Thousands of Chicago preschoolers and first- and second-graders will be offered two new bilingual education programs this year that will range from teaching them both English and Spanish to honing their English-only skills.

Under a new preschool pilot in 13 schools that starts this month, English- and Spanish-speaking students will learn both languages in a “dual language” program, Chicago public school officials said.

However, the official explanation of how much English and how much Spanish would be offered varied Thursday. An initial press release and executive draft on the program said 80 percent of the preschool day would be in Spanish and 20 percent would be in English. A revised press release issued later said the preschool day would be 50 percent Spanish and 50 percent English.

Still later, under questioning, officials said both versions would be allowed.

The 80-20 model has been used with great success at Inter-American Magnet School, but other schools such as Peirce and Lozano use a 50-50 dual-language model as early as kindergarten.

Armando Almendarez, chief language and cultural affairs officer, said the system will experiment with 80-20, 70-30 and 50-50 preschool models in the first year of the program, depending on a school’s preference.

The hope is that schools will add an additional year of the dual-language approach each year, so that students will eventually be fluent in both Spanish and English. Most researchers consider dual language to be the most effective bilingual approach.

“Our preference is to push a 50-50 model,” said Schools Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas. “However, the Inter-American model, which many schools are gravitating to, is an 80-20 model. The point is, we’re going to do a dual-language program.”

Also Thursday, Almendarez said the system will start bilingual summer school this year for first- and second-graders, to match the new expansion of summer school for native English speakers. Those students who function at grade level in their native language will be offered a summer school English-language immersion program to accelerate their English skills, he said.

First- and second-graders who are behind in their native language will receive summer school support in that language, as well as a class on English acquisition, he said.



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