Learners

Gary Moskowitz A group of Armenian-American parents plans to tell the school board later this month about a discrimination issue they say has been brewing in Glendale for several years, and needs to stop. About 200 people, mostly parents and other residents, met Sunday night at St. Gregory's Armenian Church to discuss their concerns about the Glendale Unified School District's English Language Learner and English Language Development programs. Both programs serve the language needs of students whose primary language is not English or whose English is not proficient based on state standards.

Gary Moskowitz Glendale Unified School District is above the state average for non-English speaking students who are becoming proficient in English, according to recent district reports. The district this month released its 2003 Language Census Report, which it is required to do by state law. The report includes statistics on GUSD students whose primary language is not English. The report shows that Glendale Unified this year reclassified more than 15% of its English learners as proficient English speakers.

Gary Moskowitz When teacher specialist Adriana Pestonji teaches her Balboa Elementary School students English-language skills, she's motivated by her past. Pestonji, whose primary language was Spanish, also needed language support as a child, and understands the challenge English-language learners face at school. Results released last month for the California English Language Development Test show that Glendale Unified School District is reclassifying more -- more than 14% -- of its English-language learners as proficient in English, progress Pestonji and other specialists are happy to see. The state average is 8%. "I understand these kids," said Pestonji, 33. "I came from more of the "sink-or-swim" era, growing up in the '70s.

Gary Moskowitz After several years of attending nearly every meeting of Glendale Community College's Board of Trustees as an observer, Ara James Najarian will get his own seat in less than two weeks. Najarian received 8,608 votes in the April 1 election, and was the second-highest vote-getter, just 28 votes behind Kathleen Burke-Kelly. Appointed incumbent Anita Quinonez Gabrielian received the third-highest number of votes. The three will be sworn in at the board's April 21 meeting.

Gary Moskowitz Sherry Kully is thinking of one thing when she starts each new year of teaching at Columbus Elementary School: How can she turn her students into independent learners? Kully's belief is that by reducing the number of students in her classroom, she is better able to achieve that goal. On Tuesday the school board will continue to review and discuss a menu of suggested budget reductions during its regularly scheduled meeting. No action is expected to be taken.

Gary Moskowitz A districtwide push the past few years to make Glendale students more successful in mathematics appears to have born fruit, especially in the middle schools, Glendale Unified's 2002 standardized test results suggest. Based on the most recent results of the Stanford 9 Achievement Test, nearly all of Glendale's elementary, middle and comprehensive high schools scored above the 50th percentile on the math portion of the test. SAT 9 scores in reading, spelling and language were less impressive.

Ninety-nine new faces showed up for kindergarten at Columbus Elementary School on Monday morning, kicking off the school year for tracks A, B, and C at the year-round school. For many incoming kindergartners to Glendale Unified's year-round elementary schools, Monday was a big day -- the first day of school. Students at Columbus were among nearly 8,500 students enrolled in year-round elementary schools districtwide. While the morning could have been scary for the new students, most of the tears were shed by the parents watching their little ones begin a new chapter of their lives.

Gary Moskowitz LA CRESCENTA --To 18-year-old Migran Vartanyan, studying a cadaver is much more fascinating than studying a skeleton or a plastic model of a human body. His interest in science will motivate Vartanyan, Clark Magnet High School's 2002 valedictorian, to study neuroscience and molecular cell development at UCLA this fall. Vartanyan earned a 4.86 grade-point average while attending Clark and was one of 249 seniors to graduate from the school last week.

Marshall Allen GLENDALE -- Unsung heroes tend to shy away from recognition and are easily overlooked, but their presence is often the glue holding a school together, or an asset that few people appreciate until it's gone. Gretel Ujfalusy could be considered a hero to the students she's nurtured as a special education aide over the past 21 years at La Canada Unified's Palm Crest Elementary. Having no previous special education experience, Ujfalusy got a warm welcome when she interviewed.