HAYWARD -- Here's some advice for teachers who would like to increase their stock and perhaps avoid being laid off in the future: Get a BCLAD credential.

It's priceless.

When Hayward Unified School District officials began identifying teachers for layoffs several weeks ago, those with BCLAD -- or Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development -- credentials were exempted.

With a large number of students in the 36-campus system who speak little or no English, district officials felt they needed to place a higher premium on instructors with BCLADs, because they have the training to teach students with limited English.

Is it any wonder, then, that many of the 315 teachers who were given pink slips last month are confused and angry? Many are tenured and assumed they were protected.

They were wrong.

"The reason they were exempted is because that is one of the most difficult positions to fill," said George Cole, the dis-trict's executive director of human resources. "They have special training and special experiences that are required to get the BCLAD credential."

The district's decision to exempt BCLAD teachers who are assigned to the bilingual education program has not gone over well with the Hayward Education Association, the union representing the 1,300 teachers in the district, which is faced with an $8.5 million budget deficit.

Cathy Crummey, the president of HEA, said the union opposes exempting teachers from the layoff process regardless of the credential they may have.

"I believe that straight seniority should be used in laying off teachers," Crummey said. "But the district chooses to do it differently."

Exempting teachers with the BCLAD credential is one of the many sticky points that have infuriated union officials and tenured teachers who thought they were protected, only to find that BCLAD-certified instructors with less seniority were retained.

"That has angered some," Crummey conceded.

Exempting the estimated 50 teachers with BCLADs is necessary, district officials contend, because 33 percent of the pupils in the 24,000-student system speak little or no English.

"The BCLAD is a very, very valuable credential," said school board member Sarah Gonzales, who is a staunch advocate of preserving support programs for Latino students.

Instructors with a BCLAD credential teach in a bilingual classroom, and they often serve as the cultural liaison for parents who don't speak English, Gonzales said.

"Can you imagine how difficult it is for parents who don't speak English when they show up on campus and they need to talk to someone about their child?" Gonzales said. "It's really difficult."

Gonzales said the state's education code gives districts the flexibility to retain teachers with special training when making layoffs, even though some may not be fully tenured.

She added that other groups of teachers with specialized credentials -- such as those with a special education, mathematics and science certification -- were also exempted from the layoff process.

"I'm hoping, though, that we'll be able to recall those teachers," Gonzales said.

BCLAD credentials will become even more valuable in the future as California becomes even more diverse, both linguistically and culturally.

As of 1990, 42 percent of the nation's school-age children with limited English live in California. According to Cal State Monterey Web site on BCLADs, there are 1.3 million students with limited English in California, and one out of every six speaks little or no English.

So if teachers are looking to find a way to protect themselves from potential layoffs, it would behoove them to pursue a BCLAD.

"BCLAD doesn't armor-proof someone," Cole said. "But because of the makeup of this district, BCLADs are very crucial to us. We just don't have enough of them."