AMHERST — Parents of children in the dual-language Caminantes program at Fort River School are calling on the district’s administrators and the Amherst School Committee to ensure that sixth graders will be able to continue their studies in both Spanish and English when a stand-alone 6th Grade Academy opens in fall 2026.
The program started when this year’s fifth graders were in kindergarten, and has expanded each year since then, with fifth graders added this fall and spending half their day in Spanish instruction and half their day in English. There is uncertainty about whether Caminantes will be part of sixth-grade academics next year, when all fifth graders from Fort River, Crocker Farm and Wildwood schools will move to the Amherst Regional Middle School.
Angelica Maria Bernal, who grew up in Colombia, told the committee at its Sept. 16 meeting that her fourth-grade daughter is getting an opportunity she herself didn’t have when learning English, and is taking pride in Latin American food, music, language and culture.
“If she and others were to lose this, it would be more than a loss of language, it would be the loss of opportunities for cultural understanding for her friends who are non-Spanish speakers, and cultural pride for her and other Latinx classmates,” Bernal said. ” It would be devastating.”
“Like many other Caminantes parents, I’m concerned that Capacidad may not continue after fifth grade,” said Jeff Conant, parent of a second grader in Caminantes.
The move of the sixth graders will happen when the new, K-5 elementary school for 575 students opens next to Fort River School, and that school and Wildwood both close.
Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said she and the central administration are looking into what Caminantes might look for sixth graders, trying to keep the essence of the program and having the education divided equally between the two languages.
“Currently, we have not worked that into the educational model,” Herman said.
“The conversations have started, but the model has not been finalized,” Herman added.
School Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Shiao encouraged Herman to do her best to keep Caminantes intact for sixth graders.
“I would like to see us try to fit Caminantes in, to serve the students who are currently in fifth grade in Caminantes and deserve to have another year, and for all the future students who deserve to have another year,” Shiao said.
Several parents wrote letters with similar appeals.
“My immediate concern is the status of students like my fifth grader who is slated to transition to the 6th Grade Academy at the middle school next year,” Ali Aslam, a parent of two Caminantes students, wrote. “Currently, no plans have been announced to support the Spanish-language instruction they have already received and to support their efforts to gain the biliteracy certification from the state of Massachusetts.”
Sarah Piazza, a parent of a kindergartner in Caminantes, wrote that maintaining the program for sixth graders, and extending it through grades 7-12, should be a priority due to the time and continuity needed to ensure the schools are producing bilingual, biliterate and interculturally competent students.
“Without a dual immersion sixth grade program offering roughly 50% of content classes in Spanish, Caminantes students who will have devoted six years to developing their language and literacy skills in English and Spanish will be left without appropriate Spanish courses,” Piazza wrote.
Other parents, including Marialuisa Di Stefano, Robert Roose and Monica A. Torres, wrote a letter on behalf of educators and families with identical language:
“Expanding the program through Grade 12 would align ARPS with national best practices and affirm our district’s leadership in multilingual education. We respectfully ask the School Committee to take bold and necessary steps to ensure the continuation and growth of the Caminantes Dual Language Program through middle and high school. Our students deserve nothing less.”
Shiao said for parents interested in extending the program to the regional schools, they will have to do this advocacy to the regional school committee.
While Caminantes has significant support from many families, the Amherst School Committee was apprised of concerns from other parents whose children at Fort River are not in the program.
A year after Herman outlined issues with essentially operating a school within a school, such as children being labeled based on their language proficiency, with some students referred to as bilingual and others as monolingual, more challenges were noted.
Becca Watkins said her concern is that a byproduct of Caminantes is the creation of inequities, putting students at a disadvantage, as the Explorers students stay with one cohort for the entirety of their elementary years.
“This has created a situation where too many high needs students are concentrated in one classroom without enough support,” Watkins said, observing that 80% of special needs students are in the Explorers program.
In addition, any new children who arrive in town during the academic year are placed in the English-only program, regardless of their needs, which Watkins said is not fair to the teacher or the students. This has, at times, meant a chaotic and disruptive classroom.
Bernadette Harrigan said the impact on the students who are not in the dual-language program needs to be studied.
“I am begging you to investigate the impact of the program, the structure, on the Explorers, the kids who are not in the Caminantes program,” Harrigan said.