(WALNUT CREEK, CA.) – At a Mount Diablo Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 11, students and parents urged commissioners to terminate plans to phase out a dual immersion English-Spanish program at Bancroft Elementary School.
The district stated that the current students would be able to complete their dual immersion course, but more students would no longer be admitted into the program.
The proposal, presented as an informational item, would relocate Bancroft Elementary’s two-way dual immersion (TWI) Spanish program to Woodside Elementary beginning with incoming kindergarten classes, while reintroducing a structured English immersion option at Shore Acres.
While district leaders characterized the move as a program relocation rather than a closure, many parents argued the impact feels immediate and destabilizing.
For many families, the issue is personal. Parents described being forced into difficult choices such as separating siblings between campuses, managing multiple school drop-offs, or giving up bilingual education altogether.
Survey data shared by another parent indicated that 88 percent of responding TK families planned to apply to the dual immersion program at Bancroft, and more than half reported significant hardship if the program moves. No surveyed families indicated they would transfer to the proposed receiving school.
Families argued that reducing access through logistical barriers could disproportionately affect working families and English learners, raising equity concerns.
Bancroft parent Jessica Kelman told trustees that families were blindsided.
“Families received an announcement, not a plan,” Kelman said. “We have not been provided with the criteria, data, or written analysis supporting relocation.”
Photo Credit: Youtube // Mt. Diablo USD Board Meetings - Jessica Kelman
Several speakers noted that notification came just days before kindergarten enrollment opened, leaving little time for families to reconsider schooling decisions.
Natalie Webb, who has a second grader in the program and incoming TK twins, called the timeline “an abrupt transition plan with no meaningful parent engagement.”
“This feels like a major decision being implemented without the transparency and stakeholder input the LCAP process is intended to require,” Webb said.
Parents repeatedly referenced California’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), which requires districts to engage stakeholders in major program decisions.
For many speakers, the issue extended beyond logistics.
“For our family, bilingual education is not an enrichment program,” Lucila, a parent born in Argentina said. “This is our heritage.”
Photo Credit: Youtube // Mt. Diablo USD Board Meetings - Lucila
Another parent, Dr. Salman, emphasized the emotional cost to families.
“Children are not some fungible item like taking marbles from one jar to fill up a different jar,” Salman said. “There will be very real heartbreak. There will be very real distress, and it will not show up on any district chart.”
Photo Credit: Youtube // Mt. Diablo USD Board Meetings - Dr. Salman
Kaya Hickerson, a second-grade student at Bancroft, drew audible emotion from the room when she said, “Please don’t make my brother go to a different school. We love seeing each other at school. Please don’t move our program.”
Photo Credit: Youtube // Mt. Diablo USD Board Meetings - Second grader Kaya Hickerson
District administrators framed the proposal as part of broader efforts to address academic performance and operational challenges.
Dr. Wendy Gilly, Chief of People Services and Special Education, said the district’s guiding LCAP goals require improvement in English language arts and math outcomes for all students, including multilingual learners.
“Shore Acres achievement- we need to do more to raise the achievement levels of those students,” Gilly said.
Photo Credit: Youtube // Mt. Diablo USD Board Meetings - LCAP report
The district also pointed to staffing constraints. Chief of Human Resources Ryan Sheehy noted that bilingual authorization credentials are difficult to recruit and retain.
“BCLAD has been a very hard credential to find and to keep in our schools,” he said.
Administrators reported that 22 teachers districtwide are currently working on limited-time visas, with 14 serving in dual-language programs.
Officials also described enrollment pressures and feeder pattern imbalances affecting middle school placement, particularly at Foothill Middle School. For many in attendance, the debate was not simply about enrollment numbers or feeder patterns- it was about identity and equity.
“Our language is not a hurdle,” Maricella Sanchez said. “It is a strength.”
The district has not yet announced when the proposal will return for possible action.
To watch the full meeting, access this link: Mt. Diablo USD Board Meeting 2/11/2026
To add to or correct any information in this report, please email me at yashi.s@lead4earth.org or leave a comment below.
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