Schools

Letter to the Editor: Keep Neighborhood Kids at Neighborhood Schools

An Encinitas mom explains why she thinks moving kids from Capri to Paul Ecke would be a bad move.

Editor’s Note: The following is a Letter to the Editor written by Karen Brink, a mother of a second-grade child at Capri Elementary School.

Students who only speak English could face eviction from Capri Elementary School in Encinitas this fall. Capri Elementary and Paul Ecke Central schools participate in a Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program where classes are made up of 50 percent Spanish speakers and 50 percent English speakers. forcing English-only Capri students to leave their neighborhood to attend Paul Ecke Central.

DLI classes are taught primarily in Spanish. Parents currently have the option of enrolling their kindergarteners in DLI or an English-speaking class. If the consolidation takes place, Capri would not offer any kindergarten classes in English. If parents do not want their child enrolled in DLI (or if an English-speaking student has a learning disability), that child would not have any options but to go to Paul Ecke. Any student who lives across the street from Capri school could be forced out of their own neighborhood.

As residents of the school district and supporters of the school, we’re hurt and confused as to why they would tear apart our school.

I love Capri for what it is now. We have a wonderful, diverse campus with a sense of family. I cannot see why anybody would want to exclude part of our family. I have a daughter that will be going to kindergarten in two years. How do I explain to her, that she doesn’t get to have the same wonderful teachers and experience that my son has had. Do I have to tell her it is because she speaks the native language of English?

Encinitas School District Superintendent Timothy Baird has scheduled two public meetings to discuss this issue. The meetings will take place on Tuesday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Capri Elementary School, 941 Capri Road, and Tuesday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Paul Ecke Central School at 185 Union Street in Encinitas. Both meetings are open to the public.

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If you have a Letter to the Editor that you would like to submit, please email it to Marlena.Medford@Patch.com.


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