The multi-purpose room in Nordstrom Elementary Wednesday was filled with parents, teachers and even students interested in learning about a dual-immersion program school, which would integrate 50 percent English speakers and 50 percent Spanish speakers and provide instruction in both languages.
Hilaria Bauer, Morgan Hill Unified School District’s director of curriculum, led the audience through a presentation about what a dual-immersion program would mean for the district. For starters, the district needs at least 90 students to start the program as early as next year. Interested parents were to fill out a green card so the district could gage their interest.
Bauer said families most importantly have to consider the commitment it takes for this type of program, about seven to nine years to attain biliteracy and bilingualism, and even volunteer hours from parents.
Because of this, students would need to start in the program in either kindergarten or first grade. When she announced that they would not be accepting students in later grades, several members of the audience left.
A panel comprised of three parents who have their children in dual-immersion programs – including Sobrato High School Principal Debbie Padilla whose children went through a program in Gilroy – answered questions from other parents. Padilla said there is data out there that shows students in dual-immersion programs outperform others in their grade level in state tests.
“All staff member teaching in the dual immersion program by law, has to be CLAD certified, meaning they have to be able to teach in either English or Spanish, regardless of the subject,” said Bauer. The potential program would also follow the districts current 29 to 1 student to teacher ratio.
Socorro Shiels, assistant superintendent of educational services, said in terms of a school site, everything is “wide-open” at the moment. The district has no definitive plans either on the type of governance a school like this would be (for example, a charter school). She said the idea is to start a separate dual-immersion school and not a program at an already existing school site.
“Our goal depends on you,” said Shiels addressing the audience. “Because we can want to start next year, but if we don’t have enough parents, then we can’t start. So it really is we’re waiting to hear from you about when you would be ready to start the process.”
Audience members also included some school board trustees, Superintendent Wes Smith and President of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers Theresa Sage.
Lisa Martin, a mother of a 7-year-old, 2-year-old and 1-year-old said she is “very interested” in the program for the school.
“I would have to wait until 2014,” she said for her 2-year-old child to start kindergarten. Her children currently attend a Spanish speaking daycare and Martin said she only speaks a little Spanish herself.
Ron Woolf, MHUSD board president, said the presentation didn’t leave any questions unanswered.
“In any successful school, if you don’t have parent involvement, it just doesn’t work,” he said of the volunteer hours the school would require.
Bauer also made it clear that the program is not an English Language Development program, it is inclusive for all students.
