Letter to the Editor: A Response to "Capistrano Unified School District Welcome 200 'Newcomers'"

Editor’s Note: This article is in response to a story on the San Juan Capistrano Patch that was written and posted by a Star Patcher, or a Patch user, and was not run through the Patch editorial team.

The story, Capistrano Unified School District Welcomes 200 “Newcomers,” appearing in the San Juan Capistrano Patch on November 19, 2014, is taken out of context, factually inaccurate, and demands a response from the District.

The conversation at the CUSD Board of Trustees meeting of October 22, 2014, focused on the District’s Local Control Accountability Plan, commonly known as LCAP, and supporting the District’s total English Learner population. The LCAP was created with full participation from the community CUSD serves. The writer misinterpreted the term “newcomer” mentioned in the dialog as among the unaccompanied children who arrived in the U.S. as part of the recent influx of immigrant minors from Mexico and Central American countries.

Per CUSD’s records, no unaccompanied immigrant children were enrolled in the District. New students to CUSD, regardless of their country of origin, arrived with their parents/guardian and reside in the District. CUSD currently has approximately 130 English Learner Newcomers (in the U.S. less than 12 months) from a total enrollment of 50,000 students. Only 13 have homeless status (doubled-up, shelter, hotel/motel, or unsheltered due to economic hardship).

Alan Trudell

Interim Chief Communications Officer

Capistrano Unified School District