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Parents ask Mt. Diablo School Board to pause plan ending Spanish immersion program at Bancroft Elementary
Parents packed a Mount Diablo Unified School District board meeting Tuesday night, urging trustees to pause plans to phase out a two-way Spanish immersion program at Bancroft Elementary School. Families presented the board with a petition signed by roughly 300 people asking district leaders to reconsider the decision. Parents said they were blindsided by the announcement.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Parents packed a Mount Diablo Unified School District board meeting Tuesday night, urging trustees to pause plans to phase out a two-way Spanish immersion program at Bancroft Elementary School.
What we know:
Families presented the board with a petition signed by roughly 300 people asking district leaders to reconsider the decision. Parents said they were blindsided by the announcement.
"The issue here is that they did not engage us," one parent said during a rally ahead of the meeting.
The district recently notified families that it plans to move the two-way Spanish immersion program from Bancroft Elementary in Walnut Creek to Woodside Elementary in Concord, about two miles away.
The transition would begin next school year with kindergarten. One additional grade level would move to Woodside each year until the full program transitions.
What they're saying:
"I would implore the board to take a step back, hit pause on this decision and give us some time to think about a solution that supports everybody," said Elaine Newland, a parent at Bancroft Elementary.
The program is designed to help students become bilingual by teaching subjects such as math, social studies and history in both English and Spanish.
"It’s a program that basically teaches the kids not just Spanish, but also the culture of Latin America," said Lucila, a Bancroft parent. "It’s very important for us, not just because of the language, but because of the culture and diversity."
Under the district’s plan, current students enrolled at Bancroft would have the option to remain at the school as the program phases out. However, incoming kindergarten students who wish to enroll in the two-way immersion program would need to attend Woodside.
"What’s important is all of our current students can have the option to remain in place. It does not impact our current students," said Wendi Aghily, the district’s chief of pupil services and special education.
In a letter to parents, the district said the decision was made after considering "long-term program sustainability, feeder pattern alignment, and overall school enrollment capacity. Transitioning the program to Woodside Elementary allows us to maintain the strength and quality of the Two-Way Dual Immersion program while ensuring it remains viable for years to come."
Some parents said they still have unanswered questions.
"There are so many questions that still need to be answered, including what will happen to the demographics of Bancroft as a result of this," said Elizabeth Silva, a Bancroft parent.
It remains unclear whether the board will reconsider the plan. If the district moves forward, the phase-out process would begin in the upcoming school year.
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