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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Where Success is Spoken

By Elaine D. BriseñO
Journal Staff Writer
      Editor's Note: Lawmakers and education experts have identified the achievement gap between Hispanic and Anglo students as a serious problem that has vexed the state for years. Today, the Journal continues its spotlight on the issue with a report on the success Rio Rancho Elementary has had with its bilingual program.
    By Elaine D. Briseño
    Journal Staff Writer
    Rio Rancho Elementary has not only made progress closing the education gap, but in some instances, its Hispanic students are edging out the Anglo kids.
    District officials have linked the recent success to a strong bilingual program at the school, which has been under the direction of Karen Dondelinger since the program started seven years ago.
    According to the Rio Rancho Public Schools Web site, 40 percent of Rio Rancho Elementary's students are Hispanic.
    The bilingual program is open to students who are trying to learn English (English Language Learners), as well as Hispanic students who want to learn Spanish. The program this year is serving about 150 students.
    The English Language Learners stay together from kindergarten through fifth grade. Dondelinger said this makes it easier to assess students and their needs.
    "The students moving together is one of the biggest factors of their success," Dondelinger said. "They are not spending so much time building community at the beginning of the year. They can just hit the ground running."
    One measure of success: The English learners outscored both Hispanic and Anglo students in their reading scores in 2009.
    Dondelinger said another key component is that expectations for students in the program are set high. The curriculum, she said, is not any less rigorous because the students don't know English. Parents who enroll their children in the bilingual program must agree to leave them there during the entire time they are at the school.
    She said support for the program from the Rio Rancho Public Schools district office and her school administrators also plays a key role in ensuring student success.
    "We don't look at them speaking Spanish as a deficit, but something that can enhance their education," Dondelinger said. "Their home language is an asset."
    The Rio Rancho Elementary scores:
    n In 2008, 68.7 percent of Hispanic students tested at or above proficiency in reading, compared with 67.1 percent of the Anglo students.
    n Hispanic students continued to outscore Anglos in reading in 2009: 72.7 percent of Hispanics were at or above proficiency in reading, compared with 72.5 percent for Anglo students. That year, the school's English Language Learners outscored both groups in reading, with 76.9 percent testing proficient.
    n There was still a gap for math in 2008 and 2009, but Hispanic and English Language Learners made larger gains than Anglo students. In 2008, 40 percent of English learners tested proficient, and 44.4 percent of Hispanic students did. The numbers rose in 2009 to 61.5 percent for English learners and 61.7 percent for Hispanic students. Anglo students scored 62.9 percent and 67.5 percent, respectively.
    Victoria Tafoya, the district's director of federal and bilingual programs, said the district makes an effort to reach out to Hispanic parents. The district's overall student population is about 42 percent Hispanic.
    The district has partnered with ReadWest Inc. to offer GED classes at Puesta del Sol Elementary in the evening for parents, and it tries to hire teachers who are sensitive to different cultural backgrounds.
    "It comes down to respect," she said. "We treat people with different cultural backgrounds with respect."
    Other elementary schools in the district have bilingual programs, and Rio Rancho High offers a Spanish class for native speakers.
    Colinas del Norte and Puesta del Sol are the two district elementary schools with the highest percentage of Hispanic students, or about half of their enrollment. Both schools have seen their Hispanic students make gains, but they are still behind Anglo students in math and reading.

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