Friday, August 14, 2015

Monterey County top education officials respond to grand jury


Salinas >> The uneven outcomes for English learners throughout Monterey County are due to the wide variety of districts that educate them, and not to the lack of support by the Monterey County Office of Education.
Thus, a recent report by the Monterey County civil grand jury misplaces the blame for their lack of success and misrepresents the duties of the board of education and the superintendent of schools, separate entities that do not report to each other.
That was the gist of the joint response issued by the Monterey County Board of Education and county Superintendent of Schools Nancy Kotowski to the grand jury report titled “Education, a ‘No Excuses’ Approach to English Language Learning in Monterey County.” In the report grand jurors say top county educational leaders are not doing enough to promote the academic progress of English learners.
In the response, county education officials say the issues of English language learners are complex and involve the roles of family, school and community.
“The county superintendent and county board of education have no statutory authority over the quality and successful implementation of the district’s instructional programs,” the report reads. “Each school district’s board of trustees is entrusted with and responsible for their district’s educational programs and engagements of their families and communities.”
In the first few pages of the 14-page response, county education officials pinpoint what they say are inaccuracies in the grand jury document.
Later, the letter responds to each one of the grand jury recommendations mostly by stating the authors’ disagreement with the conclusions.
“We agree that it is critical to accelerate the progress English Learners make in their acquisition of English proficiency in order for them to be well prepared for college and the workplace,” the report reads. “We disagree that English learners are performing far below the academic standards established by the state.”
For instance, the report cites that the percentage of English learners who drop out in Monterey County is 20.2 percent, compared to the statewide average of 20.9 percent.
“Further, English learners are graduating at the same rate as their peers across California, despite significantly greater obstacles. While we are keeping pace with the state, these results must be improved.”
School districts throughout Monterey County are on pace to receive $131 million this year for English learners, low-income students and foster care students. It is to be distributed through the Local Control Formula Funding plan, a new method being introduced this year.
Through the Local Control Accountability Plan, each district must identify how the money will be used, and it’s ultimately their responsibility to make sure the students succeed.
The plan “is critical because it must identify how the funds will be directed to meet the needs of these students,” the report reads. “The county superintendent supports the districts in developing their plans and is responsible for approving them, following statutory guidelines. It is each district’s responsibility to implement their plan.”
English learners make up more than 40 percent of students of Monterey County public K-12 schools — a far greater share than California as a whole with only 23 percent. Likewise, the percentage of low-income students is greater than that of the state — 69 percent in Monterey County and 60 percent in California.
August 13, 2015
Monterey County Herald
By Claudia Meléndez Salinas

No comments: