Coppell Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 36
Consolidation Will Have Ripple Effects • Lewisville ISD Refuses to Alter Border • Cemetery Has Dwindling Supply of Spaces • Warehouse Planned Near 2 Neighborhoods
Consolidation Will Have Ripple Effects
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, a majority of Coppell ISD trustees voted to move Pinkerton Elementary’s International Baccalaureate program to Wilson Elementary and consolidate Wilson’s Dual Language Immersion program with its counterpart at Denton Creek Elementary.
What you may not realize is that these moves could affect your child, even if he or she doesn’t attend any of those schools.
“I know change can be hard for our community,” Superintendent Brad Hunt said in a statement that was published moments after Wednesday’s 5-2 vote. “I truly believe that by focusing on taking care of our students, teachers, and families, we will navigate this transition smoothly by working together. The next steps include developing transition plans for staff, students, and their families, as well as adjusting district attendance boundaries to reflect these changes.”
During Wednesday’s special meeting, the trustees were shown a draft of new attendance zones that would need to be instituted to accommodate the recommended changes. Assistant Superintendent Kristen Eichel said the changes would affect about 825 students, representing approximately 16 percent of the district’s projected elementary population next fall.
“The reality is we have other families and another 200-plus kids across the district that are gonna be impacted as we have to shift kids around to make all of this work,” Trustee Nichole Bentley said.
Those statistics are based on the assumption that all Dual Language Immersion students at Wilson will transfer to Denton Creek, but the administration and the trustees know that’s not likely to happen. Many Wilson parents have said they will pull their children out of the DLI program rather than have them commute across town.
That said, all “emergent bilingual” students — which is the district’s term for kids who are learning English — would “still be taken care of educationally,” Board President David Caviness said, even if they opt out of DLI.
That statement was confirmed by Anita de la Isla, the district’s Director of ESL, Bilingual, and LOTE Programs. She reminded the trustees that DLI is designed to have equal numbers of native Spanish speakers learning English and native English speakers learning Spanish. The program doesn’t work without the willing participation of emergent bilingual students.
“We have to keep them in the forefront,” de la Isla said. “Now, it is an enrichment program for the other students, but we have to know that we will not have a DLI program if we do not have emergent bilinguals who participate in the program.”
Trustee Manish Sethi made the motion to move IB to Wilson, consolidate DLI at Denton Creek, and level pre-K programs across the district. Jobby Mathew seconded the motion. The dissenting votes came from Bentley and Anthony Hill.
Before the vote, Bentley said she was “100 percent for DLI consolidation,” but there were parts of Sethi’s motion she could not support.
“I think it is OK for seven people to get the same information and come to different conclusions,” Bentley said. “I think that is healthy. I think that’s why we’re here.”
Hill said he agreed with Bentley: “We can come to different conclusions. And, you know, you may like some, you may like all, but at the end of the day, we all understand that there’s a need to do some things in order to preserve the quality of the district.”
Lewisville ISD Refuses to Alter Border
Coppell ISD is not the only area school district that is considering campus closures. Last Monday, Lewisville ISD’s trustees narrowed the list of schools they may shutter from 10 to five.
They were presented with the initial list of 10 schools on Oct. 7. Earlier that evening, the trustees considered a petition from a Coppell couple to alter the district’s boundaries.