Approximately 56 students at Highlands Elementary School recently completed the school’s first Dual Language Immersion Program, in which students develop literacy skills and learn academic content in both Spanish and English to promote linguistic and cultural awareness while supporting higher levels of academic achievement.
The students were the first cohort within the Saugus Union School District to complete such a program, which was launched during the 2019-20 academic school year with two kindergarten classes, Carin Fractor, assistant superintendent of education services,said during a recent phone interview with The Signal.
The Dual Language Immersion Program began with a 90/10 model, meaning 90% of instruction in the beginning was in Spanish and 10% was in English. As students progressed through grade levels, more English was implemented throughout their course work, making it a 50/50 curriculum.
Both the 90/10 and 50/50 model are research-based approaches and considered successful, but the 90/10 model really promoted the immersion factor, which was important for the district, Fractor said.
Among the students who completed the program was Nina Withers’ son, 12-year-old Jackson.
Withers, who grew up spending her summers in Mexico with her grandparents, became fluent with the Spanish language and learned a lot about her roots and culture. She wanted her children to experience the same.
“Spanish is super valuable. It creates more job opportunities. You’re able to go to different fields that maybe you weren’t able to get into before without knowing the language. It opens up so many doors for future jobs, and for school,” Withers said during a recent phone interview. “He (Jackson) has learned so much about the (Latino) culture.”
To teach children about the cultures represented by Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Argentina, among many others, events highlighting traditions and celebrations significant to those nations were hosted by school staff.
“I love that he was able to experience that, and it’s so different growing up in the culture. Because of the program, he was able to experience a little bit of what I experienced growing up,” Withers said.
But like many others across the nation, the pandemic brought its challenges with online learning for the bilingual students, such as navigating online learning and, once back in person, finding the appropriate staff with credentials who could teach in both languages, Fractor said.
“They had a teacher who was teaching Spanish for half the time, and then they had another teacher who was teaching English, so this cohort experienced that challenge, but they persevered,” she added.
With the collaboration of the California Department of Education, the Saugus district was able to secure more than five teachers from Spain who have now become a part of the community and teach in both languages.
To also help guarantee student success, parents also worked collectively to support their children and one another, fostering long-term friendships and building a community united by the shared goal of helping students thrive, according to Withers.
“Academically, your kids thrive both in their Spanish language and their English language. We’re seeing that transfer over into those state testing, district assessments, student learning outcomes, and just meeting grade-level standards in both languages,” Fractor said.
She also noted that many of the students have developed a high level of confidence throughout the program because they are learning the language while putting it to practice when learning other subjects.
“It requires a lot of perseverance. It requires a lot of collaboration and trust. These students have really grown together as a cohort, because they’ve learned from each other. They’ve really developed those soft skills,” Fractor added.
Many of the Highlands students are set to attend Arroyo Seco Junior High School, where they will continue their bilingual educational pathway with the William S. Hart Union High School District.
With the success of the Dual Immersion Language program, the Saugus district has received a high level of interest and families wait-listed. English learners or families that are bilingual are prioritized, according to Fractor.
Highlands remains the only school in the Saugus Union School District to offer the program. While families have expressed interest in seeing it expand to other campuses, district officials said recruiting teachers with the specialized credentials required for dual immersion instruction has been a challenge.
“I’m just super grateful for the opportunity for the kids to learn so much, for us to learn, even as parents growing over the years,” Withers said, adding that even with navigating a new program and its challenges, she would recommend families consider looking into it. “If you just stick with it the whole time, and trust the process, it’s invaluable.”
