A transcript of an oral history of Linda Coble, Director of Assessment and Staff Development for the Hillsboro School District, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Coble ensures that schools take action to lessen the achievement gap between the white students and Hispanic students, from Brown vs. Board of Education. The hispanic population is growing, it is projected to hit 40% by 2010. The district is working to develope programs to aid Hispanic students. This began with migrant schools and ESL, now includes SLOP and Read 180 (a visual aid to vocabulary), Spanish literacy and Hispanic students. The Office of Hispanic Outreach helps assess problems. McKinney Elementary has achieved most success at closing achievement gap.
A transcript of an oral history of Gus Balderas, Principal at Peter Boscow Elementary School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Balderas is from Mexico and was an ESL student until 6th grade. He has been an ESL teacher at Poynter Middle School and a counseling coordinator at Glencoe High School. Balderas was also vice principal at Poynter Middle School. The office of Hispanic Outreach led by Olga Acuña helps parents connect to school. Currently Boscow has about 400 students, 65% Hispanic, 60% ESL. The migrant Summer School program is a model for Oregon. Mr. Balderas expresses being partial to the dual language program as students learn language better at a younger age. Hispanic drop-out rates most tied to poverty. Hillsboro School District Hispanic population is 24.6%. Minorities are needed on leadership teams to add their “voice”. Two organizations that focus on support and student achievement are Union America and Latino Administrators.
A transcript of an oral history of Marcia Arganbright, Principal at Liberty High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Arganbright began working in Hillsboro in 1986. In 1987 she began teaching Spanish Literacy, Spanish for Spanish speakers, at Glencoe High School. She was also the home school consultant for the migrant education program, a teacher and principal of the migrant summer school. ESL students begin in mainstream classes with support from ESL classes, ESL staff, and classroom assistants. They gradually transition to regular school classes. Migrant summer program has preschool through high school classes. Hispanics have access to the county health department and the Virginia Garcia Clinic. Office of Hispanic Outreach, headed by Olga Acuña, is a service for parents. The school has a club for Hispanic students, Unidos, to give them a sense of belonging. Arganbright would like to see some bilingual classes and immersion classes. Basic premise of No Child Left Behind is good. Student Blanca Aguilar was Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the World Congress on Child Labor.
A transcript of an oral history of Janine Jacobs on May 30, 2002. She talks about the JagCrew program at Century High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. It is a mentoring program where juniors and seniors provide support to about 9-10 freshmen through their first year in high school. JagCrew is responsible for freshmen orientation and going to grade schools to give anti-bullying lessons. One of their biggest successes is the Breaking Down the Walls program where staff and students are invited to learn about the similarities between them all. New curriculum at the high school ended the JagCrew class, but the implementation of a zero period provides opportunity for its continuation. About 20-25 other schools in the Portland Metropolitan area also have a JagCrew program, but Century High School is different in that it offers a class and programs throughout the year.
A transcript of an oral history of Mario Alba, Principal at Thomas Middle School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Beside his job as principal, Mr. Alba belongs to Union America, an informal group of Hispanic administrators and teachers to be supportive of each other. The goal for the Hillsboro School District is to understand Hispanic culture and how it affects students learning. The large drop-out rate is believed to be partially due to family economic circumstances. They need to emphasize education as investment in their futures. Mr. Alba came to U.S. from Mexico in 1962 when he was 10. Grew up in Idaho and Salt Lake City, attended Brigham Young University. Has been in Hillsboro School District since 1966. Hispanic Outreach Program, at the time of the interview was being run by Olga Acuña. Alba has made efforts to hire both bilingual and bicultural people of Hispanic descent to help students achieve and as role models. In 1996 Mr. Alba and Carlos Perez were the only Hispanic administrators in Hillsboro, now there are five and more teachers. District has different teaching models, one is sheltered instruction, as students have different learning styles. He took part in the “Understanding Racism” Foundation course. Olga Acuña put together “The Night of Bohemians” at Century High School; a type of fine arts presentation by Hispanic students. Mr. Alba and Carlos Perez began a statewide program for Latino administrators, OALA or Oregon Association of Latino Administrators. They were also a part of URF a curriculum group, OLI also known as Oregon Latino Institute and OCHA the advancement of Hispanic students. The book “A Day Without Hispanics” explains the economic power of Hispanics as a group. Intercultural discrimination in Latin America between people of European descent and Native American descent.
