By Richard Zowie
Could a “dual language” program, where elementary school students receive instruction in both English and Spanish, become an option someday for Fredericksburg Independent School District students?
Celina Estrada-Thomas, FISD assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, discussed a recent field trip to study dual language programs with the trustees during their Nov. 9 regular meeting.
Estrada-Thomas, Supt. Dr. Eric Wright, Fredericksburg Middle School Principal Monica Ward and FISD Director of Special Programs Ronda Tomplait visited Kendall Elementary School in Boerne ISD on Oct. 29 to look at the school’s dual language program.
Offered kindergarten through fifth grade, the program offers classroom instruction in both English and Spanish.
“Going into dual language is not about increasing STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) scores or increasing test scores of any kind,” Estrada-Thomas said. “That benefit will come later in life. It provides a unique educational experience for the students and opens doors for them that might not happen without a second language.”
Now in its seventh year at Boerne, the dual language program is offered at three elementary schools and has a waiting list. Students district wide have the option of selecting the program, and the school uses a lottery system to select students.
In Boerne ISD’s program, students start with 90 percent instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English. The numbers start to approach each other and by the time they reach fifth grade, the students’ instruction becomes 50/50.
Wright recalled seeing dual language programs when he was a principal in Lufkin ISD in 1996.
“The goal is for kids to learn a foreign language they’ll be fluent in by the time they exit fifth grade,” he said. “I can tell you that we took our fifth graders to the high school to have a contest with Spanish III kids, and the fifth graders blew them out of the water. The Spanish III seniors could say phrases and a few words, but the fifth graders could speak in complete sentences.”
Wright added that the program does have disadvantages. One is, despite how smart a student is, they may not earn all A’s under the dual language program due to having “double duty” in both languages in each content area.
Another one, according to Estrada-Thomas’ report, is English language acquisition is delayed for both English dominant and Spanish dominant students.
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