Such stories crop up among Hispanic parents here. But behind this beauty, there's a subtle undercurrent of intolerance. Parents like Meg Goetz de Gaona made clear that they see the district's move against a larger backdrop. They point out that in a community where Hispanics make up roughly a third of the 90,000 residents, the school board is all Anglo. Some Hispanic parents say they are unrepresented and largely ignored.
Culture is language, and language is culture.
And what they're saying is they don't respect either. The nurse practitioner fears that her daughters, now 12 and 9, will begin to lose their Spanish as they move into all-English classes. Already, she said, her 7th grade daughter does not want to speak Spanish, even at home. It just makes sense in this community and this economy. Mirna Ramos, the mother of two teenagers, would like to see more emphasis on Spanish, not less.