Please support the continued roll out of the Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) program in Sharon, MA to encompass the second grade by signing this petition. The research, administration, and community support the program and it has been a tremendous success with the current first graders. Currently, the School Committee (SC) is divided on supporting the roll out into second grade not because of the merits of the program, but because of costs. However, the Superintendent presented the SC with a balanced budget that includes FLES with no impact on taxpayers beyond the current level. This year’s addition represents 0.15% of the $41M budget, which amounts to approx. $267 per child ($63,728/ 239 children). The SC will vote to include FLES in the next year's budget on Wed 24th Feb 2016. Thank you for signing this petition; we would like to present it as further proof of the community’s support.

To learn more about the program you can visit the FLES website: https://flesprogramsharonma.wordpress.com/ or watch a Sharon TV interview: https://youtu.be/k7J_ZKTo6jU

Upon request, we can also provide you with the FLES budget and presentation of the program assessment as presented for the SC on 20th Jan 2016. Please email linda.cveckova@gmail.com, if you have any questions. Thank you for considering to support this petition.