LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines has cancelled the district’s plans for a proposed construction project at a Westside school campus that was to house an expanded foreign language immersion program.
Explaining the rationale for his decision in a three-page memo to members of the school board and its bond oversight committee yesterday, Cortines said the project “will not move forward,” but he vowed to work with district officials to provide an alternative pathway for students to continue their immersion studies into high school.
The decision is a blow to school board member Steve Zimmer, who had hailed the expansion of the program into a new school as a “game changer” for the district as part of an overarching strategy to stem the tide of falling enrollment.
Please read more here.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 
Reblogged this on baron brady and commented:
Well said. Some people were very loud and insulting in their opposition to the expansion of our program, claiming concerns about noise, traffic and green space, and the LAUSD prioritized those concerns over those of the children in the district. The LAUSD should be more concerned about how best to nurture the minds of its students and actively encouraging programs that benefits children the most.
Seeing how well Mandarin Immersion is doing in other states and countries, I’m not sure how our program is getting reduced in size. I hope everyone writes letters to make a case for sufficient classes to meet demand in the area. And Superintendent Cortines did mention in his letter that there should be language immersion classes wherever there’s demand for it.