Glendora board directs staff to seek DLI kindergarten at La Fetra after parents present outreach data

The Glendora Unified School District board voted 3–1 on June 20 to ask district staff to enroll a kindergarten dual‑language immersion (DLI) cohort at La Fetra for 2026–27, paired with a targeted outreach and a DLI parent committee to help recruitment.

Trustee Monica Garcia made the motion and Trustee Michael Muñoz seconded it; Board Clerk Dr. Daniel Kim joined Garcia and Munoz in voting to direct staff to proceed while Board President Clifford opposed the measure. The motion directs staff to pursue the site change, hire or assign a teacher if needed, and implement an “intentional strategic marketing plan” that includes parent volunteers to contact families identified as interested.

The decision followed a long public‑comment period in which parents and community advocates urged the board to preserve and expand the DLI pilot. Parent representatives told the board they had mobilized and confirmed interest from families: one advocacy group shared a list they said included 28 immediately interested local families (13 Spanish or bilingual speakers) and an additional 54 names for a future pipeline, a total the parents described as 82 interested households. “Every child deserves a chance to become bilingual,” bilingual teacher and parent Tina Yee told the board during public comment.

District staff had urged caution. Presentations earlier in the meeting documented two years of the DLI pilot and noted persistent challenges recruiting native‑Spanish‑speaking students within the district and attracting inter‑district transfers — an original goal of the pilot intended to boost ADA funding. Fiscal modeling shown to the board projected multi‑year deficits for a stand‑alone two‑way program if outside enrollment remained at recent levels; staff presented example figures (a 2025–26 deficit of about $172,831 rising in model years to larger shortfalls under current assumptions) and warned that the separate classroom structure required additional staffing costs.

Superintendent Dr. DeGrazia and fiscal staff repeatedly emphasized the decision was difficult because it balanced program value for participating families with district‑wide fiscal and facilities constraints. Staff presented two primary options: a phased move and split‑site approach that would begin new kindergarten cohorts at La Fetra while existing cohorts finished at Sutherland, or a longer‑term shift to a one‑way immersion model (which requires different program design and review). Trustees and staff discussed transportation, sibling impacts if students are on different campuses, teacher recruitment and professional learning, and the limited classroom space at Sutherland after TK expansion, STEAM labs and intervention programs.

Trustees who voted against immediately phasing in a new cohort warned the district had not exhausted all recruitment and marketing avenues before concluding the pilot was unsustainable. Trustee Clifford said staff and the board should have done more to recruit in neighboring communities and to enlist bilingual families as outreach partners before changing course. Supporters of the motion said the parent‑provided lists and offers of volunteer outreach justified a prompt effort to sustain the pilot and that La Fetra’s bigger footprint could improve access for Spanish‑speaking families.

The board’s motion requires staff to move quickly. District officials said they would screen the parent‑submitted lists, verify interest, confirm teacher availability or hire, and prepare a marketing plan; staff also noted timelines are tight for staffing and program logistics if a kindergarten cohort is to begin in fall 2026. The motion instructs staff to return with implementation steps and to include parents as part of the recruitment effort.

What happens next: staff will review and screen the names parents submitted, finalize whether the cohort can be safely and legally staffed and housed, and begin outreach. The board’s direction does not represent an automatic guarantee of a full kindergarten class — staff said the cohort will proceed only if logistical and staffing criteria can be met. The existing DLI students currently in the pilot will continue through third grade as previously promised, district officials said.

Reach and impact: parents and teachers described the program as culturally and academically valuable; the district must now try to reconcile that value with limited funds and facility constraints. The board’s vote gives district staff a narrow window this summer to verify interest, identify or hire qualified bilingual teachers and execute the outreach plan that parents have offered to support.