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Board highlights bilingual staffing, teacher pay and incentive needs
Summary
Trustees discussed low bilingual achievement, difficulty recruiting certified bilingual/ESL teachers, and targeted support for educators including stipends and insurance during a Feb. 3 workshop.
Trustees at the Feb. 3 Team-of-8 workshop raised bilingual and ESL student performance as a high-priority gap and discussed targeted incentives and supports to recruit and retain certified bilingual and ESL teachers.
Trustee Becky Chavez, a former teacher, described challenges in staffing and resources for bilingual instruction and noted the district has struggled to find and retain certified bilingual teachers. "We're losing those bilingual experienced teachers...because there’s so many different levels that the students are there at," Chavez said.
The nut graf: trustees said improved bilingual outcomes require a combination of clearer board-level policy intent, targeted recruitment and higher-stakes incentives for bilingual/ESL teachers — and they asked staff to consider focused stipends and other supports in upcoming budgets.
Board members recounted a campus-level analysis showing specific federal indicators apply to students who are not assigned to a bilingual-certified teacher, and that increasing certification among ELA teachers at middle school could address some flagged indicators. Trustee participants suggested targeted incentives: the group discussed prior one-time stipends (an example figure cited was $4,000) and noted peer districts sometimes offer higher amounts (trustees mentioned up to $8,000 in comparison).
Staff also described existing supports such as Aflac insurance for employees and discussed a trustee-proposed charitable effort (referred to as “Blue Heart”) to provide emergency financial support for employees facing catastrophic illness — an idea trustees asked to explore further.
Ending: Trustees asked staff to propose incentive models and staffing scenarios, with attention to the strategic-plan goals and budget constraints, and to return recommendations before the March board meeting.
