PHOENIX (Sherry Anne Rubiano, Arizona
Republic) June 29, 2007 — A majority of educators who attended a public
forum Tuesday said they supported Gov. Janet Napolitano's English Language
Learner proposal, a plan designed to address the needs of the state's
English-learning students.
They applauded the proposal for meeting the demands of a long-standing court order. But they also expressed concerns about how it addresses professional development and what best practice models will be used.
Tuesday's meeting at the Pendergast Learning Center in Phoenix brought more than 60 educators and five Democratic legislative leaders together to discuss the proposal for the first time since its unveiling earlier this month.
The funding in Napolitano's plan would be phased in over three years and would eventually spend nearly $1,300 on every English-language-learner student. In Arizona, there are more than 160,000 of these students, who are learning how to read, write and speak English, according to the State Department of Education.
The Legislature would need to approve the governor's plan before any action takes place.
Stacie Hacker, director of English acquisition services at Peoria Unified School District, described the state of ELL learners in the district: There are about 1,900 ELL students who speak 60 different languages, she said. To meet their needs, the district is getting about $485,000 from state funds and is spending an additional $1.4 million from its maintenance and operations budget.
"Any additional funds that the Legislature could help with could make a big difference to us to providing more comprehensive programs," Hacker said.
Many educators spoke about the importance of training teachers and other personnel who interact with students.
Marcella Granillo, ELL director at the Isaac School District, urged the legislators to put funding in professional development.
"That is the key," she said. "We cannot change our system unless we have good quality instruction. And that is something we are attempting to do."
Other attendees suggested the plan should include mention of a variety of best practice models and a detailed timeline of implementation by the districts.
Barrett Marson, director of communications for the House of Representatives, said he was not surprised by the public's response, since Napolitano's plan provides more funding compared to the Legislature's plan, which Napolitano vetoed.
"It would be a boom for school districts because it gives them significant new money," Marson said.
But he also talked about what he believed are its shortfalls.
"There's no assurance that the kids will actually learn more — the only assurance is there is a bigger price tag," he said.
A representative from the Arizona Department of Education said Superintendent Tom Horne does not have a position on the plan yet.
Napolitano came up with the proposal this month after vetoing a Republican-backed bill in May. The Legislature's plan would have set up a grant program for schools to apply for to get funding for English-learner programs.
Both proposals set out to meet the demands of a court order to spend more money on English-language learners in Arizona.
The order resulted from a lawsuit filed in 1992, Flores vs. Arizona.
At the end of the forum, Sen. Linda Aguirre, D-Phoenix, encouraged the crowd to write to legislators in support of a special legislative session to resolve the issue. The other legislators present included Rep. Phil Lopes, D-Tucson, Rep. Peter Rios, D-Hayden, Sen. Bill Brotherton, D-Phoenix, and Rep. Martha Garcia, D-Phoenix.
Another Democratic legislative panel is scheduled to hold a public forum Thursday at Sunnyside High School in Tucson from 5 to 7 p.m.
They applauded the proposal for meeting the demands of a long-standing court order. But they also expressed concerns about how it addresses professional development and what best practice models will be used.
Tuesday's meeting at the Pendergast Learning Center in Phoenix brought more than 60 educators and five Democratic legislative leaders together to discuss the proposal for the first time since its unveiling earlier this month.
The funding in Napolitano's plan would be phased in over three years and would eventually spend nearly $1,300 on every English-language-learner student. In Arizona, there are more than 160,000 of these students, who are learning how to read, write and speak English, according to the State Department of Education.
The Legislature would need to approve the governor's plan before any action takes place.
Stacie Hacker, director of English acquisition services at Peoria Unified School District, described the state of ELL learners in the district: There are about 1,900 ELL students who speak 60 different languages, she said. To meet their needs, the district is getting about $485,000 from state funds and is spending an additional $1.4 million from its maintenance and operations budget.
"Any additional funds that the Legislature could help with could make a big difference to us to providing more comprehensive programs," Hacker said.
Many educators spoke about the importance of training teachers and other personnel who interact with students.
Marcella Granillo, ELL director at the Isaac School District, urged the legislators to put funding in professional development.
"That is the key," she said. "We cannot change our system unless we have good quality instruction. And that is something we are attempting to do."
Other attendees suggested the plan should include mention of a variety of best practice models and a detailed timeline of implementation by the districts.
Barrett Marson, director of communications for the House of Representatives, said he was not surprised by the public's response, since Napolitano's plan provides more funding compared to the Legislature's plan, which Napolitano vetoed.
"It would be a boom for school districts because it gives them significant new money," Marson said.
But he also talked about what he believed are its shortfalls.
"There's no assurance that the kids will actually learn more — the only assurance is there is a bigger price tag," he said.
A representative from the Arizona Department of Education said Superintendent Tom Horne does not have a position on the plan yet.
Napolitano came up with the proposal this month after vetoing a Republican-backed bill in May. The Legislature's plan would have set up a grant program for schools to apply for to get funding for English-learner programs.
Both proposals set out to meet the demands of a court order to spend more money on English-language learners in Arizona.
The order resulted from a lawsuit filed in 1992, Flores vs. Arizona.
At the end of the forum, Sen. Linda Aguirre, D-Phoenix, encouraged the crowd to write to legislators in support of a special legislative session to resolve the issue. The other legislators present included Rep. Phil Lopes, D-Tucson, Rep. Peter Rios, D-Hayden, Sen. Bill Brotherton, D-Phoenix, and Rep. Martha Garcia, D-Phoenix.
Another Democratic legislative panel is scheduled to hold a public forum Thursday at Sunnyside High School in Tucson from 5 to 7 p.m.
