District continues listening sessions before deciding middle‑school placement for Spanish dual‑language program

Interim Superintendent Dr. Dan Bittman updated the Edina Public School District board on the ongoing review of middle‑school placement for Spanish dual‑language programming and said the district will continue stakeholder engagement before making a recommendation.

Bittman summarized survey and listening‑session feedback from families and staff. Families emphasized continuity — keeping the program at the feeder middle school (Valley View) to preserve sibling alignment and simplify transportation. "The key priorities primarily from the families...were about continuity and hoping that the district placed the program at the feeder school, which would be Valley View," he said.

Middle‑school staff raised questions about scheduling, alignment and whether programming should be offered at both sites or split between schools; administrators said some staff responses reflected broader systematic concerns rather than direct program experience.

Bittman said the district will hold more listening sessions with middle‑school staff to gather logistical feedback and will present a formal recommendation to the board later this year. No placement decision was made at the Nov. 10 meeting.