The board members need to do their work and get this language immersion started quickly. This is 2014 - Our children are growing up - And being multi-lingual has so many benefits. Education is always an urgent matter.

The Spanish Immersion program is in trouble and needs help. Good call not to bring on a new one.

no the school board does not need to get it together. THIS program is NOT needed. The children need to be fluent in English first. If a Parents wants it they can send their child to a tutor or private school that offers what they want.

I'm in favor of expanding non-English language education in our schools (either through immersion or foreign language instruction for all students starting in Kindergarten), but understand that the district is undergoing many changes at this time (common core, new school, etc.). I would like to hear more from the "Concerned" poster, above, about the "trouble" that the Spanish Immersion program is in and why/what help it needs. Is there a separate PTO for the Spanish Immersion program?

I too would like to know why "Concerned" states that the Spanish Immersion program is in trouble. That kind of a statement really demands some more information to be credible.

The Spanish emersion program had been very successful at siphoning away resources for the general student body. Once we had foreign language for all students but now it is only for the "lottery winners". The emersion program was pushed by a small group of parents who believe it is a better education, even at the expense of the majority of students combined with a feeling that other highly rated districts(PA) have one so we should do, regardless of cost. The emersion class is not integrated into the overall student population, the kids are apathetic about the language and many are now unhappy that they are behind in the core subjects as they think about middle school.
Great decision by the board to not engage a vocal minority with another misguided program for the few a select students. Focus on making our schools better for all not just a few.

I trust the Board.

In response to "parent", in addition to being wrong on your spelling of immersion, you are wrong on the facts. The Spanish for all program was not terminated because of Spanish Immersion and Immersion did not siphon off those resources. The foreign language (Spanish) for all program in the elementary grades was short-lived and deemed to be unsuccessful as students were not learning. It was terminated during the budget crisis of 2009-10, because it cost the district money as it required additional teachers who had to be brought in as specialists. Immersion teachers are everyday core teachers like any other in the elementary schools, and therefore were not additional resources, just different.

I was there for most of the discussions regarding Spanish Immersion and thought it to be the correct decision at the time. But I agree with the Board to not to add another language, even if a vocal part of the community is screaming for it. It's not about timing, it's about proportioning the student body into pieces that are too small.

Trust, I have to tell you that blind faith is just that - blind. I know every Board Member and consider a couple to be friends. Having said that, they get things wrong - the most obvious being the Facilities Master Plan. After creating a plan and passing a Bond Measure in 2006 to increase the student capacity of our schools, they realized by 2010 that they had undersized the growth and finally in 2013 had to go back to the community for more Bond money. In the meantime, children are back in overcrowded schools without adequate recreational space. I know that is off point, but it is an example that they should be challenged.

Meanwhile, while the Board and Parents argue, the rest of the world is moving ahead in becoming bilingual or multilingual.

Most of the ones posting here are in the educational and industrial complex - The rest of us are busy actually accomplishing something.

The state of education in the US is deplorable.

Especially when kids can not speak proper English.

Steve C, you are so right to observe that too many of our students can't speak English proficiently. Perhaps we should start English immersion programs before we expect our schools to pay for Spanish or Mandarin immersion programs. Yes, being multilingual is an asset--if you speak the languages fluently.

If parents want their children to learn Spanish or Mandarin, I suggest the parents pay for weekend or after school classes. My German neighbors didn't expect the school to provide German classes for their kids; instead, they sent their kids to German school on weekends.