As announced last year, the MVLA school district will centralize the English Language Development (ELD) program to Mountain View High School (MVHS) to balance the demographics within the district and ensure cost effectiveness.

These changes are already underway as the school no longer offers ELD II and students requiring ELD I are automatically registered over at MVHS.

“It’s a big change,” ELD and English teacher Aranxta Arriada said. “If we get students below Level III, they have to go to Mountain View, and for some students, that may be hard because Los Altos may be closer to where they live.”

To continue phasing out program, the school will no longer offer ELD III next year. By the 2011-2012 school year, all ELD will only be offered at MVHS, and all students who need ELD will attend MVHS regardless of personal preferences or where they live. While acknowledging that this might present obstacles for some, the ELD transfer aims to better serve all ELD students by maximizing its efficiency with the available resources.

“At first, I was really upset by the decision,” Arriada said. “I didn’t understand it, but now that I understand it more, [I know that] it’ll serve the kids’ best interest. I’m okay with it because ultimately, they’re the priority. I’m just sad to have them gone.”