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Parents, teachers and students push back on proposed DLI "combo" classes at Anaheim Elementary
Summary
Multiple teachers, parents and current and former students told the Anaheim Elementary board that combining grade levels in dual‑language immersion (DLI) classrooms would dilute instruction, reduce oral‑practice time and risk students’ path to biliteracy; the board clarified the proposal is not moving forward immediately and encouraged continued community engagement.
At the Anaheim Elementary School District board meeting on Feb. 12, a steady stream of public commenters urged trustees to reject plans to create "combo" classes in the district's dual‑language immersion (DLI) program.
Teachers, parents and students said mixing different grade levels in the same classroom would weaken instruction, limit speaking practice and complicate lesson planning. "Combo classes will never be the solution," said Margarita Campos, a Spanish DLI teacher, arguing that pairing, for example, fifth‑ and sixth‑grade students forces teachers to split focus and reduces the intensive language practice younger and older learners need. "We're gambling our students' education," she said.
Students who attend or graduated from the district's DLI program gave firsthand accounts. "Combo classes are not a good idea — they can make it more difficult to not only teach, but listen and learn," said Isabelle Lara, a fifth‑grade DLI student. Ezekiel Morales, a tenth‑grade student and DLI alumnus, said he would not have reached his current opportunities without single‑grade DLI instruction and called combos "catastrophic." Parents added that increased class sizes and mixed‑grade groupings would risk both academic and social progress.
Some parent leaders and district advisory members clarified that while district staff had discussed options in advisory settings because of changing enrollment, Superintendent Jesus Chavarria had indicated the district was not immediately moving forward with a blanket conversion to combo classes. "There was a lot of thought and conversation put to this," said Monica Bermudez of the Multilingual Education Advisory Committee, and she urged continued, broad community engagement if the proposal returns.
District staff described ongoing outreach: multilingual advisory meetings, parent information sessions and a tracking system for sign‑ins at DLI outreach events. Magali Rodriguez, who presented later in the meeting on DLI expansion, noted the district now serves roughly 3,930 DLI students across 23 schools.
What happens next: speakers asked the board to prioritize program integrity, consider alternatives — such as consolidating cohorts, adding staff or offering stipends for the extra work — and keep parents and teachers closely involved in any future proposals.
Ending: Trustees did not take an immediate vote to change class configurations during the Feb. 12 meeting; several members encouraged further community input and directed staff to continue informational meetings and collect survey responses from parents.
