ADMINISTRATOR KNOWS LANGUAGE CHALLENGES.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS  Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- As a little girl in Chile, Barbara Irwin was thrust into a strange-to-her culture.

Just 18 months old, the American-born Irwin began developing her mind in two languages.

Seven years later, she was having a harder time communicating with her Pennsylvania-born mother and father than with her Chilean neighbors.

``It was frustrating for my mother,'' Irwin said.

Now, as the newly hired English language development administrator for the William S. Hart Union High School District, Irwin plans to bring her experiences growing up in a bilingual world to the increasing number of district students in the early stages of learning English.

``I want to make sure students are receiving the services to which they are entitled and teachers have the training and skills they need to work most effectively,'' Irwin said.

Already working as a teacher on special assignment for the Hart district, Irwin has been providing strategies and methods to other district personnel for the English-language learners.

``(Irwin) has been a key player with English-language learners in our district for at least seven years,'' said Terry DeLoria, Hart's director of special programs.

DeLoria, who was handling these language programs districtwide until now, said she decided to create the post when the district population and number of students who didn't speak English grew.

``Seven years ago, when I started, there were 17,000 students in the district and maybe 1,100 English-language learners,'' DeLoria said. ``Now there are 23,000 students with at least 1,800 ELL students -- and growing.''

Hart Superintendent Jaime Castellanos said the issue of educational equity is one he takes seriously.

``This is a large step in the right direction,'' Castellanos said. ``We want to make sure all of these students get the same exposure to the core curriculum, which may mean using different strategies to help them learn English at the same time.''

Irwin started her career with the Hart district in 1994 as a Spanish and English-language development teacher at Valencia High School.

Irwin, who holds a master's degree in educational management and also speaks German and French, became coordinator of English-language development issues at Valencia High, advocating for the rights of her students.

``It is a huge challenge for any students to suddenly realize that they have to function in a totally different language, not only socially but academically,'' Irwin said.

One of her most pressing goals is to involve parents, usually new to Santa Clarita and to the U.S., in their children's education.

``They come to this country with a whole lot of uncertainties, and it is important for me to reassure them and let them know how we function and that they have somewhere to go when they don't understand.''

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