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Beloit School District staff present options to restructure dual language immersion program; board to revisit in December
Summary
District staff reviewed an audit of the dual language immersion (DLI) program, presented enrollment, staffing and academic outcome data, and outlined four pathways—maintain, vertically consolidate, horizontally consolidate or sunset the program. No board action was taken; administration will return in December with recommendations.
Miss Martek, a district staff presenter, summarized an audit of the Beloit School District’s dual language immersion program and described four options for the program’s future: keep the program as is; vertically consolidate (two elementary schools, one middle school); horizontally consolidate (DLI at all three elementaries but only Spanish courses at middle/high school); or sunset DLI entirely.
The district’s DLI program began in 2012 and uses a 50/50 instruction model in Spanish and English. Martek told the Teaching, Learning, Equity and Pupil Services committee that DLI also serves as the district’s service-delivery model for multilingual learners (MLLs), and that the district must continue to provide language services under state law when thresholds are met. She said approximately 18.2% (about 951 students) of the district have an EL identification and that last year about 4.5% exited EL status after meeting WIDA proficiency criteria.
Why this matters: DLI provides both language access for multilingual learners and broader biliteracy opportunities (including a seal of biliteracy at graduation). The program’s footprint affects staffing, site assignments and hiring for bilingual-certified teachers; the district is facing bilingual-teacher vacancies it described as like “Swiss cheese” that undermine program quality. District staff said consolidation could reduce vacancy effects but may require hiring additional ESL staff if the district changes the service-delivery model.
Martek reviewed qualitative feedback gathered with the audit partner CISA and internal quantitative indicators (MAP, Wisconsin Forward and attendance/discipline data). She said DLI students generally produced somewhat better academic outcomes and had lower discipline referrals and better attendance than non-DLI students, though differences were not always large.
On staffing and finances, Martek showed example staffing scenarios: moving DLI seats between schools can create classroom FTE savings in some grades while increasing the need for ESL-certified FTE elsewhere if DLI no longer serves as the primary delivery model. She said the district identified two elementary and one middle-school examples where removing a DLI track could reduce classroom FTEs but would trigger additional ESL hiring to meet statutory obligations and WIDA-level needs. The district estimated roughly 645 students (about 17% of enrollment) are identified as multilingual learners.
Board response and next steps: Martek told the committee no action was required that night but said staff would return in December with a recommendation to support forward planning for the 2026–27 school year. Board member Juan Romero and others asked follow-up questions; Romero had already sent questions that staff have begun answering. Martek said staff will continue outreach and be available to answer questions between now and December.
Ending: The presentation closed with staff and board agreement that more detailed scenarios, including explicit staffing and cost estimates tied to WIDA-levels and exit rates, would be presented in December to inform any formal board decision.
"We recommend that the department return in December ... so the board feels comfortable in making a decision about what to do," Martek said during the presentation.
