Parents, teachers and district officials spar over closure of Mountain Vista dual language program

Parents, teachers and district staff pressed the Coachella Valley Unified School District governing board on the planned closure of the dual language program at Mountain Vista Elementary, arguing the decision was announced too late and asking the district to pursue alternatives and better outreach.

The concerns came during the board's public-comment period, when several parents and teachers described their children's academic progress in the program and said they only learned of the closure the night before. "I'm here tonight because you guys decided to eliminate the dual language program at Mountain Vista Elementary," parent Elizabeth Cervantes told the board. "You should have met with the parents prior to making this decision."

The district's dual language coordinator, San Juan Alida, told parents the main reason the site program is being closed is "because it has low enrollment." Alida said the program began in 2021 with about 20 kindergarten students and that yearly cohorts have started smaller than the program's 24‑student target. She provided a current enrollment breakdown for the site: 22 kindergarteners, 21 first‑graders, 12 second‑graders, and a combined 11 third/11 fourth‑grade class (77 students total in the program across kindergarten through fourth grade). "By the time these students enter fourth grade, now they have 11 in the program," Alida said, explaining why the district finds the site program unsustainable.

Alida and other district staff described options earlier presented to…