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Parents urge District 15 to preserve dual-language pathway after boundary changes
Summary
Multiple parents told the Palatine CCSD 15 board that elementary dual‑language students will lose a clear path to continue Spanish after school boundary changes and asked the district to either offer heritage Spanish at Thomas Jefferson Middle School or guarantee transportation to Plum Grove.
Parents of children in the Jane Addams dual‑language program told the Palatine CCSD 15 Board of Education during public comment that recent boundary changes and program design will break students’ bilingual pathway when they enter middle school.
The parentsasked the board to either add a heritage‑speaker Spanish course at Thomas Jefferson Middle School or guarantee transportation to Plum Grove Middle School, where a continuing Spanish option is offered. “Please help us ensure our children can continue their language journey at their base middle school,” said Michelle Thompson, a parent and dual‑language advocate.
Why it matters: Parents said they committed to a multi‑year dual‑language track when enrolling their children at Jane Addams and invested time and money — including private tutoring during COVID — to maintain proficiency. With boundary changes from the Moving 15 Forward plan, several families now live in Thomas Jefferson’s boundary while the district’s dual‑language program at Jane Addams finishes at fifth grade. Parents said Thomas Jefferson currently offers only Spanish 1 and 2 and does not provide the heritage‑speaker pathway needed to build on six years of elementary dual‑language instruction.
Details from speakers and requests - Michelle Thompson described choosing a cross‑district placement and private tutoring to maintain her child’s Spanish during the pandemic; she asked the board to “consider adding a Spanish elective at Thomas Jefferson that is beyond Spanish 1 and 2.” - Luis and Daniella Gutierrez said their family accepted cross‑district busing to keep children in dual language from kindergarten through fifth grade and now face a break in continuity after the new boundaries reassigned them to Thomas Jefferson. They proposed two options: guaranteed transportation to Plum Grove for dual‑language students wishing to continue Spanish, or offering the heritage‑speaker Spanish course at Thomas Jefferson. - Parents stressed transportation instability: interdistrict transfers, they said, come without guaranteed busing and require annual reapplication, which undermines continuity for families who live nearby but cannot rely on daily transportation.
Board context and limits: Comments came during the public‑comment period governed by board policy 2 2 30, and speakers acknowledged district staff — including multilingual‑programs personnel — have been responsive in prior conversations. The board did not take formal action on these requests during the meeting.
Next steps noted by parents: Families asked the district to evaluate feasible solutions — adding a heritage course at Thomas Jefferson or creating a stable transportation guarantee to Plum Grove — and to report back. No formal timeline or vote was announced at the meeting.
Ending: Parents emphasized equitable access and continuity for children who have spent years building bilingual proficiency, asking the board to align practice with the district’s stated mission to honor diverse learners.
