The School Board voted Monday to consolidate its middle school Spanish dual immersion language program into one school.
The program combines English- and Spanish-speaking students, which allows for accelerated language learning and cultural understanding.
Earlier, plans had called for it to be expanded from Great Neck and Landstown middle schools to two other schools. However, now the plan is to consolidate the program to Virginia Beach Middle School starting in the 2027-28 school year.
Another option discussed before Monday's vote was to phase it out at the middle school level, which parents and students had opposed.
“We recognize the educational value of this program and the deep commitment of students and families for keeping this program in some manner at the middle school level,” said Crystal Wilkerson, the division's director of K-12 and gifted programs.
An update will be presented to the board next summer during the board's retreat, according to the presentation. Ultimately, program availability will depend on staffing and enrollment.
School Board Member Melinda Rogers made a motion to adopt the consolidation, while reassuring parents that the board meant for the program to continue.
“We want them to believe us when we say we want to go forward with the program,” Rogers said.
Superintendent Donald Robertson said the schools are struggling with staffing for the program but see its value.
“This recommendation is just an acknowledgement that we absolutely have heard the parents,” he said. “The program is a great program. There’s no doubt about that. Zero.”
Parents are concerned about how the proposed changes were presented and whether the consolidation will result in fewer students.
Alberto McAlas, who has two children in DLI learning, said the choice presented to the board came down to either consolidation or phasing it out.
He and his wife, Bailey, said their children have benefitted from the program at the elementary school level, as have other students — English and Spanish speakers alike.
“It’s either get rid of it or diminish it significantly,” Bailey McAlas said during an interview before the vote. She said there are concerns that students might not enroll if they have a long bus ride to Virginia Beach Middle.
Alberto McAlas moved from El Salvador to New York when he was 8, and he spoke Monday about his difficulty starting school without speaking English.
During remarks to the board, he said Spanish-speaking students in DLI don’t have to choose “between learning and being themselves.” His own children are advancing while learning Spanish.
“The English-speaking children in these same classrooms are learning just as much,” he said.
Parents who addressed the School Board on Monday spoke on behalf of keeping the program and some offered to participate in an advisory committee to help strengthen it.
Some on the board liked the idea of an advisory group of parents.
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