To the Editor:
I am currently a third-grade teacher at La Gloria Elementary School in the Gonzales Unified School District. I am writing this letter to express my sentiments with regards to our district as an educator, parent and advocate for the community and the wonderful children that we are entrusted with.
First and foremost, I am overjoyed to see that we have finally implemented Dual Language in our school district. As you may know, many of our students come from homes that speak Spanish culturally, so it only makes sense that we build on this attribute rather than minimize it. It is primarily for this reason that I entrust my own son to the GUSD school system and enrolled him this year as a kindergartner.
However, as a member of the DLI committee, I worry that the program and its DLI teachers do not have the support needed to truly flourish and meet its full potential. I would love to see at least two classes per grade level, so teachers can plan and support one another.
I would also love to see plenty of books that are in Spanish and bilingual available to these students, families and teachers. Maybe the school can invest in an online library that is bilingual and offers books at all levels for our students?
Last but not least, I would love for our school and district to provide many cultural events where staff, students and parents can celebrate their learning and cultures together. I recognize that it would take staff effort, and financial resources, but I believe that our students deserve this.
Another area that has been on my mind is that all of our children deserve to have fun and be creative. Students need to have ample opportunities to participate in music, art and physical education in an elementary school setting. It is such a disservice to the children of this community to no longer offer music class with a trained music teacher, PE with a trained physical education teacher, and art with a trained art teacher.
It saddens me that the district hasn’t taken the steps to provide this, like we did in the past. If we truly care about what is best for our children, then wouldn’t we provide these opportunities for them?
My hope in writing this letter is that we start making the changes to implement these opportunities for our children once we are able to be in school again. I have been working for GUSD for 18 years, and am committed to the community and students that I serve. I truly love Gonzales.
I want our students to have positive experiences, to flourish academically, socially, emotionally, and to have a well-rounded education that supports all of these areas.
Lorena Orozco
Gonzales
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