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Mandarin program could relocate if enrollment jumps at Cupertino school |
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The Cupertino Union School District could relocate its Mandarin immersion program at Lawson Middle School rather than add modular classrooms to the campus to make room for a projected enrollment jump in 2012.
The district is preparing for 254 additional students at Lawson by the start of the 2012 school year, according to enrollment projections, which show a population shift among district schools.
"Schools that are on [the Lawson] side of Stevens Creek Boulevard are generally showing growth while some schools on the other side of Cupertino are showing a decline over time," says Linda Denman, assistant superintendent. At 12 acres, Lawson is one of the district's smaller middle school campuses, and the district expects the projected influx of new students to strain resources there.
If the Mandarin program remains on site, the district would have to add as many as three modular classrooms to the small campus, which would most likely take away outdoor play space, Denman said.
Lawson Middle and Meyerholtz Elementary schools are the current homes for the language program, which mixes English and Mandarin instruction with regular district curriculum.
"We have a very successful program in our community. We want to make the best decision possible that can help sustain this popular program well into the future," Denman says.
On Nov. 10, the school board looked at possible alternatives to adding modular units at Lawson, which currently has 1,060 students. The options included moving the language program to Miller or Kennedy middle schools. Miller is 22 acres and enrollment is expected to drop there by about 200 students in 2012. The district could accommodate the Chinese Language Immersion Program in two modular units without eating away at play space on campus, according to officials.
At Kennedy, which is 25 acres, the program would require two to four portable classrooms.
Like Lawson, Hyde and Cupetino middle schools have size issues.
Attendance at Hyde Middle School is expected to remain stable at about 929 students, but the 10-acre campus would require about four to six modular units to house CLIP. District officials said the additional classrooms would have a significant impact on athletic fields and hard court.
A move to the 21-acre Cupertino Middle School would require the same amount of modular units and also would cut into playing field space. Each modular unit will cost about $120,000, according to the district.
An extreme alternative would see the elementary and middle school CLIP programs merge into a single site either by creating a new site or moving operations to Meyerholtz Elementary School. Such proposals could require eliminating a school and readjusting school boundaries.
Denman called these ideas "very unlikely" and "not a viable alternative." The immersion program began in 1998 with one kindergarten class. There will be close to 500 elementary and middle school-aged students enrolled in the program in 2010. Students are selected to attend the program on a lottery system upon enrollment. The program is open to all students in the district.
The district provides no transportation for students to get to the CLIP campuses. The CUSD school board will review how to approach the issue in coming weeks. Denman said the district is still gathering information.
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