DLI families urge retention of middle-school immersion as administration recommends phased change and 12-month review

Scores of families and students packed public comment at the Virginia Beach School Board meeting to urge the preservation of Dual Language Immersion (DLI) through middle school. The administration presented two alternatives and a set of cost and staffing analyses; it recommended allowing current cohorts to complete the existing programs at Great Neck and Lansdowne for 2026–27, phasing out new sixth‑grade entrants beginning in 2027–28, and taking 12 months to gather additional enrollment and staffing data before implementing a final plan.

In public comment, student speaker Madeline Massey said the two‑way immersion model challenged students and produced stronger language and academic outcomes. "I am the product of the one-way system that is being proposed in option 1," Massey said, and warned that Option 2 "is not an option" for families who chose the district specifically for DLI. Multiple parents described relocating to DLI school zones, criticized late changes to the Option 1 slides that introduced a contingency on staffing, and called the…