District outlines phased move of Spanish immersion middle grades to Riverside; staff describe bilingual program details

District staff presented an implementation update on the Spanish immersion program on March 18, describing a phased move of the middle school grades from Willow Creek to Riverside and a program model intended to sustain bilingual instruction through middle school.

Natalia Benjamin, director of multilingual learning, introduced the team — including Riverside Principal Erin Raymond and Spanish immersion instructional coach Katie Miller — and said the district conducted eight focused stakeholder meetings, consulted curriculum specialists and held community input sessions open to Spanish and Persian families.

Benjamin said the district will phase the kindergarten‑8 model into Riverside so that current middle‑school students at Willow Creek can finish their middle school experience without an immediate move. "Right now we have about 520 or 530 students at Riverside. About 200 of those are part of the Spanish Immersion program," Benjamin said when board members asked about enrollment. The district said the phased approach reduces multiple short‑term building transitions for students.

Program details presented include a Spanish language arts and Latin American studies period intended to use authentic Spanish‑language materials; a dedicated English language arts and social studies period to ensure alignment with Minnesota standards; bilingual math (continuing math instruction in Spanish into middle school to support transition to high school); and a plan to offer students the opportunity to earn high‑school Spanish credit while still in middle school. Staff said electives will include music (with access to strings, winds and percussion in a consolidated model) and a combined health/PE component; they also proposed an "Ignite" elective that would provide project‑based STEM and student‑choice learning and would draw on curriculum lessons being developed in Xello.

The presentation addressed assessments and outcomes: administrators said students take Minnesota assessments (MCAs) and FastBridge screening; staff noted dual‑language programs sometimes show lower English assessment scores early in elementary years while Spanish literacy is developing, followed by gains later. Staff said bilingual formative assessments in Spanish are used to track student learning where Spanish instruction is primary.

On staffing and costs, the district said the general fund will cover teacher staffing for the program; educational support professionals (ESPs) will be funded from building flexible funds. Staff said modest duplication of FTEs is expected during the transition until the program is fully K–8 and self‑sustaining. Next steps listed by staff include finalizing staffing, summer curriculum writing for the Ignite elective, refining elective scheduling for a smaller cohort, and expanded community communication and outreach.

Board members asked about licensure: staff said Minnesota requires content‑area licensure for teachers and the district assesses Spanish language skills during hiring; they noted teacher availability can be a challenge. Enrollment and class‑size data presented show Riverside currently enrolls about 520–530 students and the immersion program comprises roughly 200 of those students; staff said immersion class sizes are approximately consistent with district averages.

No formal board action was taken; staff will continue outreach and return with further implementation details and staffing plans.