Op-Ed: Transition from French to Spanish at Herndon Elementary is Misguided

Editor's Note: This was submitted to Patch by a local resident.

Recently, the Assistant Superintendent for Cluster 1 schools, Mr. Marty Smith, announced that the French immersion program at Herndon Elementary School (HES) would be phased out in favor of Spanish two-way immersion (TWI).  

This may not seem like a big deal, but under the surface is a trend I find very troubling that threatens the quality of our school system's foreign language program.

When the proposed transition was rolled out in January, there was keen interest in the objectives it was intended to address. What opportunities would a Spanish program offer that the French program did not already provide?

These objectives were an elusive target.  After pressing School Board members, the Dranesville District Representative, Ms. Jane Strauss, pointed to a 2008 report that evaluated TWI programs. The report recommended expansion of TWI programs with the objective outcome of "closing the achievement gap between Limited English Proficient (LEP) and English speakers."  

 Frankly, this was the elephant in the room at the public forums on this matter. We were told many times about Herndon's demographic trends, but the connection to the English proficiency of Hispanic students at HES was being avoided.

The 2008 report appears to be the basis for the aggressive expansion of Spanish programs. With the HES decision, there will be more than two Spanish programs for every non-Spanish program, and two more Spanish programs will be added next year.

Unfortunately, the scope of the report is insufficient to justify this policy. It does not address the downsides of TWI or look at traditional programs. Nor does it treat considerations like language portfolio balance, fair access across the county, and situations when an existing program should be transitioned to benefit one group at the expense of another. None of these topics have been evaluated and factored into an appropriately vetted, approved and documented policy to guide the HES transition decision.

Other details related to how the decision was made are also bothersome. During public debate, Mr. Smith promised to look at hosting both French and Spanish at HES. Days before the decision, a report was released that recommended further study on such a program. Yet, action on the French-to-Spanish proposal occurred on schedule as if the decision was made long ago, and the transmittal was coldly silent on the do-both approach. Sadly, Mr. Smith's hollow promise also gave the supporters of the French program a false sense of security that effectively suppressed their objections to the proposal.

I do not agree with Mr. Smith's decision. But, more significantly, the immersion program is straying from the ideals on which it was founded. It is being pulled toward the lowest common denominator (Spanish) for the wrong reasons (LEP achievement gaps). The existing French program at HES was cheated along the way by policy and process fouls.  

I am very disappointed that the leadership of our school system allowed this to happen, and hope they pay closer attention to the governance of the immersion program in the future and set a new course.

Randy Soderholm

Resident of Reston 

What do you think of Mr. Soderholm's perspective on this issue? Tell us in the comments below.

Do you have a letter to the editor or op-ed you'd like to see published on Herndon Patch? If so, e-mail it to Editor Jennifer van der Kleut at jennifer.vanderkleut@patch.com

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