District to add bilingual teachers Parent complaints spawn decision Kelly Pearce
South Phoenix's school district agreed Thursday night to overhaul programs for students learning English, improve communication with Hispanic parents and hire more bilingual educators. Prompting the changes is a complaint that a group of parents made in June to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. It alleged that the Roosevelt Elementary School District discriminated against limited-English students by disciplining them more harshly than others and penalizing them academically. To forgo a full investigation, the district agreed to fix the problems on its own while the federal agency looks over its shoulder. The district, which likely will need several million dollars for the corrections, must have a final plan in place by early next year. "I've seen this from Day 1 as a positive," Superintendent Russell Jackson said of the civil rights complaint made by Parents United. "We're ready to cooperate. We need to bring them (multicultural programs) up to today's standards." In the 1970s, Roosevelt revamped its language programs after a similar complaint. In recent years, the district has noticed an upswing in its Hispanic population. In the '70s, about 48 percent of students were Hispanic, compared with 78 percent today. Initial proposals include a welcome center for new students and testing programs to identify limited-English students and mark their progress as they learn the language. Community meetings and a monitoring committee to oversee the changes are on the horizon. The agreement, which includes deadlines the district must meet, will be publicized so parents know its contents, Jackson said. Reyna Polanco, Parents United's chairwoman, who helped notify federal officials, is pleased someone listened. "This has been coming for years," she said. "They weren't doing their job in the past. I believe we've taken a big step here." But everyone agrees it doesn't end with the upcoming changes. Parents, too, need to become intricately involved in their children's education. "They (students) need to get the attention now," Polanco said. Reach the reporter at kelly.pearce@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8979. |