As ELL Program Grows, Students Find Academic Success

Before Reyna Lopez’s son, Ricardo, joined the ELL program at Glendora Unified, he was shy and rarely spoke. The kindergartener also had a delayed speech impairment and had trouble learning English, let alone Spanish, which was spoken at home.

Now a third-grader at Stanton Elementary, Ricardo is a confident, precocious student. The boy, who could barely speak in front of strangers, has been elected “Mayor” of his class, presiding over meetings with his fellow classmates.

“I just watched him open up and become more confident,” said Lopez, 44. “Now he loves to talk.”

In a district where the Hispanic population has grown 35 percent, Ricardo is part of a steadily increasing number of English Language Learners. There are currently 355 ELL students in Glendora Unified, a 26.2 percent increase over the decade. The largest increase occurred within the last four years, jumping 84 percent.

Spanish speakers make up the largest portion of English Learners, followed by Arabic and Mandarin. There are about 20 languages within the ELL program in Glendora Unified, according to the California Department of Education.

“Obviously, we’ve seen a tremendous growth in our EL program over the years,” said ELL Coordinator Kristin Heathcoat. “It’s a trend districts across the state are seeing.”

As with other districts statewide, Glendora Unified has suffered through drastic budget cuts, falling 14 percent from 2000 to 2010. While school budgets have decreased, funding for ELL programs has jumped 116 percent since 2000, according to district records. A patchwork of state categorical funding, including ELAP, Title III and EIA, contribute to school ELL programs. The increase of students in the program are reflected in funding allocated to ELL programs, said Heathcoat.

Despite a slight decrease statewide of EL students testing into advanced and early advanced performance levels in the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), Heathcoat said EL students in the district are consistently seeing steady improvements.

Most students in Glendora Unified’s EL program are successfully reclassified into mainstream curriculum, said Heathcoat. Most EL students enter the program at the elementary levels. While there are about 250 EL students in the elementary schools, there are only 54 in the high school levels.

In a district where elementary schools rank near a 900, many of its EL students are seeing academic success.

“I have quite a few EL high school students taking AP courses,” said Heathcoat.

The focus on ELL programs was not the case more than a decade ago when Heathcoat first came to the district and the ELL program struggled with limited funds and resources.

 “The growth has allowed us to train our teachers better, buy more materials for students and provide opportunities for our students might have not otherwise had,” said Heathcoat.

Such improvements include a summer program for English Language students.

“The way we’ve budgeted our money we’ve been able to extend the school year to four more weeks,” said Heathcoat. “That’s a nice plus for those kids.”

Since California voters passed Proposition 227, EL students are instructed in English-only lessons. In the elementary levels, where the district sees the largest number of EL students, students are clustered in groups during regular class times for their EL lessons.

“We try to avoid drawing attention of the EL lesson, because that’s also a parent concern, ‘How will this label affect my child?’” said Heathcoat. “So we try to minimize that as much as possible.”

Reflecting the growing numbers of Spanish speakers in the district, Stanton Elementary was the first school to reach a 15 percent threshold of Spanish-speaking students this year, said Heathcoat. Letters, newsletters and parent communication went out in both English and Spanish, said Heathcoat.

But all parties have not openly accepted money spent on bilingual education and communication.

Gregg Imus, representative for Tea Party Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, said bilingual programs should not receive more government funding while other state programs continue to struggle.

Imus said Donnelly is currently working on a bill that would prevent the state from printing flyers, newsletters and other communication in languages other than English.

“Basically, we believe that if you come to this country, you should learn English,” said Imus.

But teaching English is what teachers in Glendora Unified’s EL program are trying to accomplish.

“We want all children to be literate,” said Heathcoat. “They are the future, we want them to get jobs, go to college if that’s where they want to be. If the additional support is needed, that’s what we need to do.”