Frank Porter Graham Elementary could become a Spanish dual-language magnet school

At a tear-filled meeting Thursday night, parents and teachers voiced concern about turning Frank Porter Graham Elementary into a magnet school.

The elementary has been a neighborhood school for 50 years. But in a report released last month, a team of administrators from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools recommended making it a Spanish dual-language magnet school.

Since the report’s release, the school board has hosted several meetings to receive feedback, including Thursday’s meeting at Chapel Hill Town Hall. The report’s proposal to phase out the Chinese dual-language program has also caused strife.

Todd LoFrese, assistant superintendent for support services, said creating a magnet school and expanding the Spanish dual-language program at other schools will fix the program’s major issues.

Only Carrboro, Frank Porter Graham, and Mary Scroggs elementary schools currently offer Spanish dual-language classrooms at an elementary level.

With just one dual-language classroom per grade at each school, teachers have few chances to share course materials among themselves and classroom instruction varies, Lofrese said.

The program also has high dropout rates at Frank Porter Graham and Scroggs that could be fixed by a magnet school, he said.

Frank Porter Graham is the only school that fits all the criteria for a magnet school — many classrooms, a small walk zone, a current Spanish dual-language program and a central location.

But not one of more than 20 parents and teachers who spoke at Thursday’s meeting supported the conversion to a magnet school, which would begin next school year and be finalized the year after.

Bruce Allen, a parent, said he opposes the change because it would disrupt the school’s improvement.

“It would be a shame to tear down a school that is progressing,” he said. “It’s not fair.”

He said the recommendation largely ignores Burmese immigrant students, who live close to the school and would be bussed to different schools.

“Frank Porter Graham feels like home to them,” Allen said. “They are a fragile population who would be forced to start over.”

Ellen Manning, a second grade teacher at Frank Porter Graham, also emphasized the negative effect on the Karen immigrant population from Burma.

“Teachers at Frank Porter Graham are used to dealing with these children,” she said. “Other teachers don’t get it. It will be a huge learning curve.”

She said she also worries about the impact on the entire school community.

“You would be breaking up a family,” she said.

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