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Parents tell Lakeside board the Mandarin middle-school program needs another teacher
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Summary
Multiple parents and volunteers urged the Lakeside Municipal District Board during public comment to add a second Mandarin teacher at Tierra del Sol Middle School, saying one teacher is stretched across several grades and enrollment and program viability are at risk.
Professor Serena Collier, a parent of four and a volunteer who promotes district programs, told the board the district’s middle-school Mandarin program “is in desperate need of your attention, priority, and funding.” She said a single teacher, Lula Archer, currently teaches six Mandarin-specific courses to more than 100 students and now lacks native-speaking assistants following the district’s decision not to renew a contract with the Confucius Institute.
“Providing another teacher to share this workload would give our students a more enriching experience and would…improve the program’s reputation across East County,” Collier said during public comment. Several written comments read into the record echoed that message: Lorena J. Perkins, identified as a doctor of physical therapy and a parent, said the single-teacher staffing model “raises significant concerns about the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of instruction.” Brianna Atherton, another parent, wrote that the current model is “simply not sustainable.”
Other parents stressed the program’s role in attracting families. Jenna Lee Belloso said she lives outside the district but keeps her children enrolled because of the Mandarin pathway and asked the board to “find it in the budget to get another teacher at TDS to help with the Mandarin program.” Theresa McCormick, also a parent, described the program as a district draw and urged continued investment starting at elementary grades to sustain middle-school interest.
Board members did not take immediate formal action at the study session; the public comment period concluded and the agenda proceeded to presentations. The concerns raised by parents focused on staffing levels, loss of native-speaking assistants, and the risk that families will leave the district if the immersion track cannot sustain a clear middle- and high-school pathway.
Next steps noted in the session: parents offered to volunteer to support the program, and district staff later presented budget information and program pathways during the same session that could inform staffing decisions at upcoming regular board meetings or during budget discussions.
