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School district to receive recognition for bilingual initiative |
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The Escondido Union High School District's participation in a state trial
program to determine the best method for teaching English has earned it a county
award that recognizes bilingual literacy.
The San Diego County Office of
Education will present the Bea Gonzales Leadership in Biliteracy Award to the
district on May 28 at the Marriott Hotel in La Jolla.
The county's
English Learner and Support Services Unit chose the district for its work with
the initiative Pursuing Regional Opportunities for Mentoring, Innovation, and
Success for English learners, more commonly known as PROMISE.
The
three-year program was launched in the 2006-07 school year as a collaborative
approach to find the best way to teach students learning English as a second
language. The initiative provides teaching resources to schools in the counties
of San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura, which together
educate more than 60 percent of the state's students who learn English as a
second language.
The Escondido Union High School District is the only
district in the county participating in the program, where it is run at
Escondido, Orange Glen and San Pasqual high schools.
Escondido Assistant
Superintendent of Educational Services Karen Rizzi said the district is focusing
on three core principles: an enriched, affirming learning environment, a
challenging and relevant curriculum, and high-quality professional preparation
and support.
Other counties are focusing on other principles, and each
county's academic success will help educators weigh the best methods for
teaching English.
District and County Office of Education officials
involved in the program were in training sessions Monday, but the PROMISE
initiative was discussed in two episodes of the county cable show "Issues in
Education."
"Of all the efforts to raise the achievements of English
learners, the PROMISE initiative may be the most powerful yet," County
Superintendent of Schools Randolph Ward said on the show in October
2007.
On the same show, Escondido district PROMISE facilitator Jennifer
Rasmussen said the program offers a team approach to finding the best approach
for teaching English, a departure from the isolated method teachers usually work
in.
"That systemic approach is really valuable and something that's
different," Rasmussen said.
Laurie Nesrala of the county's Writing Reform
Institute for Teaching Excellence, or WRITE, said the program's core principles
are grounded in basic research. She also said the Escondido district was chosen
to participate in the initiative because it already was making great strides
with English learners and had shown a real commitment to the
issue.
"Principals at each school are very invested in this," she
said.
Also appearing on "Issues in Education," Escondido High School
English language development teacher Karen Thielman said the quality of the
English programs studied in PROMISE ultimately will be judged by their success
in teaching students as a whole.
"To me, I look at it as though we are
building a community," she said. "We want somebody who is educated, who is
politically and socially savvy, and who is ready for the global marketplace,"
she said.
Besides recognizing the Escondido district with the Bea
Gonzales Award, the county ceremony May 28 also will recognize Thielman and
district bilingual counselor Noemi Iraci for their work in strengthening the
academic performance of and support for biliteracy students.
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