Early Edge Hosts DLL Advocates for Tour of Dual Immersion Programs at Westminster School District
On June 2nd, Early Edge California hosted 15 Dual Language Learners (DLL) advocacy partners for an opportunity to tour two dual immersion Early Learning programs at Westminster School District. Partners included members from Californians Together, Catalyst California, The Children’s Partnership, EdTrust West, EDvance College, Kidango, PEACH, and UNITE-LA.
The day began with a classroom tour of the preschool and Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Vietnamese dual immersion program at DeMille Elementary School. Participants got the opportunity to ask a PreK/TK teacher about her experiences and meet with DeMille’s Principal, April Derr.
Afterwards, the group traveled to Land School for a classroom tour of the infant and toddler Spanish dual immersion program. Participants also had an opportunity to meet with the Executive Director of Early Education & Expanded Learning, Nicole Baitx-Kennedy, and the Early Learning Specialist, Darcy Spicer, to ask questions about the programs and discuss the benefits for young DLLs and their families. The conversation centered around preparation, credentialing, and compensation for bilingual teachers, as well as family and community engagement.
Thank you to Westminster SD staff for this exciting opportunity to witness these amazing programs first-hand and connect our DLL advocacy work to practice!
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More About Westminster SD’s Dual Immersion Programs
Westminster SD offers 50/50 dual language programs, meaning that half of the instructional time is spent in English and the other half in the target language (i.e., Vietnamense, Spanish). They also offer Biliteracy Pathway Recognition awards in PreK to recognize that students are on their way to receiving their State Seal of Biliteracy Award upon high school graduation.
Visit the Westminster SD website or read our blog post to learn more about Westminster SD’s dual immersion programs.