Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 on July 24 presented a new Dual Language Immersion Framework that staff say formalizes 12 years of program work and will guide expansion and assessment in coming years. The presentation, led by Elizabeth Sanchez Cipezzi and Yamalet Sosa, outlined program structure, pathways, assessment plans and next steps for family outreach.

Staff described the framework as a distillation of multi-year local work and an eight-month collaboration with an outside two-way dual-language association. “This framework represents several years of work,” Elizabeth Sanchez Cipezzi said, and staff added it aligns with “state, federal policy, and, more importantly, our student needs.”

The nut graf: The presentation explained how Woodland’s program — established in 2012 and now serving nearly 1,600 students in about 100 classrooms, pre-K through grade 8 — will use a formal framework, bilingual assessments and new district biliteracy recognitions to monitor growth and expand family outreach. Staff also raised a pending state bill, House Bill 3026, that would require districts to integrate dual-language plans into strategic plans by July 1, 2027, and create pre‑high‑school biliteracy pathways by July 1, 2029.

Program structure and assessment: Presenters described multiple enrollment pathways (including sibling preference, lotteries and transfers), and a language allocation model that begins with a 90/10 split in pre‑K and transitions to a 50/50 model in kindergarten through eighth grade. Staff emphasized a two‑teacher model in elementary grades and content‑based Spanish instruction in middle school (for example, social studies in Spanish). The district also plans literacy “bridges” to support academic transfer and cross‑linguistic analysis rather than direct translation.

Staff reviewed assessment results and how the district will interpret them. They noted research showing that academic language typically takes five to seven years to develop — sometimes longer — and said that assessment windows should be interpreted with that timeline in mind. The district reported that in 2024, 113 dual‑language students (8.8%) met a state English proficiency benchmark; the next year, 104 students (7.9%) met that same criterion, and staff said adding more ESL educators and instructional minutes is intended to support students needing the most help.

Biliteracy pathway and recognition: Woodland staff said the district will not wait for high‑school seals of biliteracy and will create internal recognitions at the end of fifth and eighth grades. The district will use combinations of indicators — ACCESS scores, report cards, performance assessments and literacy assessment tools (the presentation named the iWriter assessment replacing MAP for literacy) — to determine eligibility for district commendation toward biliteracy.

Family engagement and next steps: Presenters said they will expand family outreach through building family coordinators and existing bilingual and dual‑language advisory committees. In addition to professional development for staff, the district plans to track biliteracy pathway participation and report results annually to the board.

Legislative context: Staff highlighted House Bill 3026, telling the board that the bill — if enacted as described in the presentation — would add a dual‑language education section to the Illinois School Code and set multi‑year deadlines for strategic plan integration and recognition of earlier biliteracy pathways. District presenters said Woodland is “ahead of the game” on many elements described in the bill.

Ending: Board members and staff asked clarifying questions about parent communications and articulation to local high schools; staff said they will provide clearer conference‑period reporting on assessments (the presentation pointed to October assessment timing and November/March conferences) and will coordinate with local high schools to ease transitions for students moving from Woodland into area high schools.