Albany County School District updates Slade dual-language immersion program and explains lottery process

Trustees of Albany County School District #1 heard an update on the district's dual-language immersion program at Slade Elementary during their February work session, including presentations from program staff, current DLI students and district administrators about enrollment, the lottery system and plans for a high-school pathway.

The DLI presentation explained program goals and daily structure. Miss Morrow, the DLI presenter, described the program as aiming "to be bilaterally bilingual and biliterate" and to maintain academic achievement in both Spanish and English while raising students' "sociocultural competencies." At Slade, students spend parts of the day with an English-speaking and a Spanish-speaking teacher and receive core instruction in both languages; math and Spanish language arts are major Spanish-language components in the lower grades, while the balance shifts in fourth and fifth grades.

Students who attend Slade's DLI spoke to trustees about their experience. "Learning two languages is going to help me in the future," said Sarah, a current DLI student. Tristan, a fourth grader, said the program lets him "compare the languages" and learn about Spanish-speaking countries, and fifth grader Lucas Mason described using Spanish to help…