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Holyoke Public Schools to complete districtwide dual-language program next year, staff says
Summary
A staff member said the district will finish expanding its dual-language program next year, creating a full pre-Kto12 pathway across four schools, adding a bilingual senior capstone and continuing recruitment of Spanish-speaking teachers.
A staff member said the district will finish expanding its dual-language program next year, creating a full pre-Kto12 pathway across all four district schools and adding a capstone class for seniors.
"Next year will be the final year of expansion for our program and we will finally be a full pre-K to 12 dual language program across the district," the staff member said, describing the rollout as "very exciting." The staff member added that the district plans a new capstone so seniors can complete projects "in both languages."
A participant in the discussion said the program broadens students' classroom experiences and perspectives, and expressed personal support: "If I had children in school now, I'd definitely put them in this type of program," the participant said, praising the mix of ideas bilingual classrooms bring.
The staff member also emphasized staffing needs, saying the district's dual-language model depends on bilingual, Spanish-speaking teachers and that administrators have been recruiting and onboarding teachers as the program expanded to new schools and grades.
District officials did not record a formal vote or action in the transcript. The statements in this session focused on program benefits, the near-term timeline to complete districtwide implementation, curricular additions for seniors and ongoing teacher recruitment.
