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West Sacramento ESL teacher urges district help after Highlands Community Charter restructuring
Summary
An ESL teacher and site lead for Highlands Community Charter School told the Washington Unified School District board that the charter is reducing in‑person services and laying off staff, leaving many adult English learners in West Sacramento without beginner classes and asking the district to make adult ESL a priority.
Sarah Duane, an English‑as‑a‑Second‑Language teacher and site lead at Highlands Community Charter School, addressed the board during public comment on June 26 to urge support for displaced adult ESL students in West Sacramento.
Duane said Highlands is restructuring and is laying off "around 500 employees," with the school'wide program shrinking from serving about 13,000 students across its network to approximately 3,300 next year; she said the last day for affected staff is Monday. At the Highlands West Sacramento site she described, about 300 students attend and most are refugees and immigrants.
Duane told trustees the immediate local options for beginner adult ESL are limited: Sacramento City College does not offer beginning‑level classes, and Washington Adult School currently runs limited classes (previously four days per week, now two days for fewer hours) with a long waiting list. She said she has contacted Washington Adult School's director to alert them to the wave of displaced learners but warned the adult school will not be able to meet demand without district support.
"When parents improve their English, their children do better in school," Duane said, urging the board to prioritize Washington Unified adult education so families can access classes and the district can maintain family engagement and student supports.
Duane closed by asking the board to make adult ESL a future priority for the district and to consider how to absorb or coordinate services for displaced learners.
