Don’t let visa delays hold Académie Lafayette students back | Opinion

When my oldest daughter was preparing for kindergarten in Kansas City, I did what so many parents do. I visited schools across the city, hoping to find the right fit.

One visit changed everything.

I remember being ushered into a fifth-grade classroom at a French immersion program. The students were playing a game of Jeopardy. They were laughing, engaged and, most strikingly, speaking fluent French. These were 10- and 11-year-old kids, confidently navigating another language and culture. I was sold.

That experience shaped my daughter’s education and, ultimately, my own life. When it became clear that programs like this might not survive shifting funding and priorities, a group of parents, educators, and community members came together with a simple but urgent goal: Preserve and expand access to this kind of learning.

That effort became Académie Lafayette.

None of us knew exactly what we were doing. We were parents, attorneys, educators, small business owners. We took risks. Families donated money to secure visas, which in turn allowed the school to maintain native French-speaking staff that was central to its success.

In August 1999, we opened as Missouri’s first public charter school. We had 17 teachers and 250 students. Today, Académie Lafayette serves more than 1,450 students from pre-K through 12th grade. But what matters most is not the growth. It is the experience.

At Académie Lafayette, public school students have access to opportunities that many families assume are reserved for private education or elite programs, including daily language immersion that leads to true fluency, international travel experiences that expand horizons, a globally focused curriculum, including the International Baccalaureate program, and classrooms led by educators from around the world.

My daughters benefited from this education. They still speak French today. One has made a career as a speech therapist at the school. The other has stayed connected through substitute teaching. And now, years later, my grandson has been accepted to Académie Lafayette through its enrollment lottery. Watching this come full circle is deeply meaningful.

This is what public education can be at its best: rigorous, joyful, globally connected and open to all.

That’s why I am writing now.

Like many language immersion schools, Académie Lafayette relies on highly qualified international teachers to create an authentic learning environment. These educators are not temporary visitors. They are integral members of the school community. They build relationships with students. They raise families here. They help make Kansas City a more connected, more vibrant place.

Right now, some of those teachers are facing unexpected delays in the renewal of their work visas, despite having followed every requirement and submitted all documentation on time.

This is not a reflection of the school’s planning or commitment. Académie Lafayette routinely files renewal paperwork early and even pays for expedited processing to avoid disruption.

But delays at the federal level are creating uncertainty that affects classrooms, particularly in early grades where consistency matters most.

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This is not a crisis, but it is a moment that calls for action.

Programs like Académie Lafayette do not happen by accident. They are built through years of commitment, community investment and thoughtful policy. They depend on educators who bring language, culture and expertise that cannot be easily replaced. And Académie Lafayette gets results: The school has consistently been among the Top 10 highest-performing school districts in Missouri based on the annual Missouri Assessment Program test results.

If we value giving all students access to a truly global education, then we need systems that support that vision.

I am hopeful. Leaders at the local, state and federal level have already begun engaging on this issue. And I believe that with awareness and cooperation, solutions can be found.

In the meantime, there is something simple and powerful that our community can do: Speak up. I’m asking my neighbors to encourage timely processing of visa renewals for qualified educators. Support policies that expand, rather than limit, access to global learning opportunities and continue choosing and championing schools that open doors for all students.

More than 25 years ago, a group of us took a leap of faith to preserve something special for Kansas City’s children. We could not have imagined how far it would go.

Today, as a parent and now a grandparent, I see the results every day.

Let’s make sure this opportunity continues for the next generation.

Pam Gard is a former member of the Académie Lafayette board of directors.