To the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education and CMS leadership:

We call on CMS to protect South Academy of International Languages (S.A.I.L.) by preserving a school schedule and transportation access that allow families to participate in its language immersion programs.

S.A.I.L. is a public K–8 school offering Chinese, French, German, and Japanese language immersion. Its value reaches beyond the families currently enrolled. It connects Charlotte’s children to languages, cultures, and opportunities that reflect our region’s international identity.

Protecting S.A.I.L. is an investment in Charlotte’s economic future.

International companies considering where to establish or expand U.S. operations consider whether a community can attract and retain employees and their families. Accessible public language immersion can strengthen Charlotte’s appeal and help distinguish our region from competing locations such as Atlanta and Nashville.

This matters to everyone in Mecklenburg County. Foreign direct investment can bring jobs, business activity, and a stronger local tax base that helps support public services, including CMS. Preserving S.A.I.L. supports an educational asset that can help attract international investment and retain families in our community.

S.A.I.L. also prepares students for that connected world. Language proficiency and the ability to work across cultures are skills students can carry into our workplaces, our neighborhoods, and our relationships around the globe.

Access is essential to the program’s survival.

Families have raised serious concerns about the proposed 9:15 a.m.–4:15 p.m. schedule for the 2027–28 academic year and its impact on work schedules, childcare, and their ability to remain at S.A.I.L.

When families cannot realistically attend a public magnet school, access to its programs is diminished. Declining enrollment could lead to reduced staffing allocations, threatening the stability of specialized language programs. The consequences could extend well beyond a change in school hours.

We recognize that CMS faces difficult transportation challenges. We ask district leaders to work with families, educators, and community partners on solutions that preserve access to S.A.I.L. and protect the educational investment our community has made.

Specifically, we ask CMS to:

• Retain S.A.I.L.’s current bell schedule rather than implement the proposed 9:15 a.m.–4:15 p.m. schedule.

• Preserve transportation access that enables families to attend and remain at S.A.I.L.

• Evaluate the potential effects on enrollment, staffing, and language-program sustainability before adopting changes.

• Include families, educators, and representatives of the business and international communities in developing workable solutions.

We sign as parents, alumni, educators, business leaders, neighbors, and supporters of public education who believe that language immersion is an asset worth protecting.

Protect S.A.I.L. Keep language immersion accessible. Invest in Charlotte’s children and Charlotte’s future.