A School Near You?

I like to get updates on where public schools are opening up to and growing their dual language programs.

Here's a recent article about the progress of a school in Johnston County, NC:

SES reviews progress of Spanish/English program
By Rebecca Piscopo

Selma Elementary School is one of 21 other schools in North Carolina, and the only one in Johnston County, to have a first grade class and two kindergarten classes taught every other day in Spanish and English, according to the school’s program sponsor company Splash! CEO Alan Young, who spoke in the school’s cafeteria Thursday night, March 26.

SES administration welcomed interested parents of rising kindergarteners to inform and answer questions about its Spanish/English Dual Language Immersion Program, an educational program designed to teach students in two languages, which is entering its third year.

The school has one of the highest Hispanic student populations in Johnston County, and it is a program, Young said, that is proven to help students of all backgrounds perform higher on standardized tests.

The program currently has 60 students. In each of the dual language classes, there are 50 percent native English speaking children, and 50 percent Spanish speaking students. There are 70 families, according to SES social worker Kristen Percy, who have filled out applications for the program.

Young was there along with SES administration and other Splash! – a company located in Chapel Hill that provides schools across N.C. with bilingual education programs -- to talk about how first grade and kindergarten students currently in the program were performing in class by showing a video. (Read more)