Saucon Valley School Board’S April 27 meeting was once again held virtually through the Zoom application (also available for retroactive public viewing through the district’s YouTube channel, as all meetings are), running for nearly three hours and heavily centering on Superintendent Dr. Craig Butler’s proposal to begin a Spanish Immersion Program at the elementary level.

The program would be set to begin in one first grade classroom at the elementary school. “I have personal experience with immersion programs in previous districts,” he said, adding “I’ve seen the effectiveness of such programs (and) I think that this could be a real plus for the district.” He was aided by elementary school Principal Cindy Motter, Assistant Principal Michael Sakelarides and Assistant District Superintendent Dr. Kristine Rosenberger in gathering information for the presentation. Dr. Butler noted that this proposal had been in the works for some time, as “conceptual discussions” of a potential SIP in the district date back to 2018.

Presenting slides through Zoom, Motter outlined the reasons why they believe that such a program would be beneficial to students in the district, as well as some versions used by other districts throughout Pennsylvania, such as Southern Lehigh, Lancaster Mennonite and Manheim Township, that she believes they can attempt to emulate. Essentially, once a class’s make-up was determined through aptitude screening and other factors, the students would remain together throughout their educational journey, gradually substituting their usage of Spanish and replacing English as their primary in-class language as they progress through grade levels. Once SIP students reach middle school (grades 5 through 8), they are more fully integrated with their peers who are on a more “traditional” course of studies, Motter explained. A maximum of 26 students could potentially be accepted into the program as it is currently designed. The presentation also included several key data points from research designed to display district parents’ interest in the program, a tentative timeline for its implementation and total estimated costs of necessary additional faculty and materials.

Board member Edward Andres raised several concerns regarding the proposal, particularly the overall interest level as interpreted through two surveys that were sent out by the district to parents. He criticized what he saw as a small sample size of responses and a potential misinterpretation of the data collected through these surveys. He also expressed concern with regard to the potential negative implications of keeping students together in the same group for many years and its impact on children’s social development, fearing that it could exacerbate an already strong perception that the district has a problem with bullying. He stressed that he is “in favor of world language instruction in our elementary school, I just think it’s better if we have a program that is available to all students, and not a select few,” noting that he believes it leads to “segregation and elitism” among students.

Butler did respond to Andres’ concerns, noting his confidence that the district is handling those issues and that bullying and social isolation would not be a greater problem in relation to the program.

Ultimately, the program passed by a vote of 8-1, with the sole “no” vote coming from Andres, although board member Shawn Welch attempted to qualify his “yes” vote by adding, “on the condition that it is cost-neutral.” This is not allowed with votes on motions made by the board, but his remark was timely, as another pressing matter on the meeting was the approval of the 2020-21 school year’s budget. The budget, which was listed at $47,906,644, includes a $201,818 shortfall covered by the district’s fund balance with a zero millage increase.

Butler explained that these figures were somewhat in flux and were their “best estimation,” due to a couple of grants that have yet to be finalized, as well as some adjustments that may need to be made. Board member Bryan Eichfeld echoed the uncertainty due to a probable decrease in income in these unprecedented times. The budget did wind up passing overwhelmingly, with the lone “no” vote again coming from Andres.