Supporters and opponents share opinions on proposed Glendale charter school

Nov. 18, 2015 6:23 PM PT

A parent-led effort to establish a charter school in Glendale has pitted Glendale Unified educators and parents against those who favor the school, as nearly 40 supporters and opponents shared their opinions about the proposed facility during a public hearing Tuesday night.

The lead petitioner, Glendale resident and parent Hilary Stern, was joined by fellow parent Gillian Bonacci, who plans to serve as a board member for the charter, to present their case for the International Studies Language Academy.

Their effort to establish the school, Bonacci said, has been two years in the making, and the parent group has already received 95 applications from instructors who would teach dual-language immersion classes in German, Italian, French and Spanish to students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Nineteen speakers said they were against the school, the majority saying it would take students out of Glendale Unified, a district that already offers substantial dual-language programs, they said.

Meanwhile, 17 people spoke in favor of the charter, saying it would offer greater opportunity for more students to enroll in dual-language programs, which they said have reached capacity in Glendale.

Both Stern and Bonacci have sent their children to Glendale Unified’s Benjamin Franklin Elementary, a magnet school where students spend up to 90% of the instructional day learning in German, Italian, French and Spanish.

Their reason for wanting to open the charter school, Stern said, is a result of the popularity of Glendale’s dual-language programs offered in German, Spanish, Italian, French, Korean, Armenian and Japanese.

“The demand increases every year as the capacity remains the same,” Stern said. “At Franklin alone last year, they received over 500 applications for around 100 spots.”

Once Glendale students reach middle school, they may take their study language in a single elective class, but parents pushing for a charter school, including parent Gwendolyn Mahler, said the campus would provide more “robust” courses for seventh- and eighth-grade students not currently provided in Glendale schools.

However, for Taline Arsenian, president of the Glendale Teachers Assn., the parents’ plan — encompassed in a 249-page petition — is “unsound.”

“It is a waste of Glendale taxpayers dollars that will be better served in [the Glendale Unified School District],” she said.

Former teachers’ union president Tami Carlson said that Glendale schools already meet the need for parents who are intent on enrolling their children in dual-language programs.

“They say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” she said.

Fellow teacher Sonia Rodriguez, who teaches Spanish at Franklin Elementary, said the proposed school “seeks to replicate Franklin.”

But supporters of the school, including parent Jeffrey Maroon, said it would bring more opportunity to students and make Glendale stand out.

“It would add to the community. It would add to the prestige of Glendale,” said Maroon, whose two children attend Franklin Elementary.

Gabriel White, another Glendale parent, suggested that the petitioners take their proposal to Los Angeles Unified for consideration.

“Why is there a need for a charter school when Glendale has an excellent program?” he asked.

When school board member Nayiri Nahabedian asked the co-petitioners why they chose Glendale to establish the school, Bonacci said that “overwhelmingly, the participants wanted to stay in Glendale.”

After each school board member asked a single question of the petitioners, board members did not discuss the proposed charter any further.

“The great news is that dual immersion is alive and well in Glendale,” said Christine Walters, the school board’s president, when the nearly hour-and-a-half hearing concluded.

On Dec. 15, the school board is expected to make a final decision on whether or not the charter school will open in Glendale.

Kelly Corrigan, [email protected]

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan