ENGLISH PROGRAM FOR BLACKS LAUDED : BOUDREAUX SEEKS PLAN'S EXPANSION.

Byline: Janet Gilmore Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles school board member Barbara Boudreaux said Thursday she will ask the district to expand a program designed to boost standard English proficiency among some African-American students.

Boudreaux, after a meeting with African-American educators at her home, said she was not proposing that Los Angeles follow the Oakland school board's lead in formally declaring African-American English a separate language.

But she said more teachers must understand and respect so-called Ebonics and use it as an educational tool.

``The Los Angeles Unified School District is in favor of teaching standard English to all of our learners,'' Boudreaux said. ``It is important that we use any means necessary to make sure every child in (the district) becomes proficient in the English language.''

Since 1990, L.A. Unified has operated a language development program for some African-American students in an attempt to teach children standard English without demeaning or discouraging the speech patterns and grammatical structures they learned at home.

Superintendent Sid Thompson said 25,000 district students have participated in the program but more money - up to $6 million - is needed to begin spreading it to schools in the San Fernando Valley and L.A.'s Westside.

Boudreaux said she will propose at the Jan. 13 school board meeting that the district find money to augment such programs - whether through federal or state funds or through money saved by axing programs that are not successful.

Boudreaux, who will meet with community leaders to draft her proposal, said she convened Thursday's summit in her living room to promote a free flow of ideas.

People packed her living room, overflowing into hallways, a dining room and out the front door.

Among them were representatives from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the Black American Political Association of California.

Elected officials included representatives from the Compton and Inglewood school districts, Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden and Assemblyman Rod Wright (D-South Central Los Angeles).

But as the meeting wrapped up, the most outspoken participants were educators, parents and school volunteers who stressed the importance of standard English along with the need for teachers to respect Ebonics.

``I speak Ebonics, and I can flip over and speak (standard) English if I choose to,'' said parent Denice Myles. ``I believe all students need to be bilingual . . . but we need to get jobs.''

Dennis Spurling, a one-time L.A. Unified student now attending Grambling State University, said he has seen high school and even college students hesitate to speak up in class because they fear being ridiculed.

``Teachers are doing a poor job,'' he said. ``It's not just the teachers' fault. Parents are not expecting from kids what they should.''

Spurling believes that Ebonics, as a teaching tool, will bridge the gap.

``Wherever you are you want to be able to speak the language of the people,'' Spurling said.

Glenn Brown, vice president of the Los Angeles chapter of BAPAC, read a prepared statement commending Boudreaux for her efforts and supporting Oakland Unified School District officials ``for their bold and creative leadership.''

``We must be able to try new ideas,'' Brown said.

Last month, the Oakland school board declared Ebonics, or ``black English,'' a second language and announced plans to train teachers to translate Ebonics in the classroom.

Boudreaux and Thompson said Oakland's announcement drew fire because the public thought instructors would teach Ebonics to students, not merely use it as a tool to teach standard English.

In the L.A. Unified program for African-American students, teachers learn of historical and cultural aspects of Ebonics and different techniques that may help students learn standard English.

Teachers, for example, may translate a sentence from Ebonics into standard English, said Thompson.

``You don't have to teach Ebonics,'' Thompson said. ``These are kids are coming in with that (speech) pattern.''

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Photo: Board of Education member Barbara Boudreaux talks to African-American community leaders about the use of Ebonics as a tool for teaching English.

Terri Thuente/Daily News