GCISD Parents Say Students Forced To Learn Spanish

GRAPEVINE (CBS 11 News)—A fight over language in a Grapevine school has gotten so heated that some parents are pulling their children out of class.

The parents are claiming that students are being forced to learn Spanish, while children of immigrants aren’t being forced to learn or speak English.

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Officials with the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District say it’s their duty to educate all students. But some white students and their parents say they are now the minority and are left with no choice, but to fight.

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In 2001 Hispanics made up 33-percent of Timberline Elementary enrollment, with white students accounting for 60-percent. Now in 2008, Hispanics account for more than half of the student body, and white enrollment is down to 36-percent.

The girls and their parents have met with their principal, the Grapevine-Colleyville School Board, and the superintendent. The opposition is garnering other support, including that of Dora Deleon. “This is a country America, with English. So we supposed to learn to speak English,” said the concerned Hispanic mother, whose grandchildren attend Timberline.

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But there are some parents who embrace the Spanish initiatives at Timberline. “It develops our kids,” said parent Tia Green.

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