A transcript of an oral history of Ms. Linehan, Teacher at Indian Hills Elementary School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. The interview is labeled “23.5” and conducted by Kate (Mitchell) and Chelsea (Niumatalolo), in May 2004. Hillsboro has implemented a Spanish Literacy program in which Hispanic ESL students are taught to read in Spanish first, making it easier for them transition to reading English. Ms. Linehan expands on the increase in ESL programs after the 'No Child Left Behind” act went into effect, furthermore, they have become more accountable.The district has also implemented dual language programs in some schools: Henry, Boscoe, and Hill.
A transcript of an oral history of Ana Jiminez, Educational Assistant at Brown Middle School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. The interview was conducted by Kathy Chin and Alyssa Larrabee on 5-25-2004; it is labeled “22”. Has a son at Tobias elementary school, feels the school could do more to translate information for parents into Spanish. The Office of Hispanic Relations, headed by Olga Acuña, is working hard to improve parent involvement. Dual immersion programs are good for giving ESL students good basic foundation in Spanish so they can learn English easier.
A transcript of an oral history of Jay Hernandez, Teacher at Brookwood Elementary School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Hernandez has 10-20 students of Hispanic background in his classes and also teaches in the Migrant Summer School program. In ESL he tried to use a more tactile, reality-based learning. Students who can read and write well in their own language have an easier time learning a second language. During the interview he esxpresses the need to show Hispanic parents and students examples of Latinos being successful, going to college and having careers. Furthermore that there should be more consistency and continuity in the ESL programs in all the schools.Overall this would prove extremely beneficial to the students as well as the community.
A transcript of an oral history of Saidah Haghighi, ESL Coordinator at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Haghighi was born in New York. Her mother is from Puerto Rico and her father is from Iran. Growing up, both English and Spanish were spoken at her home. She never learned to speak Farsi. For 10 year of her life, she lived in South America where she worked in a private Catholic boys’ school. In Hillsboro, the district has Spanish Outreach for the community, for parents and adults.
A transcript of an oral history of Jill Follett, ESL Teacher at Century High School, on Hispanics in the HIllsboro schools. Jill Follett started at Century High School when it opened and was a case manager for incoming students and was an ESL teacher. During the course of the interview, he explains that his feeling that teachers can make better determination of students ready to leave ESL program. The district has the Hispanic Outreach Program and the Migrant Office to help students. Teachers need more training in dealing with ESL students in their classes.
A transcript of an oral history of Jonathon Fernow, Teacher on Special Assignment, Title III (ESL), on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Fernow is currently the ESL TOSH or Teacher on Special Assignment for the Hillsboro School District for Title 3 ESL. Mr. Fernow has also been teaching in the Migrant Summer Camp Program since 1995. He was born in Argentina and schooled in Spanish thru 7th grade. After attending Gresham High School, Fernow went on to attend Warner Pacific College, where he earned an Elementary Education degree. He has taught ESL at all levels, including at Glencoe High School, J.B. Thomas Middle School, and David Hill Elementary Schools. Also during his career, he was principal at a school in the Cayman Islands. Has been a classroom teacher, Resource teacher, and Head teacher (principal) in the Summer Camp program. At the elementary level teaches basic vocabulary and Spanish Literacy. To transition from ESL classes to English, must receive a 4 on a “Woodcock Muños”. Hillsboro has the highest percentage of students exiting ESL in Oregon. Mr. Fernow wrote a report in 1995 on the drop-out rate of Hispanic students in the Hillsboro School District. It was his thesis project for his Master’s Degree at Linfield College. Some of the causes for dropping out were economic reasons, or starting a family at an early age. Some came to high school with only 3rd or 4th grade education and found school to be extremely hard. There are several programs to help dropouts finish their education, for example: Miller Education, PASS program, Migrant Summer Camp program. Hillsboro District is incorporating SIOP program (Sheltered Instruction Objective Protocol), where every lesson has a direct goal and language objective. According to Mr. Fernow one of the best teaching models is the ESL program as it teaches students in dual-language. The “No Child Left Behind” act made ESL students more visible and schools looking for ways to better meet their needs.The State of Oregon expects 11-13% of ESL students to exit the program after five years.
