MEMBERS OF THE BOARD STEVEN ZIMMER, PRESIDENT MONICA GARCIA DR. GEORGE J. MCKENNA IIL MONICA RATLIFF DR. REF RODRIGUEZ, SCOTT M. SCHMERELSON DR. RICHARD A. VLADOVIC LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Administrative Office 333 South Beaudry Avenue, 24® Floor Los Angeles, California 90017 Telephone: (213) 241-7000 Fax: (213) 241-8482 RAMON C. CORTINES ‘SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS August 4, 2015 Dear Ms. Pullen and Members of Parents for Progressive Education, Lam in receipt of your letter dated July 27, 2015, regarding the Mandarin Foreign Language Immersion Program at Broadway Elementary. Thank you for your communication. realize you may not be aware, and I think it is important to share with you, that. when Broadway Elementary School (Broadway) was facing a potential closure due to low student enrollment, Board President Steve Zimmer and I were the ones who originally encouraged the expansion of the Mandarin Foreign Language Immersion Program on the Broadway campus. With that being said, I cannot, and do not support Broadway continuing to accept four new incoming kindergarten classes. We must not forget that this is a neighborhood school with resident students that must be served first. Furthermore, the school also has a Spanish Foreign Language Immersion Program that has not expanded beyond two classrooms per grade level. My proposal, as outlined in my May 26, 2015 Informative to the Board of Education, provided consideration for all students and educational programs on the campus. Space limitations clearly exist, and I strongly believe that itis appropriate and fair to continue to offer all three programs on the Broadway campus. Children must have appropriate space for instructional purposes, outdoor areas for play, recreation, and motor development. As such, I do not support the construction of a building on the Broadway campus. This is not to say that I do not support establishing additional Mandarin Foreign Language Immersion Programs, as I previously indicated in the Informative dated May 26, 2015, that you refer to in your letter. 1 absolutely believe that additional programs should be created while taking into consideration, space limitations, and the need and desire for such programs on our existing campuses. It is important for you to know that District staff is working diligently to identify potential available space to establish a new Mandarin Foreign Language Immersion Program in schools located near the Broadway campus for the 2016-2017 school year. While [ appreciate your opinion, I disagree that four classes at one school site is the only way to obtain a Mandarin Foreign Language Immersion Program pathway. It is my opinion that establishing parallel programs on other campuses that have appropriate space will ultimately create a foreign language pipeline into Mark Twain Middle and Venice High Schools. Thave personally visited a number of schools in the area and have not been able to identify a single site that might accommodate the Mandarin Foreign Language Immersion Program on one campus. In addition, it should be noted that I do not support the idea of elitism or the segregation of any group of students.Parents for Progressive Education August 4, 2015 Page 2 As indicated in my May 26 correspondence, the decision about the future of the Mandarin Foreign Language Program on the Westside of the District was a very difficult decision to make, however as Superintendent of this school district, I must be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, Sadly, we have vacant classrooms existing throughout the District, and as such it is not logical to recommend a ‘multi-million dollar construction project at this time. After reviewing the plan to construct a new school on the Mark Twain campus, it is my opinion that this idea was ill-conceived. It is my hope that some of the anticipated available classrooms will be utilized under the new leadership at Mark Twain Middle School. In addition, it is my expectation that the relocatable classroom buildings that exist will ultimately be removed because they are temporary facilities and are costly to maintain, | think that Principal Wang can attest that | have been supportive of staff and programs that exist at Broadway. Principal Wang will also tell you that I believe there should be more integration of students, where appropriate, in activities at the school, as well as integration of staff, where appropriate, in particular meetings. Again, I appreciate your communication and your support of our instructional programs. However, my position, which was very clear in the May 26 correspondence distributed to the Broadway Community, has not wavered. I continue to support the expansion of foreign language immersion programs in this District while taking into consideration existing space and other factors. While you have requested in- person meetings with the Local District Superintendent, Chief Facilities Executive, and Multilingual and Multicultural Education Staff, my recommendation and decision stands. As such, I will be advising only the Local District Superintendent and Principal Wang to meet with you to discuss potential plans for establishing parallel programs on the Westside of the District, Thank you your continued support, and especially for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Sincerely, ‘ortines Superfitendent of Schools c: Members, Board of Education Michelle King Mark Hovatter Cheryl Hildreth Krisztina Tokes Hilda Maldonado Susan Wang