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District reports growth in bilingual program; 52 students earn Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy
Summary
Curriculum coordinator Stacy Lee reported 701 students enrolled in the district's bilingual program, improved AP Spanish results and plans to expand assessment and family engagement.
Stacy Lee, the district's curriculum coordinator for bilingual education, presented an annual update on the district's bilingual education program, saying the program serves 701 students across four schools and the district is working to improve assessment, curriculum alignment and family engagement.
Lee described the program's goals as developing bilingualism and biliteracy, meeting grade-level academic standards in both languages and cultivating cross-cultural competence. She said 455 of the 701 bilingual program students have at least one parent who prefers Spanish for district communications; 295 students currently are identified as English learners and 415 have been identified as English learners at some point.
Lee reported gains in advanced Spanish outcomes: 52 students earned the Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy this year and AP Spanish test results improved, with five students scoring a 5 (the highest AP score) — the district's best AP Spanish performance to date. Lee said the district has standardized the STAMP language assessment for grades 4 through 10 and is working to align grade-level goals and unit plans across elementary and secondary grades.
She described program structure changes at the middle-school level that teach Spanish through social studies and science content so students receive language instruction embedded in core subjects. Lee said the district is expanding Spanish reading-intervention options and planning parent and community events; she noted the district sent students to cultural performances at Oregon State and hosted visiting performers.
Lee called for improved systems to track who has taken bilingual courses over time and to increase parent and student voice in program planning. She said the district plans to send staff and parent participants to the Oregon Association for Bilingual Education conference and will update the program framework and assessment procedures.
Board members praised the program's results and student opportunities; no formal action was requested.
