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Lynwood Unified committee vows to protect special programs as it studies school consolidation options
Summary
The facilities optimization committee reviewed district special programs — from moderate-severe special education to dual-language immersion and early childhood education — and emphasized that programs can move if sites change, while urging careful attention to program-specific facility needs.
The Lynwood Unified facilities optimization committee spent a substantial portion of its meeting reviewing the district's special programs and stressing that program continuity should guide any school consolidation.
Sandra Verdusco, the district's director of elementary education, outlined the programs and where they are based. "This program does provide our students with intensive small group instruction tailored for students with significant cognitive and physical disabilities," Verdusco said of the district's moderate-severe special education classes at Mark Twain Elementary. She said the Competent Learner Model (CLM) classes are at Lindberg and Washington and that the district's dual-language immersion programs operate at Will Rogers and Mark Twain.
Verdusco also described early childhood education offerings: ECE classes for 3- and 4-year-olds at Lindberg and Will Rogers, St. An's Family Services (infant–3) located at Abbott and Lugo, and a Volunteers of America Head Start program at Abbott. She emphasized that "programs can move" if the district reorganizes sites but noted important caveats for programs with specialized facilities or medically fragile students.
Parents on the committee and in attendance pressed staff on the differences between ECE and transitional kindergarten (TK), fees, and full-day scheduling. Staff said TK is free while some ECE full-day slots are fee-based and tied to family income; families may choose ECE when they want a shorter, play-based option or when they prefer full-day care tied to work schedules.
Staff and parents agreed that preservation of program quality, access for families and proper facility size are central considerations. The committee asked staff to include program location and specialized facility requirements as part of the next round of analyses and to show how proposed changes would affect program continuity and family access.
The committee will return to elementary-program details at upcoming meetings and requested more scatter-plot maps showing where enrolled students actually live relative to program sites. That data will help the group evaluate whether programs can relocate without disrupting families or special services.
