Parents and teachers urge pause after Mount Diablo Unified moves Bancroft dual immersion program

Dozens of parents, teachers and students urged the Mount Diablo Unified School District board on Feb. 11 to pause an abrupt plan to phase out Bancroft Elementary’s two‑way dual immersion (Spanish–English) program and move it to Woodside.

At least one parent, Elizabeth Silva, said she moved into the district specifically for Bancroft’s program and that Jan. 28 notification of an immediate phase‑out came with no prior outreach: "We are here on behalf of more than 300 families... pause the decision, allow time for the numerous uniform complaints to be reviewed," Silva said.

Why it matters: Families and community members said the timing — just days before kindergarten enrollment opened — risks disrupting sibling placements and the continuity of bilingual cohorts. Commenters invoked district procedures under the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), saying the district failed to provide required meaningful engagement and data before announcing the change.

District presentation and justification: Wendy Gilly, chief of pupil services (special education), and Ryan Sheehy, chief of human resources, presented data the district said drove the proposal: declining achievement trends at some sites, facility constraints and staffing shortages for teachers with bilingual credentials. The presenters said the district currently has 22 teachers on limited‑term visas district‑wide, 14 of whom serve in dual language programs; they argued shifting programs could reduce overcrowding and improve outcomes.

Community concerns and evidence: Parent speakers produced petitions and local surveys. Jessica Lee reported a quick, informal survey of 24 TK families in which 88% said they planned to apply to Bancroft’s dual immersion program; Lee said 54% of respondents would face significant hardship if the pipeline moved. Other speakers — including bilingual parents and a second‑grader who pleaded for continuity — argued moving the program would destabilize a high‑performing, culturally relevant pathway that many families chose explicitly for bilingual education.

Process questions: Multiple speakers asked why the board had not been previously informed that Shore Acres and Bancroft had changed program models, and whether the district followed the LCAP’s engagement requirements for significant program changes. The district said some steps (including past site‑level transitions) were phased and that certain technical details are held by the English language learner director, who was at a conference and not present.

Board response and next steps: Board members said the district must balance capacity and achievement against transparency and collaboration. A trustee asked about implications of postponing the move; staff said timing aligned with the kindergarten transfer window and that staffing and visa constraints were unlikely to change quickly. Several trustees requested follow‑up reports and transparency; one asked staff to bring an update to a future meeting. No formal board action was taken at the Feb. 11 meeting — the item was provided for information, and the board cannot legally take final action that night on matters not on the posted agenda.

The community asked the board to pause the implementation, publish the data and assumptions used to justify the relocation, and form a collaborative working group with families and staff to design any transition.