Why it matters
A program devoted to teaching bilingual students will cease operation by June 30. Parents want a chance to help save it.
A Merced County program that teaches students in Spanish and Hmong is shuttering its doors at the end of this school year.
Known as the Dual Language Academy, the program is a branch of the Merced Scholars Charter School – facilitated and supported by the Merced County Office of Education (MCOE).
Teachers and parents were notified of the closure on Tuesday through a schoolwide email from principal Tara Hill.
“Like many schools across California, Merced COE and the Dual Language Academy have navigated shifting enrollment patterns, and the budget uncertainty creates uncertain long-term stability for some programs, which, unfortunately, includes the Dual Language Academy,” the email read.
“This decision was not made lightly. Our school community has been built on a deep commitment to bilingualism, and biliteracy, and we recognize how meaningful this program has been for your children and families,” the email read.
The Dual Language Academy was created in 2022, offering 50-50 model learning in Spanish or Hmong. It enrolled 96 students across transitional kindergarten through fourth grade. According to MCOE, the program was operating under a deficit near $1 million.
School operations will continue to run through the end of the school year, administrators said. After school programs and summer classes will also continue until June 30.
In a statement, MCOE said it will work with parents to transition their students into neighboring dual immersion programs in Merced, Atwater, Livingston or Delhi for the upcoming school year.
‘Where do we find a million dollars?’
At a packed parent meeting on Thursday, administrators laid out why the decision was made – naming issues such as limited funding and declining enrollment.
The program has generated $1.6 million in revenue from attendance per student. But it costs $2.5 million to keep the classrooms open, creating a $945,000 budget deficit, according to MCOE.
“We have spent the last two years trying to make this program solvent, trying to increase enrollment, trying to streamline costs,” said Laura Andrews, assistant superintendent of educational services. “But if we continue this pattern, we’re looking at another $900,000 deficit next school year. And another $750,000 the next.”
One of the major draws for parents to the program was its small classroom sizes. But Andrews said that partially contributed to the deficit.
“Just as an example, we had 60 kindergartners on our list at the end of the spring, so we hired two teachers to fill that need,” she said. “Only 33 [students] showed up in August. That’s 20 or so students that didn’t come through the doors with an additional teacher that was contracted to stay on.”
When asked by parents about how much enrollment needs to increase to keep the program afloat, Andrews said it would need to double “by tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry that this information wasn’t shared with you earlier, but we were projecting every year to have more students, and that’s just never panned out,” she said. “Where do we find a million dollars?”
Andrews said she would take parents’ feedback and concerns back to the superintendent, but administrators said it’s unlikely the decision will be reversed.
Parents calling for more transparency, probationary period
The announcement of the closure came as a shock to parents, particularly because MCOE had recently built a playground and commissioned a local artist to paint a mural on campus.
Parents had also recently created a Parent Teachers Association and was working toward building more communication between community and administration.
“If we would have had that representation and maybe a person to go and be in contact with, we could have avoided all of this,” said parent Miranda Griswold.
Griswold said the parents want a “seat at the table,” and a chance to raise enrollment. Parents are demanding MCOE reverse the decision and allow a probationary period to bring more students in the classroom.
“We’re not going down without a fight,” she said.
On Friday, the PTA created a parent-led Enrollment Interest Form to contact prospective families.
Many parents are also unsure of the options available for their kids. Dual language programs in neighboring districts are still young and have limited grade offerings for language learning.
Pedro Lara’s son has been enrolled since he was in transitional kindergarten. Now in second grade, it’s unclear where he will be enrolled for the next school year if he wants to continue dual immersion.
Lara’s home district, Atwater Elementary School District, does not currently offer enrollment for third grade immersion.
“The frustrating thing is there is no option as far as another dual language immersion,” Lara said. “And even if there was, there’s no guarantee [my son] would even get in.”