L.A. Unified elementary school experiments with dual-language program

But they just had to do one thing first.

"This would be a good time to say goodbye," Kunkel gently told the anxious parents ringing the back of the room.

It's not an unusual scene: Lots of mothers and fathers have a tough time letting go on the first day of school. But it was especially difficult for some Aldama parents who brought equal parts of idealism and economic reality to work with L.A. Unified officials on starting a Spanish and English immersion program at their neighborhood campus.

The process, which parents and school district officials said went smoothly, is also a potential glimpse into the future of Highland Park, where low home prices attracted a new generation of middle-class residents who wanted to send their children to the local school and who weren't afraid to lobby school district officials aggressively.

"These are more sophisticated parents. They know what the future looks like for their children, and it's one where they have to compete in a global economy," said school board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, who represents the area. "It creates the opportunity for other moms to also benefit."

The scene was more chaotic last week when parents of dual-immersion students met at Courtney Mykytyn's hillside home for pizza. Boys raced toy cars in the living room, girls played on the swing outside, and parents had sangria and chatted with the program's two teachers.

The group, led by Mykytyn, first met almost two years ago to look for ways to improve the local elementary schools.

Many of the parents moved into the neighborhood during the real estate boom before they had children, figuring that they would leave in a few years, preferably to South Pasadena, which has a highly rated school district.

Mykytyn said she wasn't even seriously thinking of having children when she bought her house a decade ago.

At that point, "I didn't think I'd be cooking dinners on a regular basis," Mykytyn said. "We were figuring the schools didn't matter."

By the time she began contemplating where to send her eldest child, Stefan, to school two years ago, she couldn't afford to move.