Schools

Parents Protest the 'Burden' of English-Learners on Capo Schools

Moms tell school board the out-of-neighborhood English learners are "stressing out" the teachers -- and them.

The 200 or so English-learner students at Marblehead Elementary in San Clemente are an unfair burden on the teachers, parents and students who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the suburban school, parents told the Capistrano Unified school board Wednesday.

In response, Trustee Anna Bryson said she was concerned that too many English learners are coming in with such a limited vocabulary that parents need to be taught to speak to their children.

Four moms whose children go to Marblehead say that students bussed in from the Las Palmas Elementary attendance boundaries and a predominately Hispanic neighborhood within Marblehead’s territory are “stressing” teachers and parents alike. One even said she would probably be taking her twin first graders to another school come fall.

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“I don’t want to give up, but I feel like I just have to move on,” said Holly Schafer. The English learners have pushed the academic achievement scores down, which she finds unacceptable for her children.

Said another parent, Aarin Flynn: “With the addition of these students from outside our boundaries comes a huge strain on our school. Our teachers struggle to teach these kids to bring them up to speed. The extra stress it puts on our teachers affects all of our students.”

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The burden crosses over to fundraising efforts because English-learner parents are socio-economically disadvantaged, Flynn and other parents said.

Bryson, who’s running for a seat in the state Assembly, said three years ago she talked to about 15 teachers who had English learners in their classes.

“The issue, largely, is that the children coming in actually don’t have a vocabulary beyond 10 to 20 words when they come in. They’re left alone. They only have the TV. They don’t have parenting or even older children on many occasions with them,” said Bryson, a native Spanish speaker herself who later learned English.

Julie Hatchel, assistant superintendent of education services, said parents who live within the Las Palmas Elementary boundaries, who don’t want to be part of the Two-Way Spanish Immersion program, have the option to attend Marblehead or Palisades Elementary. Parents of about 100 or so children opt for Marblehead.

Another 102 students from the Vista Los Mares neighborhood are within the Marblehead boundary but three miles away from the school. Of those students, 97 are English learners, Hatchel said.

They actually pass Truman Benedict Elementary to attend Marblehead, a situation Trustee John Alpay said sounded unfair and needed fixing.

“I think we have an opportunity to make minor changes to attendance boundaries to restore the concept of where these students can actually walk to their neighborhood school,” Alpay said.

Trustee Jim Reardon said Ambuehl Elementary in San Juan Capistrano faces a similar challenge with families who don’t want to attend the Two-Way program at San Juan Elementary. However, he preached sensitivity.

“There’s a cultural thing that needs to be overcome. I would like to encourage you all to reach out a little bit. Where it doesn’t’ work, it doesn’t work,” he said. “We have 20-25 percent of these kids there on lots of campuses. Please don’t give up the cause because it’s important.”


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