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Merced City School District to open Spanish–English dual immersion kindergarten at Don Stoll Elementary
Summary
Merced City School District announced a Spanish–English dual language immersion program that will begin with two DLI kindergarten classrooms at Don Stoll Elementary in the 2025–26 school year; district officials said instructional time will be about 90% Spanish and 10% English and that they will schedule parent information sessions and enrollment windows soon.
Merced City School District announced a Spanish–English dual language immersion (DLI) program on a short video update, saying it will begin at Don Stoll Elementary and open with two DLI kindergarten classrooms in the 2025–26 school year.
"Dual Language Immersion is a program where students learn academic subjects in 2 languages," said Aaron Alexander, the district's state and federal programs director, explaining the basic model and goals of the new program. "The goal is for all students to excel in school, become fluent in both languages and understand different cultures."
Veronica Villa, the district's multilingual coordinator, said the program will pair Spanish and English and that the district plans two Spanish DLI kindergarten classrooms for the 2025–26 school year. Alexander described the planned instructional split, saying, "90% of the instruction will be in Spanish and the other 10% in English."
At the school level, Vance Descoto, principal of Don Stoll Elementary, welcomed families and encouraged interest in the new option. "We are so excited to start the dual language immersion program here at Don Stoll and can't wait to receive you, our families here, who are interested in this program," Descoto said.
District staff said they will publish dates and times for parent information sessions, outline specific enrollment windows and note any standard kindergarten registration requirements before enrollment opens. No funding sources or additional classroom staffing details were specified during the announcement.
The district framed the DLI program as an academic and cultural offering intended to promote bilingualism and cultural understanding; officials said more logistics and registration details will follow.
