Hired Dr. Beverly Hobbs to provide training to all building volunteer coordinators about working with minority volunteers.
• Ongoing committee formed to guide training and systems to support minority volunteers.
• New Spanish language phone line for volunteers, new Spanish language recruiting materials, creation of games and learning materials in Spanish.

Bilingual access and bilingual funding

• Hired new Director of Bilingual Education.
• Evaluating our bilingual program for effectiveness and adequate funding.
• Identifying and seeking additional resources through grants and partnerships.

Discipline

• 1999-2000 Annual Report of Suspension, Expulsion, and Diversion was presented to the School Board, Equity Issues Committee, and Oversight Committee in April for evaluation and recommendation.
• New work groups formed to study dress code and use of Resource Officers.

Developing and Identifying Assessment

• Guidelines to insure that all Spanish-speaking students will be assessed with tools appropriate to their language have been developed.

District Complaint Process

• The charge for the task force includes evaluation of the current process, analysis of other district/department’s complaint processes, identification of steps/processes that need changed, altered or enhanced.
• Task Force members will present their recommendations to their constituent groups before presenting it to for final board approval.

Welcome Audits

• All schools audited by trained teams of community members which include minority and Spanish-speaking representatives.
• We have committed additional resources to increasing the number of Spanish-speaking personnel in school offices.
• We continue to increase the number of materials provided in multiple languages of our parents and students.
• Multiple headphone sets are available throughout the district to use for interpreters at parent meetings.

Family Outreach

• Hired bilingual/bicultural Community School Outreach Coordinator for families of Latino secondary students.
• Grant written for a additional coordinators representative of other ethnic groups.
• Adult literacy and ESL classes offered to parents.

Academic Success and Graduation Rate

• Out-of-School support system - Half-time coordinator per high school to work with students who are dropping out to reduce barriers and encourage their further school participation.
• Cooperative class with Western Oregon University at McKay linking high school students with college students.
• Identified four middle school ELL classes with over 35 students and are adding sections and/or assistants.
• Credit tracking earlier to intervene with students who are becoming credit deficient and attendance projects at middle schools and high schools.
• 21st Century Schoolhouse High School has developed materials in Spanish to inform Spanish-speaking families of alternative high school opportunities.

Security procedures

• We have learned about a number of inconsistencies in our security procedures and will work quickly to correct them. (doors to portables, parent notification, videos).
• We will work with our contract security company to encourage them to diversify their security force and to provide cultural competency training to their employees.

Relationships

• Research shows that a likely indicator of student success in school is the existence of a positive student to adult relationship at school. We continue to increase the effort and availability we offer to students and their families to build those relationships.

Ontario: Starting early [Top]

The Ontario School District’s approach to reducing its Hispanic dropout rate is to start before it’s too late – which is long before high school.

“One of the best things we do is to have programs in elementary and middle schools,” says Ontario School Board Chair Evelyn Dame. The district offers a Spanish-English immersion program that not only builds on the content areas of students whose native language is Spanish, but connects these students and their parents to English-speaking students and their parents.

Each elementary and middle school also has a full-time bilingual Parent Center coordinator. “This helps native Spanish-speakers feel much more comfortable and enables them to be as involved in their children’s education as they want to be,” Dame adds.

Dame praised Ontario Middle School staff who took advantage of training available through an Office of Bilingual Education grant. In fact, Oregon’s 2000 Teacher of the Year, Xochy Fuhriman-Ebert teaches at the school and was instrumental in these efforts.

“Xochy helps native English-speaking teachers understand Hispanic culture and language so they can communicate concepts and ideas when teaching,” Dame says. “Recently, 14 teachers attended a training on Teacher Research in the Bilingual Classroom, so they could do research in their own classes to determine how to be more effective.”