As members of the board of education of Santa Ana Unified School District, we took great offense at the opinion piece by Rosemarie Avila March 25 [Orange County Focus]. The headline the Register placed on the article was “Santa Ana cheats its Hispanic students. ” Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is unfortunate that we, as board members, are forced to publicly correct a fellow board member, but the fact is that many of Mrs. Avila’s statements and conclusions are simply untrue.

Mrs. Avila referred to a six-year-old study of bilingual education, which said that only 16 percent of children in the bilingual program had made the transition to English classes by fifth grade. The report is hopelessly out of date. Most of the existing programs were put in place since 1987. Since then we have not only made revisions, but we have also focused on more accurate testing and placement.

The most current data show that about 80 to 90 percent of our upper elementary students who have been with us for at least three years have made the transition to English.

On March 9, the board of education adopted, on a 4-1 vote, Mrs. Avila dissenting, a comprehensive task-force report critiquing our bilingual program and making recommendations. The “late exit” programs that Mrs. Avila claims were a part of the report simply were not. The recommendations do call for continuing and strengthening a variety of options for the development of English-language skills, including English immersion.

Mrs. Avila said that “we do not have to keep doing what is not working. ” She has no basis in fact for making such an accusation.

We asked our bilingual task force _ composed of teachers, parents, support staff, administrators, and community members _ to determine program effectiveness and to recommend improvements. We received suggestions for changes and improvements, but we also received an overwhelming endorsement for the bilingual program.

The task force was charged with finding out what works and what doesn’t. It fulfilled its charge. The major themes for improvement are to more clearly define existing program and assessment terminology, infuse accountability at all levels, more clearly define program goals centered around learning English, and strengthen and increase the involvement of parents in their children’s education.

On March 9, we also adopted a board philosophy statement on bilingual education. It clearly states that English fluency and mastery of academic subject areas are the foundations of the bilingual program. The statement also addresses the diversity of our students and their needs and points to the options, including English immersion, which exist in our district.

When students’ academic and language skills are assessed on entering our district, the test results are presented to parents along with the available options for English acquisition. Parents then select programs for their child.

Children are learning English and making progress in our district. Board members and our superintendent, who himself entered kindergarten as a non-English speaker, tell students and parents at every opportunity that learning English is a necessity to being successful. Helping students acquire English is one of the highest goals for our superintendent and for our board. And Mrs. Avila knows this.

For the past six years, this board and administrative and teaching staff have worked hard and closely to increase the opportunity for success of our students. The number of students taking the SAT has increased dramatically. We have cut our dropout rate by nearly 50 percent since 1986 and have increased the graduation rate by 13 percent. Nearly 70 percent of our graduates now go on to higher education. These are not trends set by students who can’t speak English.

Our students are cheated only by those who have no confidence in them and those who publicly denigrate them.

Richard C. Hernandez Santa Ana Mr. Hernandez is president of the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education. This letter was also signed by board members Robert Balen, Audrey Yamagata-Noji, and Sal Mendoza.



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