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Dual-language program expansion: Mountain View students outperform peers on multiple measures, district says
Summary
Burke County officials reported that Mountain View’s Global Immersion Academy students show higher proficiency on EOGs and Spanish language assessments than comparable groups; the district now runs three dual-language programs and is preparing the inaugural cohort to transition to high school.
District staff told the board that Burke County’s dual-language programs have expanded and are producing measurable student gains.
Dr. Simpson reported the district now operates three dual-language programs: a K–5 Global Immersion Academy at Mountain View (two classes per grade, fully articulated K–5) with 238 students enrolled; a middle-school continuation at Walter Johnson with 62 students; and a self-contained dual-language kindergarten at Forest Hill with 18 students. Staff described recruitment of international and heritage-language teachers through Participate Learning and other partners.
On outcomes, staff presented disaggregated EOG results showing dual-language students at Mountain View outperforming their grade-level peers in reading and math by substantial percentage-point margins in the slides shown; school-level examples included reading proficiency differences that district presenters described in the slides (for example, Mountain View third-grade reading proficiency reported at 42.5% versus 24.8% for the whole grade example cited). Spanish-language assessments also showed strong results—fifth-grade oral and interpretive-listening measures for Mountain View were higher than Participate Learning Network averages, and district presenters reported that a large share of the inaugural cohort had reached the world-language benchmarks that contribute to the state Seal of Biliteracy.
Board members asked whether dual-language scores are factored into the hosting school’s accountability metrics; Dr. Simpson confirmed those students’ scores are included in school-level accountability calculations. The board discussed retention between elementary and middle-school continuation programs; staff said attrition was low (about five students in the cohort discussed).
What happens next: Staff said the district is planning for the first dual-language cohort’s move into high school (fall 2027–28) and will align course placements so qualifying students can access Spanish 3/4 and eventual AP Spanish options.
