In Richmond, a teacher in Southside prompted the creation of the district’s first dual immersion program when she realized most of her students spoke Spanish at home.
VPM News reporter Keyris Manzanares examined what it takes to prepare students for a bilingual and biliterate future.
Editor's note: VPM News ran an article about the program earlier in 2024. The transcript below has been lightly edited for style and clarity.
(SOUND OF STUDENTS SINGING IN SPANISH)
Being bilingual is considered a superpower at Broad Rock Elementary School. Students in kindergarten through second grade are selected through a lottery system to take part in the school’s two-way dual-immersion program.
The goal? To make every child fluent in both English and Spanish, regardless of their native tongue.
Savannah Gordon, a first grader and native English speaker says her favorite part about learning Spanish is...
GORDON: “The that it helps me learn a lot when I when I talk to people that Spanish”
Some of her favorite words are hola — which Gordon says is a great way to say hi — AND...
GORDON: “queso — that’s because I really love cheese.”
The Virginia Department of Education says that there are 86 dual-immersion programs in 16 Virginia school districts — nearly doubling since 2014.
At Broad Rock... the instructional day is split evenly between both languages. RPS multilingual instruction coordinator Victoria Pierson says the program isn’t just about acquiring language skills.
(SOUND OF STUDENTS SINGING MATH SONG)
PIERSON: “They're actually learning math in Spanish. They're learning science, history, literacy skills. So, they are learning how to read and write in both languages.”
Before her role at the district, Pierson taught at an RPS middle school.
PIERSON: “Because of the population that was growing so quickly in Richmond, I started to ask our leaders in central office, you know, why don't we have any bilingual programs?”
Her question led to the creation of Broad Rock’s dual immersion program. She says it levels the playing field at a school where half of the student population is multilingual, primarily Spanish speakers.
(SOUNDBITE OF TEACHERS READING IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH)
PIERSON: “It doesn't say that English is superior to Spanish or Spanish is superior to English, but that both languages are equally valued and respected. And that we strengthen both at the same time.”
Savannah’s mom, Briande Gordon, agrees.
GORDON: “This is the age where they can absorb all of it, and they can get into music. And you learn different everything about the culture, the food, the dance, and when you merge it into your lifestyle, they tend to adapt to it a lot quicker.”
(SOUND OF STUDENTS SINGING A MATH SONG)
Pierson says they’ve seen growth in English proficiency for students learning the language among other benefits...
PIERSON: “People who are bilingual have stronger cognitive abilities; they're better at verbal reasoning and executive functioning – there's even studies that they have higher levels of empathy.”
Beyond the success in the classroom, parent Lesvia Rivera says her first grader looks forward to school every morning.
RIVERA IN SPANISH: “He loves learning... alongside his friends, and he tells me they are his family in school.
The bilingual learning model also helps reinforce what she teaches her son at home: not to lose his native tongue.
RIVERA IN SPANISH: “We teach Spanish too... So, they don’t lose it because those are our roots.”
(SOUND OF STUDENTS ASKING QUESTIONS)
RPS plans to expand its dual immersion program to a second school in the near future.
Keyris Manzanares, VPM News.
(SOUND OF CLASSROOM, CHILDREN, CHATTING FADE OUT)
