Fate of Seattle's Dual Language Immersion schools uncertain

SPS holds forums for possible school closures

Seattle Public Schools hosted a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss a plan to close 20 elementary schools within the district. The move would help make up a budget deficit of more than $100 million that the district says it's facing.

SEATTLE - Seattle Public Schools hosted a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss a plan to close 20 elementary schools within the district. The move would help make up a budget deficit of more than $100 million that the district says it's facing.

The list of school closures has not yet been released, and the uncertainty is causing some to worry.

"I’m concerned that it could be on the chopping block," said Adriana Casas Gorski, whose son attends John Stanford International, a dual language immersion school (DLI).

"My husband is of Japanese heritage, and I am Mexican, so this school offers Spanish and Japanese," said Gorski.

She's worried that her son's school and McDonald International Elementary might be on the closure list.

"I have seen the wonderful work that the staff and admin have done there, and I’m concerned others won’t have that opportunity," she said.

As a teacher herself at a Spanish cooperative preschool, she says demand for the DLI schools is already so high, the district is losing students to private schools.

"Every year we have parents that are heartbroken because their child did not get into an immersion school. We are losing students each year… that should be coming to SPS," said Gorski.

At Tuesday's virtual meeting, SPS leaders answered written questions only. When asked how DLI schools would be impacted, no promises were made to keep certain schools open, but the superintendent said the district planned to maintain programming.

"We are actually talking about, ‘how do we shore them up?’ Our dual language programming should sustain as we go forward. So, I wanted to give some people some reassurance on that," said Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.

School officials said Tuesday, generally speaking, even if some schools stay open, students could still be moved.

"It is very possible students would be moving from their current school, even if it’s not a school that is closing," said Dr. Marni Campbell, the executive operations director at Seattle Public Schools.

Tuesday's virtual meeting comes on the heels of an in-person meeting last week during which the crowd was frustrated they weren't allowed to comment.

Gorski was one of the parents who said they wanted to be heard. She says if dual language immersion schools close, SPS will miss the moment.

"I mean, we are a world city. Seattle is a world city, and we need to prepare our students that way," said Gorski.

SPS says the consolidated schools would be called "well-resourced" schools and would include high-quality educators and modern classroom resources and technology, inclusive curriculum and foster a supportive environment.

A public hearing is scheduled for June 10.

SPS has said that the closures will be distributed evenly across the district and the superintendent will be presenting recommendations to the board later in the month.