Heber Valley Elementary Dual Immersion

CONNECTING OUR STUDENTS TO THE WORLD

Benefits of a Dual Language Immersion Program

• It empowers students to achieve the highest academic, social and linguistic skills to give them the edge now and for future academic and economic success (Committee for Economic Development, 2006; Genesee, 2000; Calderon, Minaya-Rowe, 2003).

• Students will be instructed in accordance to Utah State Core Curriculum standards for grade-level competencies in English and Spanish.

• Learning a second language stimulates the brain to develop higher level reasoning skills which transfer to complex critical thinking in math, science, and language arts (Genesee, 2000).

• Children who are educated with a multicultural curriculum have stronger self-esteem and more tolerance for and more interest in other cultures (Lindholm-Leary, 2000).

• More effective than traditional ELL pull-out, financially and academically (Collier, V. and Thomas, W., 2002).

Implementation Process

• Consultation with: Professors S. Pinegar & R. Graham of BYU; G. Roberts of USOE, B. Pruesse-Burr, World Language Director of Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, VA

• Legislative Grant Submitted and Granted May’08• Presentations and progress reported to School Community

Council ‘07-’08 and ‘08-’09• Attendance at Center for Advanced Research on Language

Acquisition Conference (St. Paul, MN)• Study with Entire Faculty on Oct. 24 (Professional

Development Day)• Book/Research Review and Plan Creation with Cmte. Dec. 5

• Calderon, M. & Minaya-Rowe, L. (2003). Designing and implementing two-way bilingual programs: A step-by-step guide for administrators, teachers, and parents. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

• Cloud, N., Genesee, F., & Hamayan, E. (2000). Dual language instruction: A handbook for enriched education. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

• Freeman, Y. S., Freeman, D. E., & Mercuri, S.P. (2005). Dual immersion essentials for teachers and administrators. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Implementation Process

• School Visits: • Timpanogos Elementary, Provo, UT• Adelaide Price Elementary, Anaheim, CA • Dixie Downs Elementary, St. George, UT • Fay Herron Elementary, Las Vegas, NV • Walker Elementary, Las Vegas, NV • Francis Scott Key Elementary, Arlington, VA• Lake Anne Elementary, Reston, VA• London Towne Elementary, Centreville, VA• William Penn Elementary, SLC, UT• Eagle Bay Elementary, Farmington, UT

• Parent Survey (Dec. 11)• School Board Presentations (April, ‘08/Jan, ‘09)

Dual Immersion Survey Results

• Purpose:• Acquire baseline data on knowledge of Dual

Immersion• Identify preferred methods of information

dissemination• Begin discovering particular community areas of

concern

• Demographics:• 234 Respondents (42% of school population)• 23% of Respondents– Spanish-Speaking Dominant• Respondents represented a minimum of 370

elementary-age students K-6 for ’09-’10 school year.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

1. Before receiving this survey, how aware were you that a dualimmersion (DI) program for Kindergarten and 1st Grade will

begin next year at Heber Valley Elementary (HVE)?

2. How well do you feel you understand what a DI program is?

3. In general, how much in favor are you for a DI program atHVE?

6. How interested are you in having your child(ren) participatein the DI program when they are in Kindergarten or 1st Grade?

7. How capable do you feel you would be to help your childsucceed in a DI program?

8. To what extent are you willing to serve on a school/parentDI committee at HVE?

Very Much Somew hat Not Much Not at All

How Concerned Are You About Students in the DI Program Succeeding in the Following Areas

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

a.  Success in Mathematics

b. Success in Reading and Writing

c.  Success in Science

d.  Success in Arts

e.  A child may be separated from friends

f .  A child may score low er on standardized tests

g.  A child may experience more frustration w ith school.

h.  Parents w on’t be able to help their children w ith homew ork ifthey are in a DI program.

i.  Parents may not be able to give extra time to their children tohelp them be successful in the program.

Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Not Very Concerned Not at All Concerned

Indication of Agreement of Benefits to Children in the DI Program

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

13. DI enhances intellectual growth and development.

14. DI helps students better develop thinking and problem-solving skills.

15. In DI, students have the opportunity to learn how to interactwith those of another culture and language.

16. In the future, children who are bilingual because of DI havean advantage when they apply for college or a job.

17. DI improves parent/student interaction.

18. In time, students in DI programs reach higher academicachievement.

Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree

In general please tell us how important is it for children to be able to do the following:

121

104

84

155

59

67

54

44

21

31

48

12

15

14

29

5

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Learn to speakSpanish when they are

young.

Learn to read andwrite Spanish.

Learn subject matter(math, science, history) in

Spanish as well as inEnglish

Learn to interact withthose of another culture and

language.

Very Much Somewhat Not Much Not at All

What it looks like for ’09-’10

• Instruction:• Academic standards, expectations, and Utah State Core will

be the same as for students receiving instruction in English only

• Each day students will receive Spanish and English instruction for approx. ½ day each

• Language arts will be solely taught in English, while mathematics and other core areas will be taught in Spanish in the younger grades

• Specialist time will be taught primarily in English, with some vocabulary reinforcement in Spanish

• Assessment• State and District testing will be administered in English• Formal Spanish acquisition testing will be administered to all

students• Informal testing in core areas will be administered in both

languages

What it looks like for ’09-’10

• Kindergarten and First Grade Implementation• Kindergarten-- 2 classes with no more than 24 each

• To be determined after Kindergarten registration• First grade– 2 classes with no more than 26 each

• Based on current enrollment: 22 Native Spanish-Speakers and 30 Native English-Speakers

• Second grade added in 2010-2011 and a grade in each consecutive year

Selection Policy DraftIt is the intent of Wasatch County School District Board of Education to create an orderly and equitable process for selecting students for the Dual Immersion Program. Students will be selected as follows:

POLICY• Students living in the boundary area of the school housing the dual

immersion program will be given first consideration for the dual immersion program.

• Students living in the boundary area of the school housing the dual immersion program will be registered using a lottery system keeping as close as possible to a 50/50 ratio between native English and native Spanish speakers and as close as possible to a 50/50 ratio between boys and girls. Exception to the lottery will be given for siblings of students already enrolled in the dual immersion program and children of staff members of the host school. Applications must be submitted to the host school by a predetermined date each year. Applications will be provided at the host school and at the district office.

• All spots not filled by students in the host school boundary area will be opened by lottery for transfer students from the Wasatch County School District. Applications must be submitted to the host school by a predetermined date each year.

• Students from outside the host school boundary area using a choice option to participate in the dual immersion program will need to provide their own transportation to and from the host school as outlined in Wasatch County School District School Choice Policy.

Plan

• Hold Dual Immersion Information Nights• Tentative Dates: Jan. 20 or 21; Feb. 4; Feb. 18

• Dual Immersion Applications Due Feb. 27• Meet with Community Groups

• Chamber of Commerce• Rotary Club• Heber City Council• Wasatch County Council