Learning the language: District to examine transition program for new immigrants

Faced with an increasingly diverse student body, the Seattle School District next month will launch the largest review of its immigrant-education program in more than two decades.

It could bring significant changes in how hundreds of refugees and immigrants are taught each year in Seattle, from what they read to where they are schooled.

Administrators are putting together an advisory committee that will review the district's English-as-a-second-language (ESL) curriculum, study other school models, improve teacher training and brainstorm ways to run the bilingual program more efficiently. Administrators also want to address how to handle high-school immigrants who aren't learning English fast enough to catch up with their peers.

School officials said the committee, which will be made up of community leaders, teachers and administrators, will finish its review by next spring and make a recommendation to Superintendent Joseph Olchefske.

But already, many teachers and counselors are protesting the plan, particularly any changes in the handling of new immigrants.

Currently, immigrants who are middle- or high-school age, but know little English, are placed in the district's secondary Bilingual Orientation Center (BOC) in Queen Anne to learn basic skills and school culture. Some of the students arrive not knowing how to open a locker or use scissors. They stay in the BOC for at least one semester before transferring to a regular school.

One of the options Olchefske is considering is closing the BOC and transferring the students to Ingraham, Rainier Beach or Chief Sealth high schools and running smaller BOCs out of those schools.

Another option includes allowing each school to handle its own immigrant students. The possibility of keeping the BOC in one location also is still being considered, the superintendent said.

In 2001, voters approved a capital levy that included $14 million for the BOC. The review will determine where that money will go toward facility improvements.

While Olchefske says he won't make a decision until June, the protest and anger already building underscore how volatile and territorial the issue has become.

The program review is a priority because Olchefske said the district needs to update its 22-year-old bilingual-education program since the district's student body has become more diverse. More than 60 languages are spoken by students in the district.

The education of immigrants is something the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction also has made a priority. More than 7 percent of Washington students, about 70,500 immigrants, enroll in some type of ESL program, the highest percentage in recent memory.

Schools legally must educate all school-age residents, and state officials say schools in western Washington have a difficult task because the non-English-speaking student body is more diverse than those in eastern Washington, where Hispanics make up most of the ESL programs.

That presents challenges in finding multiple translators and managing diverse classes. In Seattle the wave of new immigrants changes frequently. Last year, it was an influx of Somali students. This year, it's Vietnamese and Chinese.

In Seattle, immigrants with limited English skills are placed in transitional centers first. Students younger than 11 go to one of four elementary schools that run BOC programs.

Others are schooled in the secondary BOC. Those students present a tougher challenge because many are high-school age with first-grade reading skills, and many don't pick up English as fast as younger students.

Some teachers say the older students need a central location such as the secondary BOC, where there is more specialized support staff to deal with their needs.

They fear that closing the site and transferring them directly into a large campus would be too traumatic, and they worry many would struggle or drop out.

Their major concern is what happens to the middle-school students if the secondary BOC is closed. One option administrators are considering is placing those middle-school students in the high schools where smaller BOC programs would be set up.

Chuck Meding, a BOC teacher who has taught at Rainier Beach and Garfield High, said an immigrant student might have a tough time adjusting to a traditional high school.

"Kids need something of a haven to learn communication skills before they are sent out there," he said.

Given that the review will take most of the school year, Olchefske said, it's too early to focus on any option, and he promised there would be "substantial" public comment before any decision is made next year.

Many teachers are wary, given that in recent years, many academic programs have been decentralized to allow schools autonomy to run their own programs. Many teachers talk as if the closure is a done deal.

Teachers have contacted many immigrant and refugee socialservice organizations concerning the future of the secondary BOC.

Citlali Perez, 18, who spent a year in the secondary BOC before transferring to Chief Sealth High two years ago, said it will be devastating for immigrants to lose the BOC as it is now.

Because the bilingual staff is all under one roof, Perez said, she got a lot of individualized help, especially in spotting her weaknesses and providing assurance when she got frustrated or overwhelmed.

"They gave me confidence," said Perez, who takes the same class load as her peers. "When I got to Chief Sealth, I felt strong."

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com.