Save the Bancroft Spanish TWDI Program

A thriving bilingual program is being dismantled with almost no notice. Help Bancroft families fight for their kids.

Public school programs that have successfully brought children from different backgrounds together for 14 years should be protected, not quietly dismantled. At Bancroft Elementary in Walnut Creek, the Spanish Two Way Dual Immersion (TWDI) program has done exactly that for years. Today, families are fighting to protect it.

This fundraiser supports Bancroft Elementary parents and community members advocating to protect the TWDI program. We are raising funds for advocacy efforts and professional guidance because what is happening in our district raises serious concerns about transparency, equity, and the district’s responsibility to the families it serves.

Our children are not line items in a budget or numbers on an enrollment spreadsheet. They are real kids with goals, siblings, real friendships, teachers they trust, and routines that help them feel safe and excited to learn. Many families planned years ahead around this program. Parents moved neighborhoods, bought homes, or committed to long commutes because they believed this program was valued and stable.

On January 28, 2026, families were informed with less than two weeks notice before kindergarten enrollment opened that the district would no longer enroll incoming kindergarten students into the Bancroft TWDI program. This effectively begins the dismantling of a long standing, successful program. Families were given almost no warning and there was no meaningful engagement with the parents whose children are already enrolled.

Two Way Dual Immersion (TWDI) is a bilingual education model where students learn in both English and Spanish together. Native English speakers and native Spanish speakers learn side by side, helping each other build literacy in two languages while developing cultural understanding and respect. Research consistently shows that programs like TWDI lead to strong academic outcomes, improved literacy, and long term benefits for multilingual learners.

Just as importantly, these programs help close opportunity gaps and create classrooms where language and culture are seen as strengths. For many Spanish speaking families, TWDI represents equity in action: access to a high quality public education where their children’s language and identity are valued rather than pushed aside.

At Bancroft, the program has also brought together families from different linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds in ways traditional neighborhood school models often do not. It has created a diverse learning community where bilingualism, collaboration, and cultural respect are normal parts of everyday learning.

Families are also deeply concerned about the process used to make this decision. California law requires districts to meaningfully engage families and communities when making decisions that impact programs serving diverse student populations. The Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) requires transparency and stakeholder input around programs supporting equity and multilingual learners. California’s English Learner Roadmap and federal civil rights protections also require districts to ensure equitable access to programs that support language development and academic success for multilingual students. Announcing the elimination of incoming TWDI enrollment with almost no notice and without meaningful community engagement raises serious questions about whether these obligations were properly followed.

For weeks, families have tried to work collaboratively with the district. Parents have attended meetings, written letters, spoken at public comment, and asked for transparency and dialogue. We have tried to reason with district leadership and advocate through every available channel. Unfortunately, those efforts have not resulted in solutions.

Families are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for transparency, accountability, and thoughtful decision making when programs affecting hundreds of children and the future of our community are at stake.

Funds raised through this campaign will support advocacy efforts and professional guidance so families have the resources to pursue transparent and responsible solutions. If funds remain after these efforts, they will be donated directly to continuing the Dual Immersion program at Bancroft to support students and educational enrichment.

This effort is about more than one school or one group of families. It is about whether successful, equity focused educational programs can be dismantled without transparency or community voice. It’s about protecting diversity in Walnut Creek.

Our children deserve thoughtful leadership, honest processes, and decisions that put student success first.

Your support helps ensure families have the resources to stand up for those values and protect a program that has meant so much to so many children.

Every contribution helps us continue this fight for our kids, for educational equity, and for the future of our community.