Capri Elementary Parents Voice Concerns over School's Future

A vocal contingent of supporters said the possible elimination of English-only instruction in favor of the bilingual Dual Immersion Program would “destroy” the school, during a discussion at the March 6 Encinitas Union School District board meeting.

Currently, offers both the Dual Immersion and English-only options, as does Paul Ecke Central. The district conducted a study of Dual Immersion as a way to improve the program and find cost savings. The idea was broached to discontinue the program at Paul Ecke Central and offer only bilingual education at — with the possibility that families who didn’t want to opt into the program must go to another school.

Other ideas mentioned during Supt. Timothy Baird’s report at the board meeting included capping the number of students in Dual Immersion; closing down the program entirely; or hiring a coordinator and improving teacher development. Baird’s report stated that there were concerns about inconsistent class numbers due to changing class-size ratios, staff and principal resources, communication issues, and difficulty with teacher collaboration across the two programs, among others.

But several speakers urged the board trustees to pursue other options, and their comments were punctuated with applause from many members of the audience that packed the board room. Many speakers touched on Capri’s community spirit, and the importance of attending a neighborhood school.

“As a parent, if we had lost the chance to go to our local school it would have been devastating,” said Capri parent Karen Brink. “We’ve worked hard to create a community feeling at Capri — it’s a feeling of family, and doing this would splinter the family.”

Other speakers worried about the fate of the school’s English-only teachers, future Academic Performance Index scores, depressed property values, and the impact on students who would have to change schools.

Board trustees told the audience that the report was informational only and no decision would be made until after parents and staff could offer their input. Baird has scheduled meetings at both and Paul Ecke Central to get feedback and return to the board with a more comprehensive report.

parent Cindy Gray acknowledged the difficulty of the board’s task ahead. “This is a divisive issue, and I hope everyone can respect the opinions of others and come together and put our differences behind us.”

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