Santa Barbara Unified has flipped the script on what it shunned more than two decades ago — bilingual education.
The 1998 school board unanimously voted to ban bilingual education in the district, even before it became state law. Hundreds packed the board room over that vote, but Tuesday night the current school board pulled the exiled model back into the light over Zoom, where there was still virtual passion for the topic on both sides.
The board voted unanimously to convert McKinley Elementary School to a dual-language immersion program beginning in fall 2021. They also voted unanimously to adopt the META plan (multilingual excellence transforming achievement). META is a 110-page plan to implement culturally and linguistically focused education models based on research that shows bilingualism will increase student achievement for everyone, especially students who do not speak English as their first language.