- Davis School District will maintain Lincoln Elementary's Spanish-English program after a study into its future.
- South Davis Junior High's French-English program, however, is up in the air and will be focus of a public hearing on Oct. 23.
- School officials launched studies last July into the future of the programs due to concerns about participation levels in each.
FARMINGTON — A dual-language Spanish-English program at a Davis School District elementary school is safe, but the future of a French-English program at a district junior high school is at risk.
Officials in July launched evaluations into the Spanish-English program at Lincoln Elementary in Layton and the French-English program at South Davis Junior High in Bountiful, stemming from concerns about participation levels in each. A public hearing on the future of the South Davis Junior High program is set for Oct. 23, specifically regarding its possible consolidation with the French-English program at Mueller Park Junior High in Bountiful.
"This change would streamline resources and better support students continuing into the French Bridge program at Bountiful High School," reads a notice for the planned hearing posted on Friday. The Oct. 23 hearing starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at South Davis Junior High.
Last week, Davis School District officials formally ended the study into the future of the Lincoln Elementary dual-language program and plan to keep it.
"I'm so grateful that they valued the current program and decided to invest in it instead of ending it," said Shari Evans, the mother of a daughter currently in the school's dual-language program and a son who went through it. "The program will continue to make a huge impact on all the students who majorly benefit from it."
Utah's dual-language immersion programs are focus of on-and-off debate and scrutiny as enrollment numbers morph and evolve. Earlier this year, Utah lawmakers approved a measure, SB102, that calls for an evaluation of dual-language immersion programs in Utah public schools every five years.
The future of the South Davis Junior High French-English program is focus of study due to falling enrollment, just nine students currently compared to 106 at Mueller Park Junior High. Under the consolidation plan, if approved, students in the program would be able to transfer to Mueller Park Junior High to continue their French studies. A final vote from district officials on the South Davis Junior High program is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 18.
The future of the Lincoln Elementary Spanish-English program had been called into question because of relatively low lengths of participation — around 2.5 years per student compared to six years that experts recommend to benefit from such instruction. Public feedback supportive of the program, however, figured in the decision to keep it.
"Many responses emphasized the program's cultural benefits, sense of belonging and equitable access for students. Several comments also suggested strengthening the program rather than removing it," reads a district report on the matter.
