3 schools will begin new bilingual program

The schools are the first in the Valley to have the linguistic program.

Three Central Valley schools will use federal grant money for an innovative linguistic program that teaches groups of English and non-English speaking students to become fluent and literate in two languages.

The five-year Department of Education grants totaling more than $ 4 million were given to Sunset Elementary School in Fresno, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Hanford and Maple Elementary School in Tulare.

The three schools will be the first in the Central Valley to have such a program and will join about 50 existing programs scattered throughout the state.

The programs will be phased in beginning this fall.

Called “two-way,” or “dual-immersion” by educators, the intensive program will cluster English-speaking and native Spanish-speaking students together for up to six years.

The students will begin the program in kindergarten, where they will learn their core subjects largely in Spanish. English-speaking students will receive one period per day of English-language instruction.

As the students move up the grade ladder, both languages will be used with equal frequency.

By the fourth grade, the students should be able to speak both languages fairly fluently, said Rose Patron, Fresno Unified’s multicultural-multilingual program director. And by the sixth grade, they should be able to speak, read and write in both languages.

Patron said the goal of the program is not just to teach English-speaking students another language but to get Spanish-speaking students to master their native language as well as English.

Rosa Molina, a two-way immersion project coordinator for San Jose Unified, said one of the best ways for Spanish speakers to learn English is alongside English speakers.

Patron and others say the results academically are also impressive.

She said that research involving young children shows that learning an additional language increases their ability to learn in much the same way as music instruction.

“This truly is an amazing process,” Patron said. “And it could be a turning point for all our children. They should all be multilingual.”

Patron said the district would like to implement the teaching program throughout its elementary schools if the Sunset model proves successful.

Jaime Perkins, Hanford Elementary’s director of instructional services, said the district will work this year at enlisting parental support, a key element in ensuring the program’s success.

Molina, who helps coordinate programs for San Jose and the rest of the state, said parents who participate must be willing to make a long-term commitment.

“This has to be something that parents want for their children and will support them in,” she said.

San Jose’s River Glen Elementary has been doing two-way immersion programs for 10 years and is widely used as a model.

Molina said the school has studied students’ progress and found they are succeeding academically and linguistically.



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