Parents, students and teachers filled the Harnett County School Board meeting Monday, some holding signs, to speak in opposition to the end of dual immersion programs in most of the schools that offered them.
The program, which was implemented in 14 schools across the county, will be limited to just two elementary schools, leaving middle school students without this educational opportunity.
“We are here so they know our voices matter too, so they listen, that they cannot make decisions by themselves without taking the community into account,”María Pérez, whose daughter is in fourth grade at Coats Elementary, told Enlace Latino NC.
Families learned about the closure of the program in their respective schools through a letter sent to households in March.
The notice stated that the program would end at their respective schools at the end of the school year, but it did not indicate when the decision was made. Enlace Latino NC contacted the Harnett County School Board to confirm the timeline of the decision but has not received a response at the time of publication.
This article is also available in Spanish. You can read the full here: Padres y maestros denuncian falta de transparencia ante cierre de programas de inmersión bilingüe en Harnett
Limited options and an uncertain future
Families questioned the limited options offered by the district. The letter provided only two alternatives for elementary students to continue in the program: transferring to Dunn or Highland Elementary.
“It is impossible for us to move our children to another school because of transportation,” Pérez said.
Saara Bocanegra, who has children in several grades also at Coats Elementary, agreed: “The district gave us only two options, and that is not realistic for families with jobs and other responsibilities.”
Some families said they could transfer their children to schools that still offer bilingual immersion, but warned that the closures create uncertainty about long-term access to the program. Chris West, whose son has been in the program for six years, plans to transfer his fourth-grade son to another school.
“We can transport him, but I really feel for the families who cannot. They have to travel from Coats to there, and they cannot because transportation will not be provided,” West said.
He also highlighted a major concern: that the program will no longer be offered beyond elementary school. At the middle school level, there will be no formal dual immersion program, although it may exist as an elective course or in a virtual format, said Monica Thompson, assistant superintendent of Human Resources, at a previous School Board meeting.
“We don’t want to move him to a school, and then all of a sudden he gets to do it for a year, and then they get rid of the program,” he said, pointing to conflicting information about the program’s duration.
West emphasized the academic and social benefits for his son.
“He can actually help us with our after school program. We have several Spanish speaking children there and he can converse with them when they’re really young and help them get where they need to be,” he told Enlace Latino NC. “I’ve just seen him working on his Spanish homework, saying things in Spanish to his friends that are Hispanic. I think it’s great. It brings two cultures together.”
Students feel the loss
Hailey Avila, a high school student who has been in the program since kindergarten, described its impact to the Board of Education.
“This long-term commitment to bilingualism has provided me unique tools that go extend beyond the classroom,” she said. “It opens doors to creators, international business, health care and law; where clear communication with native Spanish-speakers is vital for providing quality service and care.”
For students currently enrolled, the closure threatens more than their class schedules; it puts years of effort and cultural growth at risk.
Sophia Rodas, a seventh-grade student, said the program allowed her to communicate with her family in Spanish.
“I did not speak Spanish when I was little, so it was very difficult to communicate with my parents,” she told Enlace Latino NC. “I felt very sad and devastated because I thought the program would last forever and that I would finish it.”
Cara McCurley, a six-grade student, described the closure as a betrayal of years of dedication.
“Harnett county schools promised us Spanish credits for high school Spanish education and education and the chance to become globally competitive”, she said to the Board.
“The seventh graders have completed nearly eight years of our nine years. So that means they only have one year left. We’ve worked way too hard and wait too long to see all of our hard work to see all our work get flushed down the toilet”, she added.
McCurley also highlighted the cultural impact. “It has taught me a lot about Hispanic culture. We did activities about Día de los Muertos and learned how people dress,” she told Enlace Latino NC.
“I hope they do not eliminate it, or at least give us more time before ending it,” she added.
Experts defend the program and question the process
During public comments, Maria Coady, a distinguished professor of education and professor of multilingual education at North Carolina State University, cited decades of research supporting dual immersion programs.
