Language immersion class eyed

Plans are to start small, with a single class of kindergarteners at a single elementary, teachers told the North Wasco County School District 21 board.

The class would be half native Spanish speakers and half native English speakers, said Mairead Beane Kelly, an English Language Learner (ELL) teacher at Chenowith Elementary.

Students would start with 90 percent of content in Spanish, and 10 percent in English, she said. By fifth grade, they would be taught equally in English and Spanish.

Board chair Kathy Ursprung asked if English speakers would be disadvantaged by it, and Beane Kelly said, “learning another language is really helpful to your brain.”

Ursprung said she believed many parents would be questioning whether the immersion program would be helpful to their child. She said the district needs to get the word out that the dual language immersion program “is a gain … and everyone is moving up together.”

Chenowith Elementary Principal Stephen Jupe said his children were in a dual immersion program in Canada, learning English and French, and they benefited from it. “It was very natural,” he said.

Board member Bethani Frantz-Studebaker lauded the proposal, saying dual language immersion “is not a new idea. It’s been highly effective, highly researched and highly implemented, globally.”

Studebaker encouraged staff to move “onward, and quickly,” on the proposal.

A committee will be formed to explore community interest and teacher capacity, Kelly said. It will also make a visit to Walla Walla, where teachers have already visited to learn of that school district’s dual immersion program.

Hopes are to begin the class as soon as next fall.

Superintendent Candy Armstrong said if the pilot effort is successful, more people will want the opportunity for their children. She said how soon the district gets the word out on the pilot program will determine how soon it starts. “We want to make sure we don’t get ahead of the community.”

Board member Rebecca Thistlethwaite believed the program would prove popular and would help the district attract students. “You’ll have a wait list. I have no doubt about that.”

Two years ago, D21 was identified as one of the 15 lowest-performing districts in Oregon in terms of outcomes for English language learners. The state provided the district with $180,000 a year for four years to work on improving outcomes.

Currently, the school district uses the ESL pullout model, where students learning English are pulled from class for specialized instruction. It is widely used, but doesn’t perform as well as dual immersion, according to well-known research, Beane Kelly said.

Teacher Phil Brady said he raised his two daughters in Venezuela, and research shows kids learn more in dual-language environments.

The immersion program would also honor the Spanish language, and let Spanish speakers know their language has value, Beane Kelly said. “We are giving the message that English is better, which — we want both.”

She said teachers often have to encourage Spanish speaking parents to read to their kids in Spanish.