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Parents and teachers urge Thompson School District to preserve K'12 DLI pathway after high-school changes
Summary
Dozens of parents, teachers and advocates told the Thompson School District board that proposed changes to the district's Dual Language Immersion (DLI) high-school plan break promises to families and risk making continuation impossible for many students without transportation or an established high-school program.
Several parents, teachers and student advocates told the Thompson School District board that recent changes to the district's Dual Language Immersion (DLI) high-school plans shortchange students and break long-standing promises to families.
"Our students have done everything that has been asked for them...and today, they are being told that their effort and their perseverance will not be honored," said Holly Baum, a parent representing DLI families, during public comment. Baum said DLI kindergarten enrollment is "nearly double" other choice programs and that families enrolled based on a promise of a K'12 pathway.
Jill Brito, a Spanish teacher at Truscott Elementary who also identified herself as a parent of two DLI students, said the inaugural high-school cohort entered last fall without the promised university partnership or an established program. "Students whose proficiency levels are far above typical high-school coursework were simply placed into existing Spanish courses that did not meet their academic needs," she said, and urged the board to pause consolidation plans and "bring stakeholders to the table." Brito added that consolidating the program into a single high school and ending it after 10th grade, combined with no district transportation for students who would need to travel to Loveland High School, "essentially makes continuing the program impossible" for some families.
Advocates warned that the district had not implemented several elements families were promised, including a university partnership to provide concurrent enrollment and a fully articulated high-school pathway. "When a program succeeds at the elementary level but fails to be supported at the high-school level, it is a district-level problem," Baum said.
Superintendent Dr. Heller acknowledged communications errors and promised follow-up: "There were some mistakes in terms of how and when this was shared with DLI families...I will take full responsibility for that...and I will reach out to those folks to set up a meeting with the DLI families and the DLI pack to discuss these changes, why we believe they are necessary, and how this will work going forward." That pledge appeared to be the most immediate next step; no formal change to the board's agenda or a vote on the DLI decision occurred during the meeting.
Other commentators raised related concerns about access and equity if the program were consolidated: lack of district transportation for students required to move campuses, expected off-campus concurrent-enrollment coursework for juniors and seniors, and uncertain implementation of promised college-credit opportunities.
The matter is likely to return to the board agenda after meetings between district staff and DLI families. Superintendent Heller said staff would set up a meeting to explain the changes and to seek to address family concerns.
