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Gresham‑Barlow expands dual‑language immersion; district reports strong growth and plans middle‑ and high‑school offerings
Summary
District staff reported substantial growth in the dual‑language immersion (DLI) program since 2019, described hiring and retention efforts, and outlined plans to add DLI classes at Clear Creek Middle School and Gresham High School.
District staff presented an update April 16 on the Gresham‑Barlow SD 10J dual‑language immersion (DLI) program and plans to expand the program into middle and high school levels.
Araceli, the district’s DLI coordinator, told the board the program began in 2019 and now supports 21 classrooms in elementary school with steady district‑wide growth. “We started our program back in 2019…we have added almost 500 students in the past four years,” she said, citing recent arrivals and Spanish‑speaking newcomer numbers.
Nut graf: Staff said DLI helps close achievement gaps for English learners by providing instruction in both Spanish and English, supporting biliteracy and bicultural competence. The district plans to start DLI sections at Clear Creek Middle School (phased growth beginning with two to three classrooms) and to offer Spanish‑language core classes at Gresham High School for newcomers and heritage speakers, including algebra and biology in Spanish.
Key details: Staff said about 418 recent arrivals currently need English‑language support; the district is prioritizing Spanish as the target DLI language because roughly 70–80% of newcomer students are Spanish speakers. The district ran a DLI job fair and reported a strong candidate pool; staff stated that positions requiring language proficiency are framed in job descriptions to preserve program staffing in potential bumping scenarios.
Staffing, access and continuity: The district plans guaranteed transportation for students who enroll in the DLI newcomer program through 12th grade. Staff also described partnerships with other districts and external coaches, recruitment of heritage speakers and assurances that counseling and transcripts for international students are being processed to support placement.
Ending: Board members praised the program and asked staff to continue refining plans for middle‑ and high‑school scheduling, master scheduling and staffing pipelines. Enrollment and student outcome data presented by staff showed gains in DLI compared with district averages.
