GLENDALE – Taking advantage of its multicultural staff and student body, Edison Elementary School is working on creating the first Spanish-English dual-immersion program in the Glendale Unified School District.
Under the proposed Project Aguila, equal numbers of Spanish-speaking students and English-speaking students will be placed in the same classrooms, learning side-by-side.
Students would stay in the program for five years, by which time they are expected to be literate in both languages. “We are excited to provide this opportunity to the students,” said Wendy Rios, a six-year bilingual education teacher at Edison who is coordinating the program. “We kept thinking who wouldn’t want their kids to be biliterate?”
Edison’s faculty also hope to use the program to foster in their students a lifelong appreciation for other cultures.
“Because you are putting two groups together, each modeling for the other, there is a different level of sensitivity and understanding,” said Rios, who expects students will serve as translators of sorts for each other during classroom interactions.
Aguila, which in Spanish means eagle – the school’s mascot – stands for “Attaining educational Goals Using dual Immersion in Languages and Academics.” It’s slated to begin in July.
The idea of dual immersion, although new in the school district, is well-established throughout California and nationwide.
“Nationally, the research on dual immersion has been extremely positive,” said Alice Petrossian, assistant superintendent of education services.
And the best dual immersion programs, Petrossian said, start at elementary school.
“The mastery of languages at an early age is far easier,” she said. “At an older age, mastering another language is more difficult.”
By contrast, traditional bilingual education provides homogenous classes for students to begin studies in their native language until they have learned enough English to transfer to mainstream classes.
Students in Project Aguila would initially get 90 percent of their instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English. By fifth grade, the balance becomes 50-50.
Aside from dual immersion, Project Aguila would include outreach to parents to involve them in their children’s education, and family literacy classes for the parents of students in the program. There would also be social activities to promote interaction between students, families and staff, and professional development for staff.
As part of the program, an outside consultant would evaluate students’ performance. Teachers at Edison, as well as parents, would visit dual immersion programs to learn firsthand.
Edison Principal Linda Conover believes dual immersion would also produce higher-functioning students.
“The cognitive benefits of having two languages is immeasurable,” she said.
Project Aguila is being funded at $300,000 a year by a five-year federal grant.
Under voter-approved Prop. 227, parents, however, would still have to fill out a form to place their children in the program.
If Project Aguila proves successful, Edison plans to have an Armenian- English dual immersion program in the future.
Already staffed with a multilingual faculty teaching 71 percent English learners, Conover said Edison is the perfect fit for dual immersion.
“We’ve got the foundation, the strong belief, the expertise here,” she said. “We’ve got the teachers who are willing to think outside the box. It fits right in with our school.”
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