Immersion sign-ups low, but parents hold hope

In January, the Board of Trustees opted to have a preregistration process and to further study funding options. Twenty-eight children — 15 kindergartners and 13 first graders — were preregistered if such a program would open at Nesbit next fall. Staff was unable to find a way to pay for the new program. Both resulted in a recommendation not to offer immersion courses next year, a vote which the board will take Thursday. Parents supporting the new offering, however, are confident numbers will grow once a program is established, even if it starts with a smaller number of children. In addition, parents have raised money to cover the first year’s cost.

The district is looking at $750,000 in budget cuts and could not identify a way to fund the program in the future, Assistant Superintendent Penny Weaver wrote in a staff report. In addition, staff needs time to address a number of other issues: Facility planning, studying potential boundaries or multiple-track schedules, implementing a new student information system, opening a new school and developing a balanced budget.

Alyssa Herrera, a parent supporter of the idea, is still optimistic a smaller debut of the dual-immersion program would be approved.

The number of kids who signed up is good for the district size, she said, adding that starting with a smaller class size would propel others to sign up in the future. As for the funding, Herrera said parents had fundraised enough to cover the program for the first year and then a little more.

Dual immersion, as proposed, would be a 90/10 program, with ideally half of the students as native English-speaking and half native Spanish-speaking students. Students start receiving 90 percent of their education in Spanish and 10 percent in English while in kindergarten. Each year, the percentage taught in Spanish drops 10 percent while the portion taught in English raises 10 percent. The goal is that classes are taught half in each language during the later elementary school years, consultant Kevin Chavez, who began working with the district through parent donations, said at the January meeting.

Beginning the program was proposed to include two kindergarten classes and possibly two first grade classes as well, if certificated teachers are available, and offer enrichment opportunities to second grade students to emphasize the program on campus. Nesbit was the proposed home due to the school having space, but also having the largest population of Spanish-speaking English learners in the district.

Creating the immersion program by next fall was estimated to cost $37,480 in the first year and increase in the coming years as the program grows to a 280-student capacity. This budget assumed parents of new students would donate $200 annually and parents of students would donate $100 per year.

A parent counterproposal detailed starting with a smaller group of children, maybe one class at each grade level or a combination, kindergarten/first grade class. Funding for the first year has been raised, said Herrera.

An issue with such a donation is the district has never allowed donations to be earmarked for a particular program — a problem the board discussed but never resolved during its January meeting.

At the same meeting, the board will discuss sending out layoff notices to a number of people including 24 teachers, a part-time dean of students, a counselor, two reading specialists, a math coach, an elementary music teacher and library media specialists. Most of the recommendations are made due to a lack of funds. Public schools are required by the state to send out preliminary layoff notification by March 15 with a final decision by May 15.

The board meets 7 p.m. March 4 at the District Office, 2960 Hallmark Drive in Belmont.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.