Dispensing with disparity.

Byline: ANNE WILLIAMS The Register-Guard

THE RESPONSE to a fledgling daylong kindergarten program at River Road-El Camino del Rio Elementary School has been so keen they've got a dozen children on a waiting list.

At Kelly Middle School, a recent back-to-school picnic drew an unprecedented number of Hispanic families - probably because they'd heard about it during personal home visits over the summer from bilingual school employees.

At North Eugene High School, students with shaky English language skills are no longer jettisoned straight from English Language Learner (formerly English as a Second Language) classes into mainstream language arts classes, where in the past they often would fail.

All three schools - along with 10 others throughout Eugene - are the recipients of "pilot equity grants" awarded by the Eugene School District this summer. The grant projects vary, depending on the existing programs and student needs at each school, but they share the same aim: to lessen the so-called "achievement gap" that exists among students of different races and economic classes.

The district set aside $293,700 for the grants in its 2002-03 budget, despite having to cut teaching positions and programs to close an

$8 million budget shortfall this year. The district's financial situation may worsen still, depending on the outcome of a special session of the state Legislature and a statewide election Tuesday on two school funding measures.

Against such a bleak fiscal backdrop, having money to actually launch something new has left staff at some of the 13 schools giddy.

"For me, it's a big blessing," said Kelly Middle School Principal Tim Rochholz, whose school received the single largest grant at $46,000. "This is a group of kids that's most at-risk. ... Before, we could talk achievement gap all we wanted, but we really weren't able to put much funding behind our talk. This is not a savior, but at least it's a start."

Erasing the disparity in academic performance is the district's primary focus this year. To that end, district officials and staff from the neediest schools have met repeatedly over the past year to talk strategy. The district invited schools last spring to come up with proposals and apply for the one-year grants.

As is the case at Kelly, most of the pilot projects target Hispanics, the fastest-growing segment of the district's student population. While enrollment overall is slipping, the number of Hispanic students is increasing rapidly, especially at the elementary schools.

About 17 percent of Kelly's enrollment last year was Hispanic, and Rochholz believes the figure is higher this year. Districtwide, Hispanics make up about 6 percent of the 18,000-strong student body.

Kelly got a jump on its efforts with the summer home visits, handled by a teacher and two instructional assistants. The three visited every one of the school's Hispanic families, 74 in all, Rochholz said.

Instructional assistant Patricia Francola, who visited 26 of those, said families were appreciative. She told them the principal wanted to make sure they felt welcome and connected, and she described some of the new programs aimed at helping their kids. Those include additional English Language Learner classes; regular reading and math assessments; a mentor program; and additional staff training on effective teaching strategies for non-English speaking students.

"It was a relief to them to know that somebody will be there who speaks their language and that the principal was so thoughtful in thinking to send someone to reach parents," Francola said.

Time and time again, she said, parents told her they'd always felt excluded, lost and disengaged from the public schools.

That was one of the findings in last year's Latino Youth Project Survey, which school officials used as a source to help them plan their proposals. The survey, commissioned by Centro LatinoAmericano and supervised by the Oregon Social Learning Center, identified a range of factors that work against Hispanic teens reaching graduation. Funded by a Lane Workforce Partnership grant, the survey was conducted by Hispanic teens.

Carmen Urbina, executive director of Centro LatinoAmericano, said she's pleased that the district has turned to the survey, and that it's been willing to earmark scarce funds to help boost achievement among Hispanic students.

"It's enabling these buildings to do that extra step and do something for these students," said Urbina, who serves on the district's Budget Committee.

She said she's just beginning to hear feedback from some of the families her agency serves.

"We're starting to hear things like, 'Oh, they have this at our school,' ' she said.

At River Road-El Camino del Rio, a $30,000 equity grant has allowed the school to offer an all-day kindergarten, something officials believe is unprecedented. With the exception of a handful of extended-day kindergarten programs over the years, elementary schools have offered only half-days.

