Although those services chew up a lot of money, Erlacher said it is important to get parents involved.

"Ideally, I would like to work with the whole family," he said.

Erlacher firmly believes schools ought to be community centers, open 24 hours a day.

For refugees, it would provide language instruction and courses on parenting, shopping, using the bus and operating a washer and dryer. Of course, all of that would come with a cost that education isn't prepared to bear.

But Erlacher does whatever he can to keep Mountain View open from dawn till well past dusk. Adult ESL classes are currently taught in the evening.

Many refugee children don't want to go home after the closing bell. They stick around for afternoon programs and hang out at the playground well after that. Their seeming attachment to the school has pros and cons.

Erlacher recently had to perform first aid on a Somali Bantu boy who suffered a gash on his forehead on the playground after school ended for the day.

It took him a while to track down the boy's parents but he eventually found them. Seeing the wrap, they assumed he'd already been to the doctor. Erlacher explained the boy needed stitches. A school intern ended up taking them to the hospital.

None of that seems to faze Erlacher. It goes with the territory. He'll do whatever he can to span the educational and social divide, be it throwing open the school doors or modifying an earthquake drill.

There are rewards for his efforts.

He pointed out a poster on the library window listing the school's top eight accelerated reading students. Four are refugees.

---

Coming Friday: A richness of diversity.

E-mail: romboy@desnews.com, lucy@desnews.com