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Byram Hills board to study secondary language program before expanding elementary language instruction
Summary
After site visits and research, district staff told the board that elementary FLES (foreign language in elementary schools) raises staffing, budget and scheduling trade-offs; board members signaled preference to first analyze secondary-level attrition and college expectations before committing to a K–5 rollout.
Staff presented a lengthy update on the district's world languages study and asked the board whether to pursue an elementary FLES program or first study the district's secondary program. The update summarized visits to neighboring districts with model elementary programs, research findings and a series of trade-offs the district would face to implement regular elementary-language instruction.
The district's presenter (identified in the meeting as Tim, staff) said the committee observed target-language classrooms that used the target language 100% of the time in elementary grades and noted that a sustained program requires both quantity (about 70 minutes per week) and teachers who are fluent…
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