Asheville City schools' parents push for dual-language Spanish program; What is this?
ASHEVILLE - A North Asheville family sends their son out of district to Buncombe County Schools because that district can offer something city schools can't — a dual language Spanish immersion program.
Sadie and Jim Ray say they speak Spanish and English in their home and want their two children to be able to get educational instruction in both languages.
Their son, Theo, attends fourth grade at West Buncombe Elementary. Theo would be attending Ira B. Jones Elementary but instead the family has to seek a "discretionary release" each year so he can attend the county school district, Sadie Ray told the Citizen Times Oct. 16.
Sadie Ray has a doctorate in Spanish and Spanish American Literature, and while she isn't a native Spanish speaker, she is a strong supporter of a dual language education.
"Theo not only is bilingual but is part of a wonderfully diverse class and regularly has opportunities to learn about different cultures," she said.
The family adopted their 4-year-old son Noah a couple of months ago from the Dominican Republic, and he is currently attending the Spanish Academy of Asheville, a private preschool.
"We would love to get this dual language program started in Asheville City Schools for him, to make sure he can be easily understood by his teachers, help him ease into English, and honor his Afro-Latino heritage," Sadie Ray told the Citizen Times.
For the past month she has been rallying parents who are also interested in the program by sending out a Google form on various social media platforms and going to community events for parents to fill out a petition. So far, 240 families have signed the petition that says they are in support of the program, she said.
She has also been in contact with ACS Central Office staff on how to make this happen, and said she spoke to Superintendent Maggie Fehrman about the petition.
Connecting with others
The next steps would be for the district to have dedicated meetings on dual language instruction and identify who the key players would be in order to make the program happen, Sadie Ray told the Citizen Times.
One of the parents she's been speaking with is native Spanish speaker Agustina Lotts, who has two daughters at Ira B. Jones Elementary.
Lotts is from Argentina and moved here 10 years ago to strengthen her English, she told the Citizen Times Oct. 16.
Lotts said it's important for not only her daughters to have dual language instruction in the classroom but also for the community to connect.
"Teaching the kids to connect with others that might not sound like them or look like them is so important," Lotts said.
Data from the 2021-22 school year shows that 9% of students at Asheville City Schools were Hispanic and 21% of county school students were Hispanic.
Nieva Arana, who is a self-described Puerto Rican American, grew up speaking both English and Spanish.
Arana works for the Asheville City Schools foundation running the afterschool mentorship program.
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"As a Latina, I think it's incredibly important that we have a dual language program, because we do live in a global economy. The future is global," Arana told the Citizen Times Oct. 16.
"If we don't start preparing our students for what that means we're going to fall short of them being competitive for our global economy."
Buncombe County Schools program
A dual-language Spanish immersion program is a form of bilingual education, where students are taught literacy and content in both English and Spanish, meaning the students will have some classes in Spanish and others in English.
BCS offers this program in grades K-5 and students can choose to continue it in middle and high school, according to the county school's website.
The dual language Spanish immersion program is offered in all BCS districts at the following schools.
Avery's Creek Elementary
Candler Elementary
Eblen Intermediate
Enka Intermediate
Glen Arden Elementary
Koontz Intermediate
North Buncombe Elementary
North Windy Ridge Intermediate
Oakley Elementary
W.D. Williams Elementary
West Buncombe Elementary
Dropping enrollment
A presentation at the Oct. 2 city schools work session by Tanya Presha, academic and program support coordinator, showed enrollment numbers dropping at Asheville City Schools.
City school's enrollment has been on a decline since the 2017-18 school year, according to the presentation.
The district has lost more than 500 students since 2017.
In the 2017-18 school year, 4,421 students attended city schools, and the following school year it fell to 4,322 students. In the 2023-24 school year, so far, there are 3,896 students.
At the work session, Fehrman posed the question: "There is a large group of students who are going to Buncombe County and charter schools. My question is what are they getting there that they aren't getting in Asheville City?"
More: Asheville school board talks consolidation study, low enrollment, Parents' Bill of Rights
Asheville City Schools has no further update on the program at this time, according to ACS spokesperson April Dockery.
McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKenna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville City school parents petition for dual language program