A transcript of an oral history of Olga Acuña Castillo, Office of Hispanic Outreach (TOSA), on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. She is the Director of the Office of Hispanic Outreach in the Hillsboro School District. She works with all 32 schools in the district. There are 4600 Hispanic students in the Hillsboro School District. Ms. Castillo would like to have mentor program to help students advocate for themselves. She also explains during the interview that it would prove beneficial to empower parents. Having a grant from OEA or Oregon Education Association and NEA also known as the National Education Association would help with parental outreach programs. Century High School offers free English classes for parents. She would like to close the achievement gap from 9.8% to 4%. Ms. Castillo will be the principal for the Migrant Summer School this year. 75% Hispanic students receive free or reduced lunch. The district will be providing “Understanding Racism” classes for administrators, staff, and students. Students continue ESL to attain Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency or CALP, takes 7-10 years to reach this level. There is currently dual language immersion program at two elementary schools, W.L. Henry and Minter Bridge. Adelle Hughes has a similar position in the Portland school district. Ms. Castillo has chosen to attend international conference on child labor in Florence, Italy.
A transcript of an oral history of Alice Woodall, Teacher at Poynter Middle School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Woodall explains that within the district there are three stages of ESL classes, starting with the basics of learning English. Hillsboro School District continues to teach students how to read and understand English textbooks through high school. School principal Mike Scott has been supportive of outreach programs.
A transcript of an oral history of Ron Webb, Health Teacher and Athletic Director at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Webb has taught some ESL health classes and helped with the Hispanic soccer clubs outside the OSAA. Recently the number of migrant Hispanic students has dropped. However, as the Hispanic population has increased, more students are involved in the soccer program at school.
A transcript of an oral history of Alice Tijerina, Home School Consultant at Thomas Middle School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Tijerina has lived in Hillsboro since 1966 and has been a Hispanic liason with State representative John Meek. She is currently a home school consultant and works with the migrant program. Some goals of the school district are to decrease the drop-out rate and recruit bicultural teachers. Tijerina expresses her feeling that the ESL program can sometimes segregate the students too much. She would like to see a bilingual program for all students. She received a scholarship from OSU for a Bilingual Teacher Pathway program. They are in partnership with the district to recruit bilingual teachers. She will do an internship with the ESL program.
A transcript of an oral history of Sonta Thompson, Teacher at David Hill Elementary School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Thompson was adopted in the U.S. from an orphanage in Guatemala. She began attending school when she was about seven years old in second grade. At the time there were not many minority students in school.
A transcript of an oral history of Jerry Taylor, Counseling Department Chair at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. There are two scholarships available to minority students; the Nicky Squire and Gordon Vapor scholarships. Mr. Taylor explains he would like a way to honor ESL students who transition quickly to the regular curriculum. Mr. Keller helps Hispanic students research career paths, with the help of the ELL teacher and the ECOS computer program. There are many opportunities at PCC (Portland Community College) also. He feels the school district was not sensitive to Hispanics when they moved students from the Main St. area to Liberty High School where there is no mass transit system. Maria Hernandez in the counseling department helps incoming Hispanic students with available programs and curriculum. Some Hispanic students are only interested in learning English – not in getting a diploma.
A transcript of an oral history of Charlie Strohm, Campus Security Monitor at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Strohm is the Campus security monitor at Century High School. He is challenged by the language and cultural barriers when involved with the Hispanic students. Mr. Strohm explains his feelings that the school could do more to help all students understand each group’s culture, to help students integrate better.
A transcript of an oral history of Roberto Sanchez, ESL Teacher at Glencoe High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Sanchez came to the U.S. at age 17 and worked his first year here. Later he enrolled at Glencoe High School at age 18, and graduated in 1992. While attending Glencoe High School, Sanchez partcipated in the ESL program. After graduating, he went back to Mexico, but would return to attend Oregon State University. Mr. Sanchez is working on getting parents more involved with their children’s education and school. Some elementary schools have a dual program, where students are taught in English and Spanish.
A transcript of an oral history of Manuel Ruiz, Head Custodian at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Manuel was educated in the Hillsboro School district, graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1979. Started working in high school with the SETA program, designed to give kids job experience. Was part of the ESL program thru 7th and 8th grade at Poynter Junior High. as a son that goes to Miller Ed., and alternative school with programs (CREATE), for students struggling in regular school. Feels that school sometimes pushes kids through that haven’t really learned what they needed to graduate.
