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Teachers, parents urge El Monte Union to keep ELD counselors and restore calculus and language sections
Summary
Educators, students and union representatives told the school board May 7 that English-learner counselor posts and certain course sections — including calculus AB, Mandarin and French 3 — should be retained and made permanent to meet students' needs.
Multiple teachers and staff urged the El Monte Union High School District Board during public comment on May 7 to preserve positions and class sections that district educators say serve vulnerable students.
Jeff Bolin, a longtime Mountain View High School math teacher, told the board the calculus program is “struggling” and said site leaders and teachers had been promised support after preregistration data showed sufficient cohorts. “We need to offer calculus AB to our students,” Bolin said, arguing that colleges often expect calculus on high-school transcripts.
Several presenters, including instructional coaches and ELD instructors, asked the board to convert temporary English-learner counselor roles into permanent positions. “The addition of an English learner counselor … has had such a positive impact,” Dr. Chris Lewis, EMUEA representative, told the board, noting the office serves roughly 300 current English learners and described the counselor’s work with newcomers and long-term ELs.
Student speakers said preregistration numbers showed demand for classes that were at risk of being cut. Jeremiah Maldonado and Jesus Torres asked the board to restore French 3 and Mandarin and to expand ethnic studies offerings so future students will have consistent course choices.
Board members acknowledged the appeals and noted fiscal and scheduling constraints. Superintendent Eddie Zuniga and trustees asked staff to review class scheduling and staffing needs; the board discussed but did not take immediate action during the May 7 meeting. Under Brown Act rules read at the start of the meeting, the board said it cannot take action on items raised during public comment without placing them on a future agenda for formal action.
