After heated meeting, Merced County will keep Dual Language Academy open
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Enrollment packets available Feb. 17; families aim to meet the gap by March 6.
- MCOE will keep the Dual Language Academy open through 2026-27.
- Parents and MCOE agreed to work together to enroll about 100 students by March 6.
The Merced County Office of Education announced Friday that its dual immersion program — known as the Dual Language Academy — will remain through the 2026-27 school year after families of students in the program protested the decision to close it.
The announcement comes one day after a contentious meeting between parents and school officials.
According to a statement from Nathan Quevado, MCOE’s communications and public relations officer, “(MCOE) heard from parents … how important this program is to the school community.
County Superintendent of Schools Steve Tietjen “announced today to Dual Language Academy staff that MCOE will invest in the school so it remains open in the 2026-27 school year,” the statement continued. “MCOE will work with parents to promote enrollment, and it is crucial the school meets enrollment targets to remain open in subsequent school years.”
A tense meeting with parents
The announcement follows a meeting between MCOE and families, which turned contentious after MCOE representatives reiterated that the County’s dual language immersion school would close and declined to answer questions.
The initial meeting lasted only 15 minutes, at which point the MCOE representatives began to file out of the room.
The room of parents erupted in shouts and demands to have their questions answered.
Miranda Griswold, whose sons attend the program, livestreamed the meeting on her Facebook page. In the video, Griswold can be heard shouting, “You guys are lying. There’s nowhere for our children to go.”
She continued, “You don’t care about the Mexican … people, the south side Community. You don’t care about any of them.”
By that point, Deputy Superintendent Martin Fregoso was the only MCOE representative still in the room. “You don’t know,” he said, “I am of Mexican descent.”
A discussion between Fregoso and the parents followed.
Parents agree to help improve enrollment
The conversation focused on how many students would need to enroll in order to meet the budget gap. The number given by Laura Andrews, assistant superintendent of educational services, at the first parent meeting was 100 students.
Parents seemed confident they could enroll that many children by March 6 — in time to renew teachers’ contracts — and referenced Griswold’s Google Form where she has been collecting information from parents of prospective students.
“We will get kids enrolled, and our plan is to see it through,” said Griswold, “... we have to see the enrollment through from beginning to end, to make sure that no kid gets lost in the system — because that was their failure when they did enrollment.”
Resolution at end of the meeting
By the end of the meeting, Fregoso and the parents agreed MCOE would work with parents to increase enrollment numbers. Families said they would drum up support, answer questions, and provide information but asked MCOE to provide enrollment materials by next week in order to make it possible.
A statement added to the MCOE webpage for the Dual Language Academy says that enrollment packets will be available by 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We want to work together,” said Enrique Altamirano, whose daughter is in TK at the Dual Language Academy.
