San Jose language programs could boost school enrollment

San Jose school districts are counting on specialized programming to slow their enrollment decline.

While overall enrollment continues to fall, a number of local school districts have found a way to attract new students through transitional kindergarten and dual language immersion during the 2024-25 school year. Alum Rock Union School District in East San Jose and Franklin-McKinley School District in South San Jose have gone all in on attracting students through their robust special programs.

Sergio Diaz Luna, spokesperson for Alum Rock Union School District, said the district’s dual language immersion programs help attract families looking for schools with a bilingual model. He said the district’s transitional kindergarten and dual language programs are among the most popular.

Every elementary school in the district offers a preschool program, starting at age 3. In addition, the district offers specialized Spanish and Vietnamese language immersion programs, an environmental magnet and a K-8 music program.

Trustee Minh Pham said the district strives to provide parents and students with opportunities they wouldn’t find elsewhere, including programs and amenities charter schools don’t offer. He said the full-day kindergarten and language programs have been successful.

“They both have some of the healthiest enrollments in the district,” Pham told San José Spotlight. “It’s a promising avenue. They are in many ways slowing down the decline.”

In April 2022, the Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees voted unanimously to turn Cesar Chavez Elementary School into an early learning center for children in preschool through kindergarten, providing the district with an infant and toddler care program. Relocating kindergarten and first graders to San Antonio Elementary School expanded the available number of spaces for ages 0 to 5. The free preschool and child care program provides parents with affordable options in a space traditionally dominated by private providers, Pham said.

“It helps provide our parents with a safe, accessible, licensed, quality child care program while our parents are at work,” Pham said. “It also gives the school district an opportunity to start the bridge to kindergarten.”

The district’s effort is the result of multiple factors, including a $20 million budget deficit. Enrollment has dropped from more than 10,000 students in 2015-16 to 7,270 students in 2024-25. In December, Alum Rock trustees voted to close six schools for the 2025-26 school year due to the deficit and loss of students. The district plans to reopen one of them, while closing two others for the 2026-27 school year.

Franklin-McKinley School District has had success with similar programs. Superintendent Juan Cruz said the district has added additional transitional kindergarten classes, providing at least one at each of its elementary schools. The district’s Vietnamese and Spanish dual language programs are a draw, bringing in families from outside the school district.

“The investment in specialized programs is an attempt at helping attract and retain our students that is directly tied to the revenue we receive,” Cruz told San José Spotlight. “Attracting and retaining our students and ensuring they attend school helps our financial outlook. In addition, these programs are also just good for kids and ensuring we are meeting the needs of our students.”

In February, the Franklin-McKinley School District board of trustees voted to close three elementary schools to ensure the district remained financially solvent. The struggling school district faced declining enrollment and an almost $23 million budget shortfall. Enrollment has decreased since the 2011-12 school year from 9,673 to 5,766 students, according to the district.

Parent Henry Bui said the dual language program provides his children with opportunity, making it easier to find a job when they graduate and helping them communicate with others.

The school district’s dual language program led parent Amy Vu to change districts. She appreciates her children connecting with their culture and learning to read, write and speak Vietnamese. All three of her children will be attending Windmill Springs School next year.

“We were going to put them in a charter or Rocket Ship,” she told San José Spotlight, “but we heard about this program. Hopefully, it will continue all the way to eighth grade.”

Franklin-McKinley School Board President George Sanchez said the district is “definitely seeing” an increase in its transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students for the next school year. In addition to dual language immersion, the district offers specialized programs such as Community Organizing Resources to Advance Learning, which provides students with literacy instruction, homework support, enrichment activities, STEAM and sports.

“These specialized programs definitely help our students stay in the district,” Sanchez told San José Spotlight. “Otherwise, we would end up losing even more students to charter schools or other school districts. Losing any more students or closing more schools would be disastrous in the long run.” 

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].