Parents and teachers urge Davis School Board to preserve Lincoln dual-language immersion as district begins review

Scores of parents, teachers and students told the Davis School District Board of Education at a public meeting that Lincoln Elementary’s Spanish dual‑language immersion (DLI) program should be preserved as the district begins a review of the program. Speakers said the program gives students academic and cultural opportunities and urged the board not to end it.

The comments came during the meeting’s public‑comment period, when community members said Lincoln’s DLI is a primary reason families choose the school and that an ongoing district review appears to rely on incomplete enrollment and attrition figures. "Dual language is not just a program, it's a pathway to empowerment, opportunity, and dignity," said Veil Saez Tomasiewicz, a fifth‑ and sixth‑grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary, during public comment.

Parents and former and current teachers said students in DLI return academic benefits and social gains. Dave Lowell, a parent and former language instructor, said he lacks access to the internal data he would expect to see and called on the district to share test‑score evidence and long‑term outcomes. "The only data we have is the attrition rates," Lowell said; "we don't have access to the test scores." Several parents also described choosing Lincoln specifically because of the Spanish immersion program and said they might leave the district if it is discontinued.

Students who spoke described gains in language, confidence and family connection. A student, Helen Lowe, said she has been in immersion since first grade and that losing the program would remove the chance to grow bilingual. DLI teachers and parents asked district staff to consider grandfathering currently enrolled students and to study causes of attrition before closing or reducing the program.

Speakers also referenced federal guidance supporting equitable access to language programs; several cited the Every Student Succeeds Act as a basis to protect access to high‑quality educational opportunities for English learners and bilingual students.

Board members did not vote on program closure at the meeting. Superintendent Dan Linford and district staff later noted that formal review processes and separate studies—some already under way for Lincoln—will follow board policy and statutory steps before any program changes are recommended.

The public comment period ended with the board saying it would follow up with speakers and consider the community input as staff complete the district’s review.

Why it matters: Lincoln is a Title I school and parents and teachers said DLI supports both academic outcomes and cultural belonging. Changes to DLI enrollment or availability would affect families who identified that program as the primary reason to send their children to Lincoln and could influence student assignment across the district.