El Cotillo school psychologist urges Sunnyside board to explore bilingual education

During the call to the audience, Jennifer Arenas Cardenas (speaker 16) introduced herself as a school psychologist at El Cotillo Learning Center and urged the board to form an exploratory committee on bilingual education to be discussed at a future meeting.

Arenas Cardenas described raising bilingual children herself and noted nearby schools and a private school inside Sunnyside boundaries already offer dual‑language immersion. She requested the committee include teachers, administrators, students, parents and community members and emphasized the district’s bilingual staff and the cultural assets of the community. “My request to the board today is to make a motion to approve an exploratory committee for bilingual education and a future agenda meeting,” she said.

She clarified the request was not a commitment to implement a program, but an exploratory step to gather stakeholders and evaluate options. Several trustees thanked her and acknowledged possible next steps; the board chair later suggested staff “possibly look into that bilingual thing” as an agenda item.

What’s next: The board chair and trustees expressed interest in examining bilingual education options and suggested placing the topic on a future agenda for staff to prepare information and next steps.