District's percentage of non-fluent English speakers unchanged

The percentage of Anaheim City School District students not fluent in English remained unchanged for the 1998 school year, according to an annual report released by the district.

The district designated 12,186 students as Limited English Proficient, according to the district’s R-30 language census.

That’s up from 11,833 in 1997.

Despite the increased number, the percentage of non-fluent students in the total school population remained at 61 percent.

“That’s a trend that we’ve seen in the last couple of years,” said Pam Elias, the district’s special programs director who compiled the report. “Five or six years ago, you had a real jump in the percentage of LEP students. “

Elias said, however, the data shows the number of students entering the district without solid English-language skills might be leveling off.

“The fact that it appears to be leveling off is good,” Elias said. “At some point you have to start reaching the limit. ” The district redesignated 8.8 percent of its students who speak limited English and moved them out of the program, placing it 10th in Orange County. The state average is 6.7 percent.

The Anaheim Union High School District had an 8.7 percent redesignation rate.

Although Elias warned that comparing districts can be misleading, she said the district’s redesignation rate is impressive.

“When you see that we’re above the state average, even considering all of the factors against us, it’s a positive,” she said. “We have had increasing LEP numbers the last few years and less rooms in the schools, and still we’ve had success with our program. “

Eight of the 22 schools in the district reported declines in the number of LEP students, most notably Sunkist Elementary School, which dropped from 639 students to 527.

Juarez Elementary School showed the largest increase _ from 123 students in 1997 to 402 this year.

Elias said shifting enrollment boundaries caused by the district’s crowding problems has accounted for many of the changes.

“If you look at a school like Juarez, they had a lot of students bused in from other areas where there were higher LEP rates,” she said. “And some of the other schools that showed declines had LEP students transferred to other schools. ” Overall, Elias said she is encouraged by the numbers in the report, which she thinks shows the district is pointing in the right direction with its bilingual education program.

“We’re getting better at identifying the needs of our LEP students,” she said. “The redesignation rates are going up, which shows that the program is working and students are starting to improve in picking up English-language skills. “



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