A transcript of an oral history of Gina Rolleto, Teacher at Mooberry Elementary School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Gina is from Yakima, Washington and began as an elementary classroom teacher in Oregon. She saw the large migrant Hispanic community in Hillsboro and became an ESL instructor. Important for ESL to provide a variety of teaching strategies. Focus on content English, which concentrates on teaching academic English needed for school classes. Union America is a group of Hispanic certified teachers and administrators that came out of the Hillsboro Strategic Plan and was begun by Joe Rodriguez, the Hillsboro School District superintendent. Mulberry is a reading-first school where all students are required to have 90 minutes of reading time in English. Part of this program is a reading assessment called D.I.B.B.L.S., designed by the University of Oregon.
A transcript of an oral history of Delia Perez, ESL Teacher at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Perez began as a community college teacher in California. At the time of the interview Perez was an ESL teacher at Century and was on the committee for the Hispanic Outreach Program in Hillsboro. The program is aimed at parents and educates them on how to become more involved in their children’s education. It is the goal of the program to reach as many as 200-300 parents. There are many programs to help the Hispanic students; Spanish News, the club Latinos Sin Fronteras, Hispanic Outreach, migrant summer program, and Boys and Girls club. James Olmos produced an educational TV series called “Mi Familia”. A Tutoring Program is available after school to help students. Olga Acuña is the director of the Hispanic Outreach Program.
A transcript of an oral history of Alberto Peirano, ESL Assistant at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Alberto Peirano is a teacher’s aide in an English survival class. He helps Hispanics as well as Vietnamese. Hispanic population is growing, so programs like ESL, English survival, and migrant programs will continue. However, Mr. Peirano expresses his feelings that there needs be more focus on education among Hispanic parents.
A transcript of an oral history of Denny Mann, retired Counselor at Brown Middle School and Hillsboro High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Mann began teaching English and Social Studies in 1967 in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1974 Mann attended Portland State University for graduate school and was a teacher/counselor for the migrant program in Washington County, North Plains. In 1977 he was hired by the Hillsboro School District and was a counselor at Brown Junior High for 19 years. For seven years Mann worked as a counselor at Hillsboro High School. Mr. Mann worked in the Migrant program for 20 years, during which he was a home school consultant, a teacher, and then head teacher/principal. The number of Hispanic migrants continued to grow, coming mainly from Mexico, Texas and California. Teachers in the migrant program were bilingual and classes were taught in English and Spanish. During the interview mann explains that most of the staff was hired from the ESL programs in Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Forest Grove. Students also came from Guatemala, Chile, and other South American countries. In the late 70s to early 80s there was a large influx of Asian students into ESL program because of Vietnam. The first director of migrant education in Oregon was Jose Garcia, previously a Hillsboro High School teacher. The opening of the Virginia Garcia Clinic in Washington County offered free or near-free health care to migrant families which was a huge impact on the community. The availability of free healthcare and a migrant school program have made Washington County a leader in attracting migrant families to the area. The current director of Hillsboro’s migrant program is Henry Wiens.
A transcript of an oral history of Berta Lule, Teacher at W.L.Henry Elementary School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. The school is in it first year of the dual immersion program which starts in Kindergarten. It is a choice offered by the school. 70% of students are Spanish speaking. Prior to the beginning of the program some students were lost to Forest Grove and Beaverton schools. The school does still continue to have the option of the ESL program. Ms. Lule was born in Mexico, moved to California at age 5, and then to Oregon at age 9. In 2000 was a part of planning strategies to improve Hispanic drop-out rate. Ms. Lule employs GLAD or Guided Language Acquisition Design training techniques. Some of these techniques include visuals, vocabulary, and writing. The author Alma Florado, from San Francisco, brought a reading/writing outreach program for parents and students to the school.
A transcript of an oral history of Claude Landauer, English and ESL Teacher at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Students coming from ESL are proficient in English and do well in class, sometimes working harder than non Hispanic students. During the interview, Landauer explains how he would like to see more mainstream teachers that are Hispanic and teachers that speak Spanish. He feels that dual immersion is an interesting idea but challenging, and impossible long-term if teachers are not bilingual. He explains his recent involvement in taking Spanish for educators and his reading of literature from South America and Mexico, as this has allowed him to better understand the culture.
