Washougal’s dual-language program flourishing

As Washougal School District leaders prepared to launch a dual-language program for the 2021-22 school year, they thought they’d start out with one class of 20 or so kindergarten students, with an even mix of native English speakers and native Spanish speakers.

Things didn’t exactly turn out that way. As a result, the district was forced to deal with a problem of the best possible kind.

“The interest, especially from students coming from native English-speaking families, was much higher, so we ended up doing two classrooms, one that is pretty close to 50-50 split and one with (students) from English speaking backgrounds,” said Washougal Learning Academy principal Jason Foster, the district’s dual language program coordinator. “It’s not exactly the model that we thought we’d be supporting, but we wanted to make sure that as many kids as possible had the opportunity.”

The program is succeeding in its mission to help students embrace multilingualism and multiculturalism, and is poised to become one of the district’s signature offerings, according to Foster, who added that district leaders “want this to be something that Washougal is, not something that Washougal does.”

“Developing a dual language program takes time, patience and dedication,” dual-language teachers Veronica Paredes and Kelly Borquist said in a joint statement. “It has been amazing to see how the staff, district and community of Washougal have worked together to create a successful program.”

Dual language is a form of education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages simultaneously. The district is using a “90-10” model, in which students receive 90 percent of their daily instruction in Spanish as kindergartners and first-graders, and gradually receive more English instruction until they reach a 50-50 split as fifth-graders.

“Research indicates that 90-10 is actually a more effective model, and that students in the 90-10 model achieve higher rates,” district assistant superintendent Renae McMurray told the Post-Record in 2021. “The great thing about the dual language program is that not only English language learners are more successful, but all students are more successful. They’re challenged, and that’s going to make their results improve.”

Long-term dual language learners have increased levels of cognitive capacity, critical thinking abilities and academic achievement, according to Paredes and Borquist.

“Students are exposed to a variety of cultures and customs, which improves cultural awareness and appreciation of diversity,” they said. “We have witnessed student success and growth in all subject areas. Students are now able to complete tasks and activities in both English and Spanish.”

This program promotes high academic achievement for all students; closes achievement gaps; allows students to achieve true bilingualism and biliteracy; increases culturally responsive teaching throughout the district; fosters and promotes cultural diversity and mutual respect among students and their families; and promotes a sense of unity, according to the district’s website.

“There are more opportunities in the world if you can interact with more people authentically — not just multilingual, but multicultural in a way that allows you to interact with people (in a positive manner),” Foster said. “When you have a classroom that becomes a culture, and that culture is accepting of multiculturalism and multilingualism, it opens a lot of doors. We’re thinking about the lives that these students will live beyond the classroom, beyond graduation, knowing they will be richer for this experience. We’re so happy to be able to do it.”

The program is located at Hathaway Elementary School, but includes students from all of the district’s elementary schools. Students receive instruction from art, music, physical education, and library specialists along with their dual language kindergarten curriculum, taught by Paredes and Borquist.

Families and students are often “very excited” to have the opportunity to learn two languages, according to the teachers.

“Parents can expect students to be tired at the beginning of the school year since their brains are working so hard to learn two languages,” they said. “After a few months, parents can expect dual language students to be coming home excited to practice their new skills. They will often be singing songs and using new vocabulary and phrases that they’ve learned in class.”

Foster and the teachers have had to overcome some challenges along the way, however, specifically by learning how to deal with situations in which students must receive instructions in English.

“There are times when a behavior might be dangerous or something needs to be corrected in the moment, or (you need to review) the school rules, so there is this tendency to want to address it in English because you know the student will get it,” Foster said. “There are better ways to do that and there are ways that will break the immersion. If you’re doing it with fidelity, you should always be speaking Spanish when students are in the room because they’ll just be thinking of you as almost being transported to another country to learn this language as opposed to, ‘My teacher who speaks English is speaking Spanish to me now.’ There’s a totally different dynamic there. So when we present information that the students need to have presented in English, we have somebody else come into the room. ”

Even though the program is centered around teaching Spanish to native English speakers, it provides several benefits to native Spanish speakers as well, according to Foster.

“They can apply all of the knowledge that they already have in their home language and learn the academic vocabulary in English slowly, which is a huge benefit,” he said. “They also get to be rock stars. (Their Spanish speaking) would normally be a hindrance. In some cases, they’d be bashful or scared to make it front and center that their families are from somewhere else or speak a different language or have a different culture. Often people will become very insular because they (can’t) seek out someone who also speaks their language or has that cultural experience. Instead, they get to come into a classroom and be the best at this one thing that is valuable to everybody else in the room, and that’s great.”

District leaders have planned to expand the program in the next several years so that it “builds upon itself on an annual basis,” according to Foster, who added that a planning committee has already “set the stage for what this is going to look like through fifth-grade implementation.”

“We’re looking forward to continuing to grow students’ language and academic abilities, and we’re excited to get to know more families and students that want to be part of the dual language program,” Paredes and Borquist said.

The district is currently enrolling incoming kindergarten students into the program for the 2022-23 school year. Students and families must apply for admittance into the program. Registration forms are available at washougal.k12.wa.us/dual-language/.

The district will give priority to those who sign up before Friday, April 15. If the number of students exceeds the space available, a lottery will determine participation.

Families are encouraged to contact Foster by calling 360-954-3833 or emailing jason.foster@washougalsd.org if they have questions or need more information before registering.