Hispanic parents say they feel ignored by officials who had planned to move the campus.
By Debbie Truong Debbie Truong Reporter covering Virginia schools Email Bio Follow March 3 at 4:03 PM The students’ families hail from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and other Spanish-speaking countries, arriving at Key Elementary School in Northern Virginia by word of mouth. They follow a reputation that travels through informal networks of friends and co-workers and more-established channels such as embassies.
The school district has backed off those plans for now but has not ruled out moving the program in the future, which officials say could be necessary to manage ballooning enrollment, reduce transportation costs and bring the bilingual program to other Spanish-speaking families. They have aligned themselves with more-affluent parents at the school, launching a website to showcase their opposition. They also have denounced school system leaders in public meetings and planted signs on front lawns saying: “ALTO CONTRA EL CAMBIO” — “high against the change” — followed in English by “STOP THE SWAP.”It was the 1980s and families from Central America and Vietnam were settling in north Arlington, said Marjorie Myers, who retired last year after 23 years as Key’s principal.
A federal mandate requiring language instruction for English-language learners led administrators to visit a bilingual school in Connecticut, recalled Emma Violand-Sanchez, one of the school’s first bilingual teachers and a former school board member. Parents and school district officials say Key’s success confirms research showing that dual-language education bolsters students’ achievement.“I left my whole family behind in my country,” said Janeiro, who learned about the school from the Embassy of Spain. “Key School is my family. My children have their friends. I have my friends. And it’s a family because we can communicate in the same language.
The nearly 15-minute walk to the school is paved with wide sidewalks and hemmed by office buildings and shops. Parents without cars can reach the school by bus or Metro. Courtney Sullivan, an attorney hired by a Key parent, sent a letter to Murphy in November threatening a court challenge. Moving the school without public comment or school board approval, she argued, violated state law.
Key parents say they think the school system hasn’t considered their point of view or the damage relocating the dual-language program would cause.
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