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Board hears DLAC needs assessment; parents press district on Bloomington Business Park and transparency
Summary
Language Support Services presented DLAC results showing mixed progress for English learners and proposed focused action on designated ELD and long-term English learners; public commenters urged clearer community engagement and raised health and safety concerns about the Bloomington Business Park project.
The Colton Joint Unified School District board on Feb. 19 reviewed a DLAC (District English Learner Advisory Committee) needs assessment and heard public comments urging more transparent engagement on an industrial development proposed near district schools.
Wendy Moore, the district’s language support services director, presented survey and assessment data showing the district serves roughly 3,000 multilingual English learners and nearly 3,000 reclassified students. Moore said the district’s English learner progress indicator (ELPI) declined slightly from 48% to 44.3% between 2024 and 2025, placing the district in the "orange" band on the California dashboard, while distance-from-standard scores in English language arts and mathematics increased for multiple subgroups.
"We experienced a decline in our LP for multilingual English learners," Moore said, but added that ELA and math distance-from-standard rose for English learners and long-term English learners. Moore identified designated ELD and supports for long-term English learners as the two priorities for the coming year and outlined steps including targeted professional development, semester-designated ELD PD for teachers and site-level interventions.
Jasmine Garcia, a DELAC parent who joined the presentation, reviewed DLAC survey responses and said parents prefer email and text for communications, and Spanish-speaking respondents favored telephone calls and other direct outreach. Moore told the board the survey collected responses during DLAC and ELAC meetings and that sites also distributed the survey beginning in December.
During public comment, Tanya Gonzalez of the People's Collective for Environmental Justice asked the board to clarify how the Bloomington Business Park project would affect Zimmerman and other nearby schools, pressing the district for community meetings, clearer plans for construction safety and traffic monitoring, and asking whether the district would consider legal action to secure developer compensation for disrupted students. "Students need to be compensated since the previous developer backed down," Gonzalez said, and she asked how far students would be relocated if Zimmerman is moved.
Lisa Via, a lifelong Colton resident and former district employee, criticized the district's approach to inclusion and transparency, saying she was excluded from a committee on cell phone guidelines despite volunteering to participate. "Transparency means listening," Via said, adding she still wants the district to include outside perspectives.
Board members thanked presenters and supported parent orientation proposals for newcomers. Board members also asked for clarity on the sample size (Moore said about 30 responses were collected during the DLAC meeting and additional site responses were gathered), and the board discussed next steps to implement the recommended ELD strategies.
No new policy was adopted; Moore said the department will deliver semester 2 designated ELD professional development and continue site-level supports, LPAC practice testing and family engagement initiatives.
The board’s administrative agenda then moved to routine consent items and other business.