A transcript of an oral history of Maria Fernandez, ESL/Migrant Facilitator at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Maria Fernandez works with the Migrant Worker Program. Students from Mexico face language and cultural barriers. The Hillsboro Outreach program is providing more agencies to help the students. During the interview Fernandez explains the need for parents to be educated about our system. As a result they would be able to more effectively help their children. The Migrant Worker Summer School program helps kids keep up with English skills as well as classes. However, she retierates the need for more Hispanic mentors for students and parents.
A transcript of an oral history of Ruben Degollado, ESL Teacher at Poynter Middle School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Degollado is on the Hispanic Outreach Committee which helps parents. Olga Acuña leads the Office of Hispanic Outreach in the district. At the beginning of the program, students start in ESL focusing on language, vocabulary, and American society. Afterwards they move to classes and are then mainstreamed into English classes. Two types of English are taught and are a part of the learning process – BLCS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALPS (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Skills). Degollado was recruited into the Hillsboro School District by Mario Alba for the 1999-2000 school year. During the interview, Mr. Degollado explains his involvement in Unión América, which helps Latino teachers stay connected and get retraining when needed. He goes on to discuss his intended role in administration next year along with Gus Balderas, Adelia Schofield, Mario Alba and Carlos Perez. Principal Mike Scott influenced Mr. Degollado’s decision to teach in Hillsboro instead of Woodburn. Degollado also expresses his thoughts regarding student acclimation. He references research done at Virginia Collier which proved that students who are better acclimated to American culture do better in school. A huge help to this at the high school has been Charlene Rivera, one of the home school consultants in the counseling center. Ms. Rivera is bilingual and is dedicated to helping students adjust. One of the tasks Mr. Degollado has worked on this year has been using the money from the Project Task Grant to offer ESL classes to parents within the community. He also states the recent recognizing of The Office of Hispanic Outreach and now works with NEA.
A transcript of an oral history of Francisco Cortez, ESL Assistant at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. At the time of the interview, Mr. Cortez was an ESL assistant at Century High School and also a juvenile counselor for Washington County. He started the Muvimientos Estudental Chicano de Aslan club, also known as M.E.C.H.A. at Century High School to help Hispanic students go on to higher education. It was started in the 1960s by some Hispanic college students in California. The club was replaced by Latinos Sin Fronteras. He also started a soccer club, Azteca, for off-season play. Believes the ESL program is good for students for 2-3 years and then they should be immersed in English classes. Mr. Henry Wiens and Mr. Cortez’s brother helped to start the Summer Migrant program. Feels Hispanic students need more education in civic law, sex education and accountability. He met Caesar Chavez at Mt. Angel Abbey as a child, and marched with him in Hillsboro during the grape and lettuce boycott.
A transcript of an oral history of Pat Cochran, Art Teacher at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Cochran began teaching at Hillsboro High School in 1991 and moved to Century High School in 1997. At the time of the interview, she was teaching four levels of art. According to Cochran, at times language can be a barrier. Nevertheless, the students are at least visually engaged inlearning rather than listening. Overall, Century does a good job meeting student needs, however, the district could do better. The ESL programs are good, yet Ms. Cochran explains additional spanish lessons could prove beneficial. In class they have studied Frieda Callow and Diego Rivera.
A transcript of an oral history of Charles Cleveland, Social Studies Teacher at Hillsboro High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Cleveland has been a soccer coach for over thirty years and has worked with many Hispanic students who had previous experience playing soccer. Cleveland has also worked in the Summer Migrant program teaching social studies. During the interview, he also discussed his time spent working in the International High School at Hillsboro High School with the State Model United Nations program. The Summer Migrant program started in 1980 for out-of-state children who left their schools before end-of-term to work in the fields. The program allowed them to take classes that they were missing, and was also a social outlet. The program was held at Evergreen Middle School and Glencoe High School. Later in the interview, Cleveland recalls a summer spent in Guadalajara and his experiences in a foreign country and not being fluent in the language. As a result, he reiterates the importance of both these programs and the integration of students within the school community.
