By Ana Gomez Salcido 

Authorities of the Secretary of Education of Baja California and from the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) gathered at Mae L. Feaster Charter School to try to find ways to mutually improve their student strategies for success.

The reunion was this Thursday, August 18, and consisted of a presentation by CVESD officials and a tour of different classrooms so the Mexican education authorities could learn about the education system in California, specifically in Chula Vista.

The California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) organized the school visit.

CABE board member Norma Sandoval explained that CABE is a non-profit that focuses on increasing the learning skills of bilingual children.

“Hopefully this visit will be one of many. We want to create a seamless interaction between two nations, specifically between San Diego and Tijuana, so we can learn from one another,” said Francisco Escobedo, CVESD superintendent. “One of the things we can learn from each other are instructional practices that can enhance language acquisition, sharing assessments so we can be more uniform and we are following the student academic improvements.”

One of the programs presented to the Mexican visitors was the Dual Language Immersion program, and they visited different classrooms where this practice is implemented to help students improve their English skills.

“We are trying to focus on the students that migrate There are students that come to San Diego from Mexico and that have a problem getting used to the language,” said Baja California Education Deputy Secretary Leopoldo Guerrero Diaz. “We also have students in Tijuana that were deported from the United States and some of them don’t speak Spanish, so there is also an adaptation process there also.”

There are approximately 3,500 foreign students that transition into Baja California public schools each year, said the coordinator of the binational program of migrant education of the State Education System in Baja California, Yara Amparo Lopez Lopez.

There is a program for foreign students that come to Mexico and that don’t speak Spanish or that are not ready for instructional Spanish, said the Tijuana delegate, Adrian Flores Ledesma. “The program consists of a support group that gives them emotional support for the country change and also so they can get to know other students that face the same situation.

The binational meeting included the presence of Consul General of the Mexican Consulate in San Diego, Marcela Celorio, and CVESD board members.

“This collaboration is very important because there are a lot of times that we share students. They start in Tijuana and then come to San Diego. It’s to better look after these students,” said CVESD board member, Eduardo Reyes. “The collaboration is based on which strategies are giving better results in Tijuana and San Diego and explore them.”