Merrick Parents Fighting to Keep Elementary Spanish

Merrick parents have started a petition to save an elementary Spanish language program in danger of being cut.

According to the Change.org petition, the Merrick Board of Education will vote Feb. 10 to eliminate the Foreign Language in the Elementary School program.

The online petition, launched by Kimberlie Glaser, is seeking 500 signatures before the board meeting. The petition had 327 signatures as of Wednesday evening.

“FLES programs across Long Island are either being expanded and/or implemented,” Glaser wrote, citing neighboring districts like Bellmore, Wantagh, Syosset, and Rockville Centre with similar programs.

Superintendent Dominick Palma reportedly responded that, “students’ instructional time is a limited resource. In order to provide more time for Spanish, time would have to be taken from areas such as reading, math, social studies, science, art or music. This is not acceptable.”

The FLES program offers Spanish to students beginning in third grade at all three elementary schools.

“Every test the kids take after they have taken foreign for elementary school, they score higher,” Glaser said, according to WCBS. “They’re going to score higher on their SATs, they’re going to score higher on all these core tests we have to take now.”

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