Parents offered English tutoring

CBET: Program's goal is to help parents learn English, take more active role in children's education

Taft Elementary is the latest school in the Orange Unified School District to offer Community-Based English Tutoring for adults.

CBET is a state-funded program that provides English tutoring to Spanish-speaking parents who speak little or no English. Each class has an instructor and assistant as well as free babysitting to make it as easy as possible for parents to participate.

Taft has 319 students who speak English as a second language.

Parents’ enthusiasm for CBET has been overwhelming, said Principal Debby Lichtman. Taft will offer two yearlong CBET classes, one that started Tuesday and one beginning in October.

There are 42 parents enrolled and 15 on a waiting list.

The first class is taught by Kelly Devine on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

The second class begins in October and will be taught by Teri Cardenas.

One night each week, parents will have an opportunity to practice their English skills in the computer lab using language software.

Taft is one of three schools in the district with the CBET program. However, the program is expanding rapidly.

“It (program) helps parents to communicate more with teachers and creates an opportunity for them to be involved in their children’s education,” said Phil Schultz, a teacher who is working on special assignment coordinating the CBET program.

The statewide program, which came to Orange midway through the 1999-2000 school year, is a byproduct of Proposition 227, which passed in 1997.

Its purpose is to ensure that non-English-speaking students have a support system for equal opportunity in the classroom.

The goals of the program are manifold and include helping parents develop English proficiency and computer skills through use of the computer-based language lab.

With improved English skills, parents will be able to help their children with homework and communicate with teachers to express concerns and problems, said Devine.

Schultz said studies show student test scores improve with greater English proficiency and parental involvement.

The CBET program includes a student database to track student achievements over the years and the effectiveness of the program in helping the children of parents who learn to speak English.

“The problem when parents can’t speak English is that they can’t help their children with homework or communicate with teachers who don’t speak Spanish. They just shut down and don’t come forward with problems and concerns,” said Cardenas.

District-wide, 23 percent of the students speak English as a second language, said Bobbie Ochoa, coordinator for the district’s English Language Development program.

Sycamore Elementary has had the CBET program since February and Fairhaven Elementary has had the program since May.

CBET coordinators plan add six more classes at different school sites over the next year.

The new CBET programs will be added at Yorba Middle School, Orange High School, the Highland Learning Center and the Friendly Center in Orange.

“The CBET program has been working very well here at Sycamore,” said Melinda Ortiz, Sycamore principal.

“It’s very exciting to walk into the classrooms and see the smiles on their (the parents’) faces not just as they’re learning English but also as they’re working with their own kids. Any time we get our parents more involved, we’re going to see greater success in our children. “

Elena Montiel was one of the first parents in the district enrolled in CBET.

After her first three classes, she doubled her scores on English proficiency tests.

“At night, when my kids are asleep, I practice English because I want to learn,” she said. Montiel reads with her two children, Vladimir and Jasmine, every night.

Montiel’s class took a family field trip to the Orange Public Library where she and her children each got library cards. Now they check out books together every week.

Her class also took a field trip to the Orange Police Department in order to meet the officers and see the community resources available to them.

“Our goal is to create true family literacy in English and foster community participation,” Schultz said.

For more information about this program, call (714) 628-6028



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