AugLM2022

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It starts with the demographics of our community. We have a very large population of people whose primary home language is Spanish. In researching this, we recognized there are a lot of other districts in our area with dual language programs. That’s been here in our district for 14 years. What ours does is serve as a way to help our students that come to us with either no English proficiency or just a little. We strive to have the best model of how language acquisition happens. We have a two-way immersion program. Half the day is designed at the lower grades for our students to receive their content in Spanish and half the day they receive it in English. It’s really a wonderful model, and the benefit is there is so much understanding. Our native English-speaking families see the value in learning a second language. It bridges gaps culturally. What aresomeof thekeyelementsof Harvard’sDual Languageprogramthat make it unique? I readyour district focusesonestablishing relationshipswith familiesevenbefore school starts.Why is that important? We’re very cognizant that, at all times, we see parents as a vital partner to what we’re doing. We want to be very open and direct about the things that we’re doing, so they see the value too. The dual-language program requires a little bit more investment, especially with those monolingual families whose home language is English because they’re putting their child who has very little exposure to the Spanish language in a school environment where half the instruction is going to be in a different language. When parents understand the value, I think that open lines of communication. Let’sget intomoreof themechanics ofwhat theschool day looks like for students in theDual LanguageProgram. We are a unit district. All the way into our pre-K, we have instruction that’s designed on this 50/50 model, where content instruction is coming in English half the time and in Spanish the other half. We have, in most situations, teaching pairs. You have to decide where your content is going to occur and what language you’re expecting to do social

That’s one of the ties to AASA’s Project 2025— being student centered and future driven. The reason I got my very first teaching job is because I spoke Spanish. That’s something that we know happens to people repeatedly. Their Spanish- speaking ability provides them opportunities that they may have never seen before. It just makes you that much more marketable. Canyoudiscuss the collegeand career readiness component of your district’s Dual Languageprogram? Regardless if you are choosing to have a dual language program or not, I think it’s a vital equity piece to understand that almost every big textbook company has dual language options. These students need materials, and they are eager to learn. They don’t have a learning disability. They just have a language deficit at this point. Whatever you’re doing to satisfy them intellectually is really vital. I always encourage people, regardless of if they have dual language or not, to ask the vendors about different options. That’s really a great asset for your students, and it helps make them feel their education matters. It lets them know they’re here and they’re important to you. These students do not have a cognitive deficit. They are super intelligent people. We need to make sure that we really are offering them structural materials that can meet them in their language needs until we can grow them in the English area. Doyouhaveanyadvice for educatorson what curriculumtouse? I will always have science in English, and I’m always going to have social studies in Spanish, for example. The kids really kind of understand that. However, they have language arts in both languages each and every day. That’s a critical part of that. One of the tricks is to make sure the curriculum is really tidy. There is a demand when you’re having a double block of language arts every day. There’s really a lot to think about in terms of how you design the curriculum and what languages are covered for which content areas. studies in or science in or math in. We have to have a language acquisition plan. Once you really lay that out, students get used to the pattern that

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5 LM August 2022 continued...