Hundreds of parents, teachers and community members in the Delavan-Darien School District are asking board members to reconsider a plan to either reduce or eliminate its dual language program.
The Walworth County school district has offered dual language classes to its nearly 1,700 students for 12 years.
More than half of the students in the district are Hispanic.
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The Delavan-Darien Two-Way Dual Language program includes students who are native English and Spanish speakers. Beginning in 4K, 90 percent of the classroom instruction is in Spanish. The percentage of English instruction increases each year until third grade, where half of the day is in English and half of the day is in Spanish.
Parents said they were shocked on April 13 when Superintendent Drew Halbesma and school board members announced they wanted to make changes to the popular program.
“I went to the meeting, assuming it would just be an update, but what ended up happening was they presented on reducing the program significantly,” said Lesley Luna, who has two children enrolled in the dual language program.
In a statement to WPR, Halbesma said the meeting on Wednesday “represents the next step for the Delavan-Darien School District as we review our existing programs and plan for continuous improvement.”
Halbesma said Dual Language is a cornerstone of the district’s identity, but a recent needs assessment conducted by the Center for Biliteracy provides a clear and honest roadmap for growth.
“We are looking closely at how to strengthen our program while ensuring every single classroom is led by highly qualified, certified educators who have the tools they need to succeed,” Halbesma said. “The purpose of tomorrow’s meeting is for the Board of Education to consider potential changes to the program’s scope and to provide an opportunity for public comment from district stakeholders.”
Documents obtained by WPR show the board will hold a special meeting Wednesday to consider cutting the program entirely or reducing it to kindergarten through fifth grade.
Luna said that doesn’t make sense, since the district just received The Seal of Biliteracy from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
That’s an award given to schools or districts that recognize high school graduates who attain proficiency in two or more languages. Only 33 Wisconsin school districts have received the award.
“This is an important decision that affects almost half of the district’s student population and could permanently change a program that has been part of our district for 12 years,” Luna said. “We believe that one special board session with community input is not enough to make such a significant decision.”
Luna and others created an online petition to ask board members to slow down and do more research before changing the program.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had 1,380 signatures, including local business owners.
“As a contractor and small-business owner, I support the dual-language program at the Delavan-Darien School District,” wrote Monien Construction. “Having future employees and community members who can speak two languages can help companies like mine communicate better with customers, crews, and suppliers. It creates more opportunities for students while strengthening our local workforce and community.”
Number of Wisconsin students enrolled in bilingual programs rose, while state aid fell
About 55,700 students are enrolled in a bilingual or bicultural education program in Wisconsin, according to a December 2025 report from DPI to the state Legislature.
The state partially funds the program if districts have a minimum of 10 students with the same language background from kindergarten to third grade, and 20 students in grades four to eight or high school.
In the 2024-25 school year, 58 programs met the threshold for state funding, according to DPI.
The total amount available for reimbursement for fiscal year 2026 was $10.1 million. The reimbursement rate was 7.9 percent, according to the report. The report states that the number of students enrolled in bilingual programs is increasing while state aid is declining.
Chris Bucher, a spokesperson for DPI, said the agency’s budget request for 2025-27 called for an increase in the state reimbursement rate to 25 percent. He said that was denied.
The Delavan-Darien School District is the only district in Walworth County that offers the dual language program.
Luna said the program attracts a lot of parents to the district, so if cutting it is about saving money, she believes that will backfire because parents will leave.
“This is actually something that props our school district up,” Luna said. “Otherwise we’re, like, pretty low as far as test scores go.”
At the same time, the Trump administration plans to dissolve the Education Department’s Office of English Language Acquisition, which helps public school students “attain English proficiency and achieve academic success.”
WPR asked the Delavan-Darien School District officials if changes to its dual language program is related. They did not respond to requests for comment.
Parent Kim Hansen who has two children in the program and is a dual language teacher in Illinois believes it does.
“I know the political views of a lot of the leaders in this community is not the view of learning other languages or accepting other cultures,” Hansen said. “So I think there is a need for a change on the school board that has some more open-minded people.”
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