Tag: English-language Learner

  • How Fewer Classes Can Mean More Progress for English-Learners

    By Mario Koran and Rachel Evans In 2014, when San Diego Unified released data that showed how many students were on track to meet more rigorous graduation requirements, the numbers felt like a punch to the gut. Districtwide, only 59 percent of students were on track to graduate. The numbers were far worse for students…

  • What the School Budget Means for English Learners at Hoover – and Everywhere Else

    By Mario Koran Parents at Hoover High don’t care why the only teacher at the school assigned specifically to help English learners is going away next year. They care about the impact: They don’t want their kids to be mediocre. Hoover’s new principal, Joe Austin, had only been on the job a couple of months…

  • English-Learners Could Get Lost in the District’s Teacher Shuffle

    By Mario Koran Up against a June 30 budget deadline, Superintendent Cindy Marten made an executive decision to save money by shuffling teachers instead of hiring new ones. But now that the details are starting to shake out, it’s looking like the move will come at a cost to the district’s neediest students: English learners.…

  • Shorter School Year Could Hit Immigrant Families Hardest

    By Will Carless If anyone in San Diego knows the value of education, it’s Fatima Abdelrahman. Five years ago, Abdelrahman arrived in City Heights from Darfur, Sudan, with her five children. None of her kids had ever been to school before arriving in the United States. At first, her children struggled. They sat in classes…