Duluth district says moving six Spanish-immersion classrooms from Lowell to Myers Wilkins eased overcrowding and changed school demographics

Assistant Superintendent Bonds and Director of Elementary Schools Brenda Sparks told the Duluth Public Schools board’s Committee of the Whole on Oct. 1 that relocating six Spanish-immersion classrooms from Lowell Elementary to Myers Wilkins this school year met the district’s goals of relieving overcrowding, increasing neighborhood access to immersion and making progress on integration targets.

Sparks said the move reduced Lowell’s enrollment by 149 students and added the same number to Myers Wilkins, and she described the change as a deliberate effort to “balance enrollment.” She told the board that Lowell’s current enrollment is about 485 students and Myers Wilkins about 462, numbers she said are “more on par” with nearby schools.

The transfer also shifted student demographics at Myers Wilkins, Sparks said. Free-and-reduced-price meal status among the school population dropped from 86.5 percent to 56.9 percent after the relocation; the percentage of students identified as nonwhite decreased from 65.8 percent to 43.4 percent; and special-education representation fell from 41.8 percent to 29.4 percent. Sparks noted Hispanic enrollment rose modestly, which she attributed to the program itself.

"We balanced enrollment with this move, which we did," Sparks said. "With that integration of 150 kids we were able to change the demographics of the whole school." Assistant Superintendent Bonds praised principals and teachers for executing the relocation.

District data presented at the meeting show the Spanish-immersion program served 329 students last year and serves 327 this year; the program retained 15 classroom sections. Enrollment by grade is slightly reconfigured but similar in totals: the district reported 59 kindergartners this year (60 last year), 65 first-graders (53 last year) and varied numbers in subsequent grades.

Sparks and school principals described operational changes made to fit the six relocated classrooms into the Myers Wilkins building, including converting a downstairs music room into a kindergarten classroom (adding a bathroom), repurposing intervention rooms with sinks for primary grades, splitting a large former computer lab to create two intervention spaces, and adding walls in other large rooms to create classroom space. They said all six classrooms moved into spaces that previously had been used for instruction.

To strengthen continuity across the two sites where the Spanish-immersion program now operates, the district created joint professional learning community meetings and scheduled shared professional-development days for immersion teachers. Sparks said teachers asked for a stronger connection between the two sites and the district is funding one combined field trip per grade to help maintain ties.

Principals and teachers told the board that mixing Spanish-immersion and English-program students for specials (music, art, physical education and media), as well as combined lunch and recess groupings by color-coded teams, increased daily interaction. "They just are going with a different group of kiddos when they go to those spaces," said a specialist teacher who described the red/blue/green/yellow rotation.

Third-grade teacher Glenda Latour described classroom workload and behavior supports at Myers Wilkins. "I have to do excellent planning, keep them occupied all the time. But I also have a really good team," Latour said, and she asked for additional professional development focused on managing challenging behaviors as the program integrates across sites.

Board members asked about wait lists and future expansion. Executive Assistant Brown reported wait lists had been long during the summer but district staff worked to place applicants before the school year began; at the time of the meeting there remained one kindergarten opening and limited openings in a few other grades. Assistant Superintendent Bonds said the district’s approach for now is to stabilize the program and monitor demand rather than immediately expand, while acknowledging that adding a section in the future would be a welcome challenge.

Multiple board members and Superintendent Magus praised the move as forward-looking. "We wanted to expand and make progress on integration goals," Magus said, calling the decision difficult but appropriate and urging the district to continue considering capacity and programming across other buildings.

District staff also highlighted the Duluth Community Schools Collaborative on the Myers Wilkins site, a grant-funded partnership that runs family engagement work and site leadership meetings open to all families. Sparks said Myers Wilkins now has an emerging PTO and that the collaborative helps support families and program continuity across the schools.

Board members requested further disaggregated data: one member asked for the number of students of color in the immersion classes specifically (Sparks said that data could be produced by class), and several asked for the district to distribute the presentation and communications more broadly to families.

Board members and staff emphasized that the relocation was meant to achieve three goals presented last year: increase access to immersion for neighborhood students, relieve Lowell’s overcrowding and contribute to school integration. District leaders said initial indicators show progress on all three fronts but that they will continue to monitor enrollment, attrition and class composition.

Sparks closed by thanking teachers and principals for their flexibility and by noting the district will continue adjustments next year to move grade-level classrooms closer to peers where possible.

Ending: District officials emphasized that the relocation was an operational change intended to address overcrowding and integration goals and that they will keep tracking enrollment, classroom sizes, and behavioral supports. Board members asked for follow-up data on student demographics in immersion classes and for broader family communications about outcomes and next steps.