The school absorbed students from Whiteaker Elementary School when that school closed last year, and it now has the district's highest percentage of Hispanic students. But the all-day kindergarten aims to boost achievement among all kids who may benefit.

"We want them to get a good start," Principal Sara Cramer said. "For some kids, (a half-day) just isn't enough. We know they need more time for learning."

Almost half of the 30 children enrolled come from Spanish-speaking families, teacher Kay Softich said. While it's far too early in the year to measure progress, she said it's clear that many of the students were ill-equipped for school.

"A lot of the children are coming to school and they don't understand some of the basic procedures," she said, noting that a few didn't know how to hold a pencil or cut with a pair of scissors. Once they've covered the basics, she said, the children will be assessed and grouped by skill level. While the program's emphasis is reading, the children will have units on science, math, social studies and art, she said.

Three other grant recipients - Harris, Patterson and Howard elementaries - also are using equity funds to extend their kindergarten programs.

North Eugene High, which has the district's highest poverty rate, is using its $33,500 grant to augment existing programs and start new ones. Brand new is an English class targeting students who have completed English Language Learner classes but aren't ready for mainstream English courses.

"The idea is to have this as a steppingstone," said teacher Chris Tofte, who has 20 students in her class this term. So far, the students are writing daily journal entries and reading aloud together in groups, but eventually they'll concentrate on individualized reading and study, along with career research and speech.

North Eugene's grant funds are also being used to purchase new software for English Language Learner students and Spanish textbooks; conduct home visits to Hispanic families; and offer one regular class each term - such as health or social studies - taught in Spanish.

No other district school offers the latter, Principal Peter Tromba noted. It's a controversial idea, and critics would argue that it's better for students if they're forced to learn in English. But Tromba believes that can exacerbate the high school dropout problem among Hispanics.

The dropout rate for Oregon Hispanics in 2000-01 was 11.3 percent, more than double the overall rate of 5.3 percent, according to the state Department of Education.

Jim Slemp, assistant superintendent for policy and administration, said the district hopes that it can continue and even expand the programs at all 13 schools next year, although the funding picture is more than a little cloudy.

"We're looking every place we can (for funds)," said Slemp, who led an "equity team" that came up with a broad proposal earlier this year to address the achievement gap. "Clearly, we have this identifiable need, and we believe we're in a unique position to do something about it proactively and be a model."

EQUITY GRANTS

Thirteen schools, along with the district's English Language Learner program, received equity grants, which were funded primarily with district funds but also $50,000 in federal grant money

English Language Learner program: $17,200 to boost interpreting and translating services throughout the district

Churchill High: $25,000 for Hispanic family outreach and mentoring; a reading program for struggling freshmen; a "Community Connections" class focusing on study skills and college planning; and a yet-to-be-designed summer program

North Eugene High: $33,500 for additional English Language Learner and Spanish-taught classes; new software and textbooks; and staff training

Jefferson Middle: $10,000 for mentor and parent involvement programs

Kelly Middle: $46,000 for Hispanic family outreach; additional English Language Learner classes; a mentor program; new computer equipment; and staff training

Kennedy Middle: $28,000. Proposal details unavailable.

Madison Middle: $28,000 for a summer program focused on reading and math and a Latino Student Support Program that includes a homework and after-school club, tutoring, mentoring and a parent liaison

Meadowlark Elementary: $8,000 for Spanish/English interpreting and translating services.

Harris, River Road-El Camino del Rio and Patterson elementaries: $63,000 for extended- or full-day kindergarten programs

Howard Elementary: $21,000 for an extended-day kindergarten program for all students and family involvement program that includes home visits, literacy classes and outreach to Hispanic families

Washington Elementary: $4,000 for a Spanish-speaking office employee

Westmoreland Elementary: $10,000 for Spanish/English interpreting and translating services.

- Eugene School District

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INSIDE Education Extra: Faces and Places, a book selection and a calendar of school events / 4B