Ramirez Elementary PTA

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“As a teacher in our Spanish immersion program, I am writing to emphasize the significant benefits I witness every day in our students. This program does more than teach students to speak two languages—it enhances their cognitive development in remarkable ways. Bilingual students show improved problem-solving abilities, better memory retention, and greater mental flexibility. These brain benefits set them up for academic success across all subjects. At the end of the school year, the academic results of our immersion students consistently stand out
compared to those of monolingual peers. The ability to think and operate in two languages gives them an expanded worldview and a higher capacity to excel. Looking ahead, this program is preparing our students for a future filled with better job opportunities and a broader perspective
on life. In today’s global society, bilingualism is an essential skill that not only enhances their individual potential but also equips them to make meaningful contributions to their communities.
For all these reasons, I urge you to recognize the immense value of this program and the positive
impact it has on our students. It is crucial to continue supporting our Spanish immersion program and ensuring that our school remains open. By doing so, we are investing in the success and well-
being of our students and the future of our community.”

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The amount of physical and emotional toll this will take on teachers and students is so huge.
Asking all of these teachers to give up a ton of summer and move, paint, decorate, lesson plan
and get ready at whole other campuses is a HUGE ask. If this goes forward I am definitely thinking of just looking for employment elsewhere. This will be mega campuses that elementary kids will have a hard time navigating and the class sizes will be big. As a teacher I am 100% against this idea.

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“As a parent of a Spanish Immersion student and a teacher in the program, I strongly oppose the closing of Ramirez and the termination of our Spanish Immersion program. This program opens up a world of opportunities for children. It benefits their cognitive and language development, cultural awareness, academic performance, global perspective, and numerous other skills that I could easily list. I witness these benefits every day with my students and my own daughter. It has been my dream to work at Ramirez, a school recognized as one of the best in all of Lubbock, and this is my fifth year in this dream job. Please do not take away the opportunity for our children to continue growing and preparing for a future where they can be global leaders, thanks in part to our IB program. These students will contribute economically and socially to our community. My main concern is for my daughter’s future, my students’ futures, my colleagues’ futures, and my future as a teacher.“

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“As an LISD employee and a Ramirez parent, I have chosen to work in this district for the programming at Ramirez. No other district offers these programs so I have chosen to continue my employment so my child can attend Ramirez and be in the Spanish immersion program. My job choice is heavily dependent on my child’s opportunity to be part of the Spanish Immersion program offered only by Ramirez. The power in this program is a unique opportunity that many children in the state don’t have the chance to be part of. Without this program, and without the overall cultural aspect that the educators at Ramirez bring to the table, I would not have my child attend LISD schools. A strong foundation in a second language opens many future possibilities for my child, and removing him from this program in his 2nd year would be detrimental to his educational journey. The research behind a special program like Spanish immersion supports the idea that in order for a child to benefit long-term without educational delays, the child must begin the program by kinder, and complete it through 5th grade. Not to mention the continuance of the bilingual journey through the feeder pattern courses offered only by Hutch and Lubbock High. IB offers a similar ideology, and revoking this path that our students are already on is a disservice to my child and all of the others attending Ramirez. A thriving campus shutting down would force myself and many other families to take our children to our home districts, outside of LISD. As an educator, I cannot standby and watch my child lose his educational experience without a fight.“

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“The choice to send our child to an IB school with a Spanish Immersion was a major decision to go out of district for her education. The opportunities this provides her to challenge herself intellectually, meet other classmates of different backgrounds, exposure to different cultures, and to begin those crucial early lessons of learning from others from different backgrounds.
I was privileged to be able to go to college preparatory high school and a MBA program that was
very challenging intellectually and classmates from all over the world. I want my daughter to be
challenged intellectually, have the ability advance herself in school and have a diversified portfolio. I want her to have exposure to different cultures and understand not everyone is like us, and have that drive and hunger to continue to learn.

To watch her speak Spanish so easily at such an early stage in life is so gratifying and to want to learn more and ask questions about everything. I know deep down in our hearts we made the right choice.”

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“We will be leaving LISD should the consolidation occur. Ramirez has excellent school ratings and we would not feel the same about the quality of education if it is consolidated with other schools
with poorer rating. We may consider a Roscoe-Wilson consolidation for continued IB programming but with the impending consolidation of Hutch and Cavazos we must reconsider being in LISD at all. Quality of educational programming is paramount.”

“We will be leaving LISD should the consolidation occur. Ramirez has excellent school ratings and we would not feel the same about the quality of education if it is consolidated with other schools with poorer rating. We may consider a Roscoe-Wilson consolidation for continued IB programming but with the impending consolidation of Hutch and Cavazos we must reconsider being in LISD at all. Quality of educational programming is paramount.”

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“We are in Whiteside district, but due to Ramirez being an IB school, smaller, and the Spanish Immersion program we decided to enroll our daughter. We drive over 15 minutes 1 way in order to go to Ramirez. We live within a 5 minute walk of our district school. We have absolutely loved the culture and diversity of Ramirez. Through the teachers and administrators, especially Mrs. Hernandez our daughter who has high anxiety has felt welcome and taken care of at the school.
A child who normally would not want to be anywhere without myself, her mom, has absolutely loved being in school. We would be extremely upset and would consider a different school and district if Ramirez ceased to be.”

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“Alumni voices can be impactful- especially for the Spanish immersion program. Hearing about the impact that the program has had past the walls of the school will be priceless. Our older daughter (now 7th) has had so much success. We have twins in kindergarten and we will leave the district if the Spanish immersion program is not maintained. This program brings in so many district transfers. It is a truly unique and desirable program.”

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“We are a family of Mexican heritage and continuing education in our native language is extremely
important. We did extensive research when considering the options for school. We selected
Ramirez for both IB certification and Spanish Immersion. We are zoned for Cooper and send our
child out of district because of Ramirez’s stellar reputation. My daughter loves her school and her
teachers. Closing and merging Ramirez would be a huge misstep and detriment to the future of
SO many children.”