Prince George’s Co. parents upset over proposed elimination of language immersion programs
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — There are issues in Prince George’s County about what might be forward for the varsity district’s overseas language immersion programs.
7News spoke to parents and the Academic Dean of the Chinese Immersion program at Paint Branch Elementary in College Park.
They’re nervous a couple of proposal to remove this system and say it may affect others language immersion programs within the county.
Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) confirmed to 7News that the boundary Chinese Immersion program at Paint Branch and the Spanish Immersion program at Capitol Heights Elementary may finish this faculty 12 months if the proposal goes by way of.
PGCPS stated immersion pathways at Greenbelt Middle School and Largo High School would even be phased out and would not settle for new students.
The faculty system emphasised that at the moment enrolled college students would be capable to proceed by way of completion. On Jan. 27, the Chief Academic Officer of PGCPS, Dr. Judith White, knowledgeable parents that the Chinese Immersion Program might be eradicated.
The correspondence defined, “After careful consideration, we have determined that we can no longer sustain the immersion model.”
Parents at Paint Branch instructed 7News the Chinese Immersion program is the one one of its type within the faculty system.
Currently, there’s on request online that has been signed by greater than 1,400 parents, educators, and neighborhood members.
The mum or dad who began the net enchantment says that if the proposal takes impact, it will transition the elementary faculty program to a primary language mannequin with fewer hours of instruction.
That mum or dad, Ana Gutierrez, has a 7-year-old son who attends Paint Branch.
“At this moment, they are saying they are going to be transitioning from an immersion program to a World Language model, which is simply just having a class. Kind of like having a Spanish class or Chinese class instead of being immersed in the language,” she stated.
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We additionally spoke to Pei-Hsuan Liu, Academic Dean of Chinese Immersion at Paint Branch.
“I want them to consider if we can size down to another program such as [a] lottery or just make the program smaller. Because once you eliminate our program, there’s no Chinese immersion in PG,” Liu instructed us.
On Feb. 3, PGCPS leaders met with parents online to supply extra details about the proposal.
They defined that the Chinese Immersion program prices the district $1.9 million.
PGCPS instructed 7News the cuts are being thought-about as the varsity system addresses a $150 million finances hole.
“This decision wasn’t based on whether a program is successful. It’s based on it being one of the most expensive models that we have that we’re not running the way we should be running it. Where we’re struggling to get teachers to support it, and where our team at the school is constantly working on revamping the model every year to make it happen,” White instructed assembly attendees.
“Our school Paint Branch Elementary is a Title 1 school. It consists of mostly low income families. It’s around 500 kids, so it’s going to have a big impact on our community in College Park and across PG County,” Paint Branch Parent and PTA Secretary Alexandra Tyukavina shared.
Parents instructed 7News they plan to testify at a finances listening to on Feb.19 at 5 pm
The faculty board is predicted to vote on the finances and the immersion program proposal on Feb. 26.
