Education Week - February 25, 2015 - Special Report - S38

S38
EDUCATION WEEK LEADERS TO LEARN FROM
February 25, 2015 n
edweek.org/leaders
By Madeline Will
Richard A. Carranza
A One-Time English-Language Learner
Puts Premium on Bilingual, Bicultural Education
POSITION: Superintendent
DISTRICT: San Francisco Unified School District
EXPERTISE: English-Language-Learner Education
R
ichard A. Carranza first
stepped into a Tucson,
Ariz., kindergarten classroom
not speaking any
English. By 2nd grade,
the now-superintendent of
the San Francisco Unified
School District was fully bilingual.
Mr. Carranza's experience-growing up
in a Spanish-speaking home with parents
who were also bilingual-has shaped his
passion for language. It's also the driving
force behind his commitment to ensuring
that English-language learners in San
Francisco's public schools not only become
fluent in their new language, but also have
the opportunity to become fully fluent and
literate in their native one.
That passion has stuck with him throughout
his career in K-12 education: first as a
bilingual social studies teacher and principal
and then in various administrative
roles, including a stint as a regional superintendent
in Clark County, Nev., before
becoming superintendent of the 53,000-student
San Francisco district in June 2012.
Language, he believes and says repeatedly,
is an asset, not a liability.
"I think it's so important that language
becomes depoliticized and becomes what it
is-a vehicle for communication," Mr. Carranza,
48, said.
"We take the approach that everybody deserves
an excellent education," he said. "It's
not the student who's at fault [regarding]
whether they're learning or not. It's really
the system being able to meet the needs of
the students."
San Francisco Unified's English-language-learner
services are governed by the
Lau Action Plan, which outlines steps the
district must take to ensure students with
limited English proficiency receive sufficient
language instruction in English and
full access to the mainstream curriculum.
That plan stems from the 1974 U.S. Supreme
Court ruling in the landmark civil
rights case, Lau v. Nichols, that ordered
San Francisco's schools to provide Chinese
children who didn't speak or understand
English with a bridge to the curriculum.
That case greatly expanded the rights of all
children with limited English skills to receive
special language instruction to learn
English.
Bilingual Education
In part because of the Lau ruling, the
district has built up a robust offering of
language-learning pathways, even as many
districts around California either diminished
or did away with their bilingual
offerings in the wake of a 1998 state ballot
measure that put severe restrictions
on bilingual education. English-learners
can choose between an English-immersion
program or various multilingual pathways
that promote biliteracy.
"I don't see how any student is going to
be successful in the next 10 years without
being multilingual, without at least being
bilingual," Mr. Carranza said. "For us,
we see this as something that just has to
happen."
A study conducted by the school district
and researchers at Stanford University, and
published last year, found that students in
the district's English-only programs performed
better than their peers in bilingual
education programs in the early grades.
But by the 5th grade, students who received
instruction in two languages performed as
well as or, in some cases, better than their
English-immersion peers on English-proficiency
tests and academic-content exams.
The state law restricting bilingual education
requires districts to obtain parent
waivers in order for English-learner students
to be enrolled in programs with instruction
delivered in languages other than
English. San Francisco has about 15,000
English-language learners, and 35 percent
of them are in a language pathway requiring
a waiver.
In November 2016, California voters will
have a chance to repeal the law, which could
lead to more schools in the state following
San Francisco's lead to expand bilingual
and dual-language programs.
"It's important the state of California
recognizes that monolingualism is on the
way of black-and-white TV-just not current,"
Mr. Carranza said. "Why would you
not want to produce bilingual students in
the public education system? It baffles the
mind."
Jan Gustafson-Corea, the chief executive
officer of the California Association for Bilingual
Education, said San Francisco has
been a leader in systematizing bilingual
education.
"In order for that to happen, you have to
have a strong leader who believes in [bilingual
education]," she said of Mr. Carranza.
Making Learning Relevant
Under Mr. Carranza, the district has
made it a priority to work closely with local
universities to establish a reliable pipeline
for bilingual teachers.
Christina Wong, the special assistant to
the superintendent who oversees implementation
of the Lau Action Plan, said the universities
receive information about hiring needs
and new district initiatives to inform their instruction
and training of new teachers.
Still, finding teachers who are both bilingual
" I don't see how any student is going
to be successful in the next 10 years
without being multilingual, without at least
being bilingual. For us, we see this as something
that just has to happen."
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