Dual Immersion: Exciting Possibilities

A collage showing Ms. Padilla and Mr. Tenesaca working with students.

By Tim Reaves
BCS Communications Department

Kindergarteners have made amazing progress this year in Ms. Karina Padilla’s dual language immersion class at Candler Elementary School.

At the beginning of the year, the children (and their parents) were nervous about starting school in a class with a teaching team that spoke almost exclusively in Spanish. But on the second-to-last day of school, they could easily understand everything she and teacher assistant Byron Tenesaca-Guaman said.

“They’re activating more parts of their brain,” Ms. Padilla said. “They’re becoming better problem-solvers, they’re getting more prepared for their future careers, and they’re connecting with the whole community.”

It’s already having real-life benefits for her students. Recently, she said, one of the English-speaking boys in her class became friends with the Spanish-speaking boy next door, something that would have been impossible a year ago because of the language barrier.

“Now they are able to go play together and communicate with each other,” she said. “It’s wonderful that they can have that, and it motivates them to keep learning.”

As of the 2018-19 school year, all six BCS districts have at least one elementary school with a Dual Language Spanish Immersion program. Participating students become bilingual and bi-literate. They have greater cultural fluency, are more prepared for a global society, and in many cases, perform better academically.

In addition to scheduled tours, parents and their children are welcome to tour our dual immersion and other classes. Call your community school to schedule an appointment.

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