SUSD officials see interest in dual-immersion language plan

Saugus Union School District administrators and board members received a status report regarding the community response to last week’s dual-immersion informational meetings.

SUSD Assistant Superintendent Isa De Armas informed the board that, after two meetings where parents were given their first comprehensive look into what the district’s new “90/10” Spanish-language program entails, Saugus administrators received more than 80 inquiries from families looking to enroll their soon-to-be kindergartners in the program.

“It may be up to a 100 by now, actually,” De Armas said. “We have other interest forms coming in that we still need to go through to make sure they are (incoming) kindergarten students and that we’re doing everything we can to make it a fair process. So the acceptances won’t be known for at least another couple of weeks.”

Balance in classes

One of the things that could play a role in the administrators’ decision, according to De Armas, is her desire to see some semblance of parity between the number of primary language Spanish and English speakers.

“We need to have a balance in the classrooms, because it’s important to us for the students to have that peer-to-peer connection,” De Armas said. “So, we’ll want some native (Spanish) speakers, as well as English-only students.

“But overall, the informational meetings were a huge success,” De Armas added.

SUSD board members also heard from Saugus Teachers Association officials, who were supported by dozens of their fellow union members donned in red, the symbolic color of their association.

The leaders of the STA had previously submitted their 2019-20 Initial Bargaining Proposal, which included improvements to teacher and school faculty salary, calendar and benefits, and board members agreed to hold a public hearing to discuss the latest requests by district staff.

SUSD board President Julie Olsen declined to comment on the status of the labor agreement until it is discussed during the public hearing being held during the next regularly scheduled board meeting on Feb. 19.

Those interested in learning more about the STA lnitial Bargaining Proposal for the 201920 school year or how to submit an application for your student to enroll in the SUSD dual-language immersion program can visit the district’s website at www.saugususd.org.