East Aurora School District 131 officials are planning to test a dual language program in a small number of elementary school classrooms next school year.
Though many of the details of the pilot program are still in the works, school board member Kim Hatchett said the goal is for native Spanish-speaking students to become better at speaking both English and Spanish, and for English-speaking students to learn Spanish. She characterized the proposed program as “dual language for all students.”
“We need to do it,” said Hatchett, co-chair of the board’s curriculum committee, which has been reviewing the pilot program’s development. “I think it’s kind of the wave of the future. I think it’s a great opportunity for our students to graduate from high school being able to speak two languages.”
East Aurora has not had a dual language program in at least the 10 years Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Beatrice Reyes Childress has worked in the district, she said. Programs have been discussed at various times and former Superintendent Mike Popp listed studying a dual language program among his goals at a back-to-school celebration before the start of 2014-15 school year.
Childress said though programs have been discussed during her decade in the district, this is the farthest any dual language program has gotten in East Aurora.
At the same time the district is working on its dual language pilot, it is also looking at changes to other bilingual programs, she said.
The dual language pilot program likely will take place in two kindergarten classrooms at one school, Hatchett said. The school that will house the test program has not yet been decided.
Administrators are working to determine how students will be selected for the pilot, but classes are expected to include both native English- and Spanish-speaking students, according to curriculum committee meeting minutes.
“I want to make sure that if we put a dual language program in place it is a benefit to all students, not just a certain population,” Hatchett said.
Administrators plan to look at teachers already in the district to participate in the pilot, Childress said. East Aurora already has a large number of staff members endorsed as bilingual teachers, who speak Spanish, and English-as-a-second-language teachers, who may or may not speak Spanish, she said.
Parents will have a say in whether their children participate in the program, and a committee including parents and community members will have input in the pilot, Hatchett said.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for our district to be able to be that funnel to the business community and work force, where dual language has become very important,” she said.
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