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Barber School praised for two-way immersion and rising outcomes; principal cites CLEP credits and attendance gains
Summary
Barber Principal Julio Lopez highlighted two-way language immersion results: about 630 students, 77% low income, 65% English learners, a CLEP program yielding college credits, rising ELA scores, and major gains in student attendance incentives.
Barber School’s two-way language immersion program drew praise at the Rockford Public Schools board meeting after Principal Julio Lopez presented enrollment, achievement and program details.
"We're about 630 kids. We're a K–8 building. We're about 77% low income, 65% English language learner," Barber Principal Julio Lopez said, highlighting the school's demographics and bilingual mission. Lopez credited strong teachers, family engagement, and targeted instructional programs for recent gains.
Lopez told the board that Barber has run a two-way immersion program since 1997 and that many eighth-graders leave Barber with college credits through CLEP testing. "Fifty-three percent of our kiddos in eighth grade leave Barber with 12 college credits," Lopez said. He added that another approximately 40% leave with six credits and that many students miss additional credits by only an average of one question on the exam in recent years.
Lopez described instructional changes and supports, including new early literacy curriculum (Caminos/Lectos Cultura), Kagan structures, and online middle-school math tools such as Desmos. He said the school uses programs like Reflex and Frac for fact fluency and is exploring offering high-school math credit in eighth grade for qualifying students.
Lopez emphasized attendance incentives as an important factor in academic gains. He said monthly incentives and other efforts contributed to a rise in perfect attendance from one student four years ago to 28 students last year.
Board member Miss McCall and Miss Chavez praised Barber as a community asset and asked the principal about biliteracy outcomes; Lopez suggested a stronger focus and data-sharing could quickly raise numbers for the Seal of Biliteracy.
Why this matters: Two-way immersion programs affect long-term bilingual proficiency, access to college credit, and district literacy outcomes. Barber’s combination of CLEP credit, biliteracy work, and attendance strategies are elements the district may study for broader use.
What the record shows and does not: Lopez described local program data and classroom practices; the transcript does not provide district-wide comparative statistics or external validation of the CLEP or biliteracy figures beyond Lopez's presentation.
