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Parent and teacher urges board to adopt consistent bilingual middle-school curriculum
Summary
Shana Espinosa, a bilingual elementary teacher and parent, told the board the district lacks a bilingual language-arts curriculum at the middle-school level and urged creation of a defined program document, clear placement procedures, and capacity planning to preserve bilingual pathways and the seal of biliteracy.
Shana Espinosa, a bilingual elementary teacher and parent, told the board the district must translate its stated values for bilingual education into consistent, longitudinal action at the middle-school level. "Our bilingual middle school teachers care deeply about their students and many have spent their limited prep time translating materials themselves," Espinosa said during public forum, adding that teachers and students are being asked to use materials pulled from classroom libraries rather than an adopted bilingual language-arts curriculum.
Espinosa outlined that while Arriba La Lectura and HMH Into Literature are being used in elementary grades, the district offered no bilingual language-arts curriculum for middle school; the current plan is a spring 2027 pilot with hopes of adoption for the 2027–28 school year, she said. She urged the board to adopt a formal program document that would map K–12 progression to the seal of biliteracy, establish a clear placement process, and track demand and staffing so bilingual programs can expand rather than contract. The board thanked Espinosa for her remarks and acknowledged the complexity of the issue; no formal action was taken at the meeting.
