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Parents, students urge Long Beach Unified to keep neighborhood language-immersion program
Summary
At a Long Beach Unified board meeting, multiple parents and students urged the district to retain a neighborhood language‑immersion program, warning that removing it would create long transportation times and inequitable access for West Long Beach families.
At a Long Beach Unified School District board meeting, parents and students urged trustees to keep a neighborhood language‑immersion program in place rather than moving it to other campuses, saying relocation would impose long bus rides and create barriers to participation.
Several public commenters spoke about the program’s academic and cultural benefits. Kris, a mother who identified herself during public comment, said the program ‘‘has helped my child academically’’ and warned that switching sites would create transportation problems for families. A student who spoke at the meeting described how immersion classes improved academic performance and cultural understanding and asked the board to keep the program at the current school so neighborhood students can continue to participate.
Other parents said moving the program would force many families in West Long Beach to spend roughly 50–55 minutes each way transporting children to school, a burden some said would make sustained participation impossible. One commenter summarized the theme of several speakers, saying in English, “Yes we can,” urging the district to find ways to preserve local access rather than require lengthy commutes.
Several speakers framed the request as an equity issue: they said the district should weigh how reassigning the program would affect students from lower‑income households and families without reliable transportation. Callers asked the board to work with the community to identify practical options — such as preserving the program on the neighborhood campus or providing targeted transportation solutions — so that students who currently benefit are not displaced.
The public‑comment period closed after roughly seven speakers. The board then recessed briefly before moving to other agenda items.
The board did not announce a final decision on the location of the immersion program during the meeting; commenters said they wanted the district to ‘‘reconsider’’ the planned change and keep the program locally available. The item remains under district consideration, with parents urging follow‑up from staff and trustees.
