Parents and community ask Park City district to preserve dual-language immersion, consider restarting Mandarin instruction

Dozens of parents and students urged the Park City School District Board of Education during public comment to preserve a second-grade Dual Language Immersion (DLI) class at Parley's Park Elementary and to consider restoring Mandarin instruction at Park City High School.

Lily Honey, who identified herself as a parent of a Parley's Park student, said she represented "dozens of families" and submitted a packet of letters supporting the DLI class. "We strongly urge the board, the district, to consider how much impact this program has had in the lives of our kids," Honey said, citing improvements in student engagement and confidence.

Other parents gave specific classroom examples of children who had "come alive" under DLI instruction. Britney Schumacher, a parent and Park City School District graduate, said staffing decisions should account for the program's demonstrated impact on students and urged the board to prioritize teacher retention: "It would be a missed opportunity if those of us here didn't get to share our opinions and our experience with staffing decisions as they relate to teachers at the school." Tatiana Portela described how her son initially resisted DLI but, after teacher outreach, chose to enroll and "said he was absolutely not gonna do it" and then "within a week ... said, 'I wanna do it.'"

Separately, Enrique Navaishis asked the board to approve a formal survey to measure K–12 demand for Mandarin instruction and to restart Mandarin classes at the high school. Navaishis noted Park City previously taught Mandarin but said the program was canceled in 2022 after the last teacher resigned and a replacement was not found. "Our objective is to restart the Mandarin learning at the high school, and if possible, start Chinese DLI within Park City School District," he said, and suggested the Park City Education Fund could help recruit and fund a full-time teacher.

Speakers described broader reasons to support language programming, including preparing students for global economic competition and improving cultural diversity and inclusion: "Having more diversity makes the school more welcoming," one speaker said. Commenters asked the board to consider survey-based data, pay scales that make teaching positions sustainable, and to ensure any restarts include sufficient staffing to reach higher-level courses.

No formal board action on language programming was taken at the meeting; the board did not announce changes to DLI or a formal Mandarin reinstatement plan. Several board members and district staff acknowledged receiving public input and said they would factor it into upcoming staffing and program discussions.