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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wonder what the reaction would be to eliminating the immersion program and institution FLES in all schools?  Not saying I support this, but I'm sure parents of immersion kids would not like this idea; their child would be missing immersion.  But at the same time, not every child can get into immersion because it is by lottery, so its not fair.  I pay the same taxes as the neighbor's kid who was lucky in the lottery even though my kid was last on the waitlist.

I'd happily pay more taxes for all schools to have, at the minimum, FLES.  Sadly, our ES does not have FLES or immersion.  It does bother me that some schools have both.  [/quote]

Just note that for the schools that have both immersion and FLES, the FLES is only for the non-immersion students.  There are no students that I am aware of that get both.

On another note, my DC's school did not get FLES after several years of applying, so our Principal went out and applied for and received a grant to institute something similar himself.   It now shows up as a FLES school, but I don't know if the fundong is from the County or the grant.  It has been at least 5 years since the program started.[/quote]

[b]I know they are separate programs at the school, but it seems unfair that some schools get both while others have neither.  [/b]

Thanks for mentioning the grant alternative.  My kids aren't in school yet, but I did speak with our principal about adding FLES.  He cited funding, but said he expected it to be in all ES in a few years.  So I'm even more saddened to hear it might not be added to any schools.  I think about 40 schools don't have it.  If they could add 10 a year, that would get in all ES in  years.  It might not be great, but in my mind, something is better than nothing.  I've already thought about supplementing with a tutor.  [/quote]

Whether one school has both FLES and immersion and another school doesn't have either OR one has immersion and one has FLES, still means there are students who do not have any options. The inequality is still there if there are students that do not have access to FLES or Immersion.  If you had FLES in all non-immersion schools but not in Immersion schools, then it still would not be fair to the non-immersion students at immersion schools.  [/quote]

So why not add FLES to all schools first, then add immersion?  And the fact that you have to provide transportation for out of bounds students likely limits the number of students applying for immersion, thus increasing the chances of inbound students to get in.  And if the inbound kid doesn't get in, he still has the opportunity to go to FLES, while my kid doesn't.   [/quote]

Okay, I get it know.  If [i]your[/i] child had FLES or immersion, you wouldn't be complaining.  It isn't so much that you feel that it is unfair that [i]some[/i] students get immersion or FLES and [i]some[/i] students do not.  It is that [i]your[/i] child doesn't have access to FLES or immersion.[/quote]

Actually, my preference is for all students to have the same opportunity and as it stands now, they don't.  Of the two, immersion would be the best, but I get that there are budget issues, so why not offer at least something as opposed to nothing?  I see foreign language in ES as an enrichment activity, like art or music.  All kids should have an opportunity for the same enrichment activities.  Do all schools offer art and music?  I get you have to qualify for AAP (you don't see me saying all schools should offer it), but you don't have to qualify for an enrichment activity.

If you read one of my earlier posts, I said I don't support doing away with immersion, I simply asked a question and the truth is the parents who already have immersion would never let it go in favor of all kids getting an opportunity to have FLES.  Why is that any different than me wanting it for my kids?   As I said, though, I'd rather all kids get foreign language.

I'm not looking to argue.  I see inequity.[/quote]

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