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Hernando Today

Demographic Changes On Horizon For County Schools

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By LINNEA BROWN

Published: March 29, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE - A new report shows that a major increase in the Southeastern states' Hispanic population will force schools to focus more attention on Spanish-speaking students and Hernando County is no exception.

According to a report released last week by the Southern Regional Education Board report, Florida is one of three states expected to see "explosive growth" by more than 20 percent in the overall number of Hispanic high school graduates by 2022 — the year many current 4-year-olds will graduate from high school.

The report, "Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates by State and Race-Ethnicity 1992-2022," shows high school enrollment of Hispanic students in the region will more than double by that year, surpassing the national average. Florida, Georgia and Texas are expected to see the most growth.

In Hernando, the population of students enrolled in English Language Learners — or ELL — has grown considerably since 2005, after Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma walloped the southern half of the state, said Debbie Pfenning, a curriculum specialist for the Hernando County School District.

"Many residents moved north, and that (may be) why our ELL population grew," she said.

In fall 2006, Hernando schools had 508 students whose primary language was not English. Of those, 46 were white, 46 were Asian, nine were black and 399 were Hispanic, according to the Florida Department of Education's Web site.

This year, the total number jumped to 618. Overall, 6.1 percent of the district's student population was Hispanic.

While ELL students attend all the county's public schools, the majority live on the western side of the county and attend Spring Hill Elementary and J.D. Floyd K-8 in Spring Hill, Pfenning said.

The SREB report projects the number of Hispanic students enrolled in public schools will continue to rise in the Southeast, from 2.2 million in 2001 to 3.8 million in 2011. High school enrollment of Hispanic students in the region will more than triple, from 596,000 in 2001 to more than 1.7 million by 2019.

Since many of those students will come from traditionally undereducated families, educators must focus on helping them achieve high standards, the report said.

And as long as the state remains prepared, Hernando County is ready.

While the district does not offer bilingual education, it does provide state-mandated training for any teacher who has an ELL student placed in their class, Pfenning said.

"You can't cluster students. No teacher is isolated from (having to) get training," she said.

There are currently four ELL teachers that serve the district's 11 elementary schools, with a developmental teacher at each of the district's middle and high schools.

The complete, 300 hours of training — taken online or through a consultant — costs nearly $780 for all five required sessions, paid for by the district. Teachers are required to complete 60 hours of training for each year that they have an ELL student in their class.

But while district money pays for it, all rules regarding curriculum and training must come from the state, as required by a consent decree entered into in 1990 by the Florida Department of Education.

The consent decree establishes the state's ELL program and provides for student identification, assessment and equal access to appropriate programs.

In April, district officials will administer the state's new Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment to any student who answered yes to two or more questions on a home language survey, district testing specialist Linda Peirce said.

Statewide, 34,949 Hispanic students will graduate in 2008, doubling to 71,448 in 2022, according to the report. However, with Hernando County's growing unemployment rate and poor housing market, Pfenning said she does not expect to see local numbers increase anytime soon.

"I think it's going to level off, at least for now," she said.

SREB, a nonprofit organization created in 1948, advises state education leaders on improving education. It consists of 16 southern states, each represented by its governor, and four gubernatorial appointees.

For more information or to view Florida's annual education progress report, go to www.sreb.org.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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