Conroe ISD withdraws plan to cut dual language program
The district previously said enrollment is declining and cutting the program would have saved them more than a million dollars.
CONROE, Texas (KTRK) -- A dual language enrichment program in Conroe ISD will continue after the superintendent had previously moved to end the program.
The program's uncertainty had some parents upset.
Some of the parents who support the program are breathing a sigh of relief, but the program's future is still unclear.
During a Tuesday night board meeting, Superintendent Curtis Null withdrew the recommendation to get rid of the program but also warned that more work needs to be done to determine what will happen next.
He stressed that problems with the program need to be fixed to keep it going.
"We have problems within the program we have to fix, or we will be back here at some point," Null said.
Conroe ISD's Two-Way Immersion Dual Language program allows students to learn in both English and Spanish throughout the school year on seven different campuses.
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The program teaches children lessons in English one day, Spanish the next day, and so on.
It begins with Kindergarten students, and parents must sign a contract to keep their child enrolled for five years.
One parent said they moved to the district just to participate in the program.
However, according to the district, declining enrollment prompted them to consider getting rid of it.
The district also says they are struggling to fill vacancies for bilingual teachers across the district and thought that by stopping the program, they could shift dual language teachers into those open jobs.
Conroe ISD previously said cutting the program would save the district over a million dollars.
"We need to come together to work on it so it can be a viable program that we all can believe in, but it also needs to make sense financially," Null said. "Not just for you that are in the program, but for all of our tax payers."
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