“The evidence on the effectiveness of dual-language immersion is to build bilingualism and literacy skills, as well as to bolster academic achievement and cognitive skills. This is irrefutable”, Coady said. “As country we have more than sixty years of high quality research which has repeatedly demonstrated these facts.”
Coady, who serves on the executive board of the Carolina Association for Bilingual Education and the National Association for Bilingual Education as the eastern region representative in the United States, also questioned the district’s process.
She said families, teachers and students were excluded from the decision-making. During the public comment period, technical difficulties also prevented comments from being posted online, leaving parents following the meeting virtually without access.
“The community does not have the data on the DLI (dual-language immersion) programs that are being abruptly closed,” Coady said, also questioning the district’s claim that the change is a gradual phaseout.
Diana Wyld, a bilingual immersion teacher in the county, said the programs are key to students’ intellectual development and cultural awareness.
“People who learn a second language develop many critical thinking skills and are much more open to learning and understanding others,” she told Enlace Latino NC.
Board presents its arguments
District officials said there were challenges in continuing the program at all schools during the March 30 meeting, citing class sizes, resource allocation and academic standards.
Chris Pearson, assistant superintendent of Auxiliary Services, said splitting classes 50-50 between English and Spanish can create imbalances. He said students must meet state standards in English, which, according to officials, has affected performance in some schools.
“It was important that we had geographically options on both sides. Also know that both of those campuses can support additional students. We just did an addition at both of those schools with extra money,” Pearson said, referring to Dunn and Highland Elementary.
For middle school students, following the complete elimination of the programs, Pearson suggested online courses through Virtual Public Schools. Parents and experts warned those options do not replace in-person instruction.
Board member Don R. Godfrey expressed confusion about the changes to the program. “I just have a problem.. I just don’t understand the philosophy of making these changes. We’ve been at Coats all this time… and all of a sudden we are going to send these kids to Dunn, that are doing well at Coats? It don’t sit right, ” Godfrey said, drawing applause from the audience.
Scholars question the reasoning
After the meeting, teacher Wyld said many of the reasons given for closing the program were inconsistent and based on incomplete information.
“They could not say what levels students needed to earn high school credits. They talked about class numbers and did not know the exact figures,” Wyld said.
Coady shared that concern. “There was a lot of misinformation that was shared about how dual immersion programs work… To say that children in lower elementary grades have not met proficiency levels in English only, in third grade, is an injustice to bilingual education programs, and we are failing those children when we are not assessing them with rigor, validity and reliability,” she said.
She added that bilingual children should be assessed in both languages and warned that decisions based on inaccurate information could harm students.
“I want to everybody tonight to keep this in mind” the district is making decisions based on information that is not true, it is not accurate,” she added. “The correct way to assess our bilingual children is in both languages, and we know it takes many years, four or five, for bilingual children to outperform monolingual students.”
Looking ahead
Parents emphasized that the impact may be especially significant in rural areas such as Harnett County, where access to alternative programs is limited.
Attendees at the meeting asked the district to pause the decision and consult stakeholders before moving forward, although it remains unclear whether the board will reconsider.
“Families took time off work to come speak, and many did not even get the chance. The board gave only five three-minute speaking slots, and our concerns were not addressed. People left frustrated, angry and unheard,” said Terri Ashchi, doctoral student at NC State, who attended the meeting, to Enlace Latino NC.
Community members, including parents, students and teachers, vowed to continue advocating for the programs.
“They may think this is over, but it is just beginning. We know we have to keep following up, keep writing to them, keep meeting with community members,” Carol Bono, a community member present, told Enlace Latino NC.
“To make sure the school board is held accountable and remembers who it truly serves: the families and students of Harnett County,” she added.
Related >>> “Immigrant population generated more in taxes than it received in benefits,” study finds
Petition launched to save programs
Ashchi, along with the affected families, launched a petition urging the Harnett County School Board to keep the bilingual immersion programs in public schools. The petition can be accessed at the following link.
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