Lindley enrollment up despite contentious changes

Phaseout of English-only program upset some families.

Even though angry parents last year threatened to pull their students out of the city’s only Spanish immersion school after changes were announced, the school’s enrollment is up, and at least 12 students are on a waiting list.

“Some of the fears people had from last year were not realized,” Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn said during a news conference at Lindley Elementary School on Wednesday. “Enrollment is up, there were no bad consequences, . . . we worked through the rough spots.” Crowded classrooms and a waiting list for the immersion program led officials last school year to look for alternatives.

Lindley’s immersion program – in which students are taught in English for half a day and Spanish the other half – and its neighborhood school program – in which students follow a traditional educational path – are so popular with parents neither side wanted its program moved from the school.

With room for about 460 students, the school was over-capacity with 471 students enrolled, according to school officials.

A compromise plan was agreed upon, which calls for a three-year phaseout of the English-only program. Thus current students can continue with their program through fifth grade, completing their elementary education at Lindley.

The plan also called for the creation of a beginning bilingual program, in which formerly English-only students now study language arts, spelling, writing and reading in English for half the day, and spend the other half learning math, science and social studies in both English and Spanish.

After the English-only program is phased out, all students will be enrolled in the Spanish immersion program. But the school will continue to offer the bilingual program to older students who move into the district without a background in Spanish, said Gerald Arthur, Lindley principal.

The decision to eliminate the neighborhood school program came after parents and school officials squared off for two years in contentious meetings on the issue. Parents who support the Spanish immersion program favored the change, while parents of traditional-track students wanted to maintain the previous curriculum.

“Expectations of parents and teachers keeps the program to high (standards),” said Mark Shannon, who has three children enrolled at Lindley.

School officials also announced Wednesday they received a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will fund staff development programs and be used to purchase Spanish language books and other teaching materials.

“This is an exciting time for the students and staff at Lindley,” Arthur said. “Our steady enrollment and the grant we’ve received confirm the success of our Spanish immersion program, thanks to committed parents, teachers and students.”



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