A transcript of an oral history of Jason Baca, Science and ESL Biology Teacher at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Baca arrived at Century High School four years ago and began teaching science to ESL class, ESL-integrated class, and a biology class. Generally speaking, the goals is for ESL students to be mainstreamed after 3-4 years. One of the concerns of Mr. Baca is the involvement of the 'Hispanic parents'. However, both the students and parents seem very positive about programs for Hispanic students. Two of the district liaisons have been Ms. Acuña and Ms. Igigi. Within the school there are also ESL programs based in Cambodian and Vietnamese.
A transcript of an oral history of Maricruz Serrata, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. In 1989 Maricruz Serrata and her family emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. They settled in Hillsboro where they already had relatives. Her parents were well educated in Mexico and often stressed the importance of a good education. She was in ESL only in Kindergarten and later was placed in English classes. Miss Serrata expresses her favor towards emmersion in English classes rather than continual ESL. She has received a college scholarship from the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber.
A transcript of an oral history of Edwin Rangel-Ramirez, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ramirez is a sixteen-year-old student at Century High School. His parents emigrated from Mexico, but he was born in the U.S. His family emphasizes a good education for better opportunities. Edwin participated in ESL classes until 8th grade. Mr. Ramirez explains his thoughts about increased interaction between ESL and English classes to help the students feel more comfortable with each other.
A transcript of an oral history of Miriam Ramirez, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Miss Ramirez is a student at Century High School and is an anchor person for the Spanish News program. Three years ago she came from Mexico and began participating in both the ESL program and the summer school program. She is a member of Latinos Sin Fronteras, a Hispanic club focused on education and getting students involved in school.
A transcript of an oral history of Ismael Millan, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ismael Millan was born in the U.S., only his father emigrated from Mexico. His parents are very supportive of his education, and would like him to graduate high school and go on to college. He explains that two of the programs that help Hispanic students with college applications and scholarships are the “Project Plus” and “Project Connection”. Hillsboro School District provides an ESL program and Spanish news.
A transcript of an oral history of Veronica Guzman, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. The transcript contains Guzman’s answers to questions only. Miss Guzman and her family are from Michoacan, Mexico. She is in the ESL program and also the Spanish news for Jag TV. She feels it helps Hispanic students become more involved in school. She is also in the Hispanic club, Latinos Sin Fronteras.
A transcript of an oral history of Marle Guzman, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Marle is in ESL 2 at Century High School. She can read and understand English but has some trouble speaking which causes her to feel some discrimination. She would like to see more classes with help for ESL students.
A transcript of an oral history of Jose Jesus Guzman, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Guzman emigrated from Mexico with his family to California when he was seven. His father had been in California for the previous two years and moved to Oregon to be near family. Mr. Guzman was in the ESL program and he found it very helpful. He learned about the Caesar Chavez movement, however, he did not become involved with it.
A transcript of an oral history of Flori Exiquio, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. She emigrated from Mexico with her family when she was an infant. They lived in California before moving to Oregon. Her family is very supportive of her education. She had ESL in elementary school and would like to see Hispanic students make more of an effort to use school support. Miss Exiquio is friends with diverse ethnic groups and feels comfortable. Exiquio had a teacher in 5th and 6th grade, Miss Crawford, who was very supportive and motivated her to do well.
A transcript of an oral history of Estella De Jesus Hernandez, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Estella immigrated from Guaca, Mexico with her family in 2002 when she was 17. Her father works in a nursery and applied for his family visas in 1995. She feels the school’s programs have been helpful to her and is currently still involved in ESL. Her brother attends the migrant summer school also. She plans to attend PCC to take daily ESL and would like to become a nurse.
