To the Editor:

I’m writing to the community to offer some insight in how words carry impact and how our children need better support.

During a Board of Education meeting, while discussing the different long-term planning scenarios and DLI [Dual Language Immersion] program, the words “the DLI is a nice thing to have” were said, to which I took offense as it suggests a terrible narrative and can be detrimental to the Hispanic/Latine Spanish-speaking community.

I’m first generation. My family immigrated when I was 10 years old. I’m in my 30s now and still have the Spanish vocabulary of a 10-year-old. My parents believe the stigma that you have to fully assimilate to American culture and speak English with zero accent in order to have a prosperous future in this country, otherwise you’d be discriminated against, not just for our skin, where we’re from, but also our accent. My family chose a town where we would be able to distance ourselves from the Spanish-speaking community to avoid having an accent. I was one of two Latine students in my class in middle school, and one of two handfuls in the whole high school. My parents spoke to us in Spanish, and my sisters and I only responded in English. My culture was being erased out of fear of being discriminated against. I’m not the only case.

I know how it feels to realize in your late 20s that you don’t know who you truly are. I don’t want my daughter to go through the same thing. Aside from traveling to our Spanish speaking countries to learn more about our culture, I chose to move my family to Princeton for the DLI program to aid with my daughter’s language and cultural education. Speaking and reading in Spanish (or any other language) at home will never be enough in a country where English is preferred due to societal pressure. I chose Princeton, and not WW-P, because I want her to be surrounded by the internationally diverse community the town has to show her that her culture and bilingualism is a superpower, to help her understand that it is great to be your true self.

The DLI program to us is not a “nice” extracurricular or privileged opportunity our children have available. It is a way to help us connect and reconnect with our families, a way to keep and/or reclaim our culture, a way to learn who we are and who we were in this world.

Black and brown students are being overlooked in every aspect of their education, as shown in the 2022-23 standardized testing report. I’m disappointed to say the least, and suggest the BOE and school leadership seek support into bettering the curriculum and programs so every child and family in this district is understood and have their needs addressed and met; not just within DLI.

Layla Cabrera
Bayard Lane