hmong charter school proposed in sacramento

This news is several weeks old, but I wanted to share it... In Sacramento, a group of parents, educators and business professionals want to open a charter school that will focus on teaching Hmong children, who they say have largely fallen through the cracks at regular public schools: Charter school focusing on Hmong children proposed in Sacramento.

Hmong students in the Sacramento City Unified School District had the lowest scores –- collectively –- of all the district's ethnic groups on the English language arts section of standardized tests last year and the year before. Here's a brief breakdown of the numbers:

BY THE NUMBERS

30,000 - Hmong in the Sacramento region.

18 – Percentage of Hmong third-graders in the Sacramento City Unified School District who were proficient in English in 2009.

14 – Percentage who were proficient in 2008.

17 – Percentage of the district's 1,791 Hmong students in kindergarten through sixth grade not enrolled as English language learners.

2010 – Year the Yav Pem Suab Academy would open.

300 – Initial enrollment.

The Yav Pem Suab Academy would serve kindergartners through sixth-graders. It would focus on teaching methods tailored to helping Hmong students learn but, as a public school, will be open to all students.

The Sacramento City Unified School District's staff is expected to make a recommendation about approval of a charter for the Yav Pem Suab Academy at a special board meeting tonight. The board is scheduled to vote on the matter at its regular meeting on January 21. More here: Editorial: Sac Unified: Give Hmong schools a look.