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Parents ask El Monte district to site Mandarin middle-school at Gilly, citing distance and retention concerns
Summary
A group of Mandarin dual-language families delivered a 38-signature petition asking the district to place the program's middle-school strand at Gilly (not Colombia), citing proximity, retention, school size and resource competition; the board accepted the petition for staff follow-up but made no site decision.
Parents of students in the Mandarin dual-language immersion (DLI) program at New Lexington Elementary presented a petition and urged the El Monte City School District board on June 8 to site the program's middle-school strand at Gilly rather than Colombia.
"Distance is a real concern," Rang Su, a New Lexington parent and PTA leader who said she submitted 38 signatures, told trustees. Su said many DLI families live closer to Gilly and worry that assigning Colombia as the middle-school site could cause some families to leave the DLI pathway. She said families are seeking a site that preserves cohort continuity and keeps travel burdens manageable.
Why it matters: district decisions about where to locate a middle-school strand can affect program retention, student transitions, and resource allocation. Su argued that moving students from a smaller, close-knit elementary (New Lexington) into a much larger middle school (as described in her remarks) could disrupt students at a sensitive transition point.
Details parents gave the board - Petition and signatures: Su said the petition includes 38 parent signatures in support of siting the DLI strand at Gilly. - Four primary reasons cited: proximity (commute distance), retention risk if families opt out, similarity in school size/transition environment between New Lexington and Gilly, and avoiding resource competition at Colombia (which already hosts a Spanish DLI program).
Board response and next steps Trustees accepted the written communication and asked the parent to hand the materials to district staff for follow-up; staff indicated they would connect to discuss the request. No site assignment or policy decision was made at this meeting.
Quote - "We are here to respectfully ask the board to consider Gilly School instead... Distance is a real concern," Rang Su said.
Context and limitations Parents framed the request as preservation of cohort continuity and an attempt to prevent attrition from the Mandarin DLI pathway. The board did not deliberate or take formal action on the site-selection question during the meeting; staff took the petition and agreed to follow up.
(Reporting note: quotes and signature counts are taken from public comment read into the meeting record on June 8, 2026.)
