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Parents press SFUSD to fund Chinese bilingual program at Martin Luther King Middle School for August 2019
Summary
Parents and students urged the board to fulfill a six‑year promise to start a Chinese bilingual pathway at Martin Luther King Middle School, asking immediate district funding to hire bilingual teachers (parents estimated a cost of about $100,000 per teacher).
A group of parents and Chinese‑bilingual students testified that the district promised a middle‑school bilingual pathway years ago and asked the board to provide immediate funding to staff Martin Luther King Middle School (MLK) for August 2019.
Cindy, a parent from E.R. Taylor Elementary School, told the board the district had "blatantly lied to student and parents for 6 years" and asked the district to provide approximately $100,000 to hire one Chinese bilingual teacher. Multiple speakers reiterated the $100,000 estimate and said parents had been told at a May 8 meeting that MLK could offer Chinese as an elective, and that the principal supports starting a bilingual program pending funding.
Student speakers said they have studied Chinese for six years and want to continue in middle school; parents requested a follow‑up meeting (reported as proposed for May 15) to finalize logistics. District staff present acknowledged that additional funding would be needed to hire bilingual teachers and said the start of a program depends on securing those funds.
The board did not make an immediate funding decision at the meeting; parents said they would continue to pursue funding and follow up with staff.
