District: Learn another language

GLENDALE — The Glendale Unified School District Board of Education this week moved one step closer to finalizing consequences for 130 teachers who lack a state teaching credential.

Teachers who have not obtained the Crosscultural Language and Academic Development credential, or who have not demonstrated an effort to obtain their CLAD, risk being removed from classrooms after June. If teachers who need certification do nothing, they could face possible termination before the start of the 2011-12 school year.

School board members are expected to adopt the proposals at its Dec. 15 meeting.

“It has benchmarks built in and gives teachers essentially a year-and-a-half to earn [the CLAD],” said John Garcia, assistant superintendent for human resources.

But teachers who do not make progress toward the credential, or CLAD, by the end of this school year will have that denoted in their personnel files if the proposal is approved, board member Joylene Wagner said.

The CLAD affects teachers hired after the 2002-03 school year who did not earn the credential as part of their university programs.

Tami Carlson, president of the Glendale Teachers Assn., asked board members to consider the Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English approach that fulfills the CLAD requirement in education law.

“It’s actually better for helping teachers instruct English language leaners and all students,” she said. “It’s just good teaching technique, whereas CLAD classes and tests are primarily, if not entirely, theoretical.”

Getting all of the district’s 1,160 teachers CLAD-certified has been a challenge for years. State auditors have taken issue with the slow progress, jeopardizing Glendale Unified’s standing with state and federal governments, administrators said.

“We need to have fully qualified teachers in our classrooms,” Wagner said. “Everything is getting more critical as we scramble like crazy for funding and look to the Feds for programs. We have to have all of our ducks in a row and show we are making every effort to serve our students, especially English language learners.”

Teachers would not be fired for lacking proper credentials, but could be disadvantaged in the rubric devised by district officials for any future lay-off process should budget conditions worsen, administrators said.

“By June 2010, we want our teachers to have started the process of moving toward getting the CLAD,” Garcia said. “If for some reason they have not by then, it gives them another year before any time of termination proceedings take place.”

Should layoffs unfold, teachers without proper certification would be disadvantaged compared to their fully certified colleagues, Garcia said.

The district is providing teachers up to $1,500 for university credits toward the CLAD and will reimburse teachers for any test-related expenses, Garcia said.

For the 2010-11 school year, teachers could likely be reassigned as day-to-day substitutes or other special assignments designated by district administrators, according to the proposal.