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Longview School showcases dual‑language program, international exchanges and cultural celebrations
Summary
Longview School staff presented examples of year‑round dual‑language activities — classroom art, a pen‑pal project with Argentina, cultural events and student showcases — and explained the program currently runs through fifth grade with one dual‑language classroom per grade.
Principal Ken White and Longview staff presented the school’s dual‑language program to the Osborn Elementary District governing board, highlighting classroom work, community events and an international exchange with schools in Argentina.
Teachers described classroom displays and projects from Hispanic Heritage Month, student art installations, a Dia de los Muertos ofrenda and a schoolwide ‘El Grito’ celebration for Mexican Independence Day. Preschool and elementary teachers described a pen‑pal exchange with classes in Buenos Aires and Tierra del Fuego; staff said the exchanges included songs, science projects and cultural sharing.
Presenters described regular dual‑language programming details: Longview runs one dual‑language classroom per grade level and staff teach approximately 50 percent of instruction in English and 50 percent in Spanish. The program currently serves students through fifth grade; board members asked about sixth‑grade continuation and whether demand could support adding a second dual‑language class in any grades. Staff said recruiting a Spanish‑speaking teacher for middle school has been challenging and that expansion would require substantially higher student demand.
Staff also described immersion field trips focused on Spanish language use — for example, visits to supermarkets where students practiced vocabulary and transactions in Spanish — along with annual end‑of‑year dual‑language showcases. Longview staff described partnerships with local and regional language conferences and thanked the Osborne School Education Foundation for funding attendance at conferences.
Board members praised the program and asked for districtwide data. At the meeting, a board member asked for an enrollment breakdown and historical trend data for dual‑language classes across the district; the board president asked staff to provide that information for a future meeting.
