DCPS currently offers the Two-Way Immersion Dual Language Program for grades K-12. Two-way bilingual immersion programs are additive programs in that a second language is acquired while maintaining the first language of the students. Two-way bilingual immersion programs provide students the opportunity to acquire a second language. The Two-Way Immersion Dual Language Program consists of classes as close to as possible with 50% Native English speakers and 50 % of Native Spanish speakers. Many of the native Spanish speakers are made up of English Language Learners (ELLs). Students are integrated for instruction so that both groups of students serve in the role of language model and language learner at different times of the day.
In elementary and middle school, English learners and Spanish learners spend 50% of their classroom day receiving academic instruction in each language. In high school, English learners and Spanish learners receive 30% of their instruction in Spanish. Students learn mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts in Spanish and English. The Dual Language Program is designed to prepare children to succeed in a culturally diverse world and a global economy through academic achievement and proficiency in the Spanish and English languages. Our program’s goals are to provide a bilingual, biliterate, and multicultural educational experience.
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