L.A. School District Rejects All 42 Teachers From Spain

The Los Angeles school district, complaining of poor English skills, rejected all of 42 teacher applicants recruited from Spain to work in bilingual education programs.

“After careful evaluation, we have decided not to endorse the selection of any of the candidates,” said Kathy Price, the Los Angeles district’s administrative consultant for personnel. “That decision was primarily based on the poor level of their English skills. We didn’t feel they met the standards of the candidates we screen locally.”

The 42 teachers were to come to the district as part of a state contract with Spain’s Ministry of Education and Science in which 88 candidates were recruited for eight California districts for a four-year trial period.

Los Angeles, where 45% of the classrooms require bilingual teachers, is the only district so far to reject the Spaniards. Officials in San Francisco, San Bernardino and Garvey school districts said they had found the candidates qualified.

“I don’t really know what Los Angeles is doing,” said Tirso Serrano, the state official in charge of the project. “They made a commitment. This does not look very good on their part.”