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Consultants present vision for 50/50 two‑way dual language kindergarten at Doty Elementary
Summary
Consultants told the Green Bay Area Public School District board they recommend launching a single kindergarten two‑way dual language (50/50) classroom at Doty, citing district demographics, research on dual language outcomes, equity guardrails and priorities including teacher recruitment and family engagement.
Consultants Gracia Villaruel and Amanda Garcia presented a phase‑one vision July 13 for a two‑way dual language program at Doty Elementary that would begin with a single 50/50 kindergarten classroom and scale over time.
"In a two‑way dual language model, native English speakers and native Spanish speakers learn together side by side with about half instruction delivered in each language," said Gracia Villaruel. The consultants emphasized that the program would build on decades of bilingual programming already in the district rather than displace neighborhood families: "This is not a new program and it is not new to the district. It is a reframing and a reimagining of the bilingual education program that has been offered since 1994," Amanda Garcia said.
Presenters highlighted demographic data showing the Latino share of district enrollment has grown from roughly 1% in 1990 to 35.4% by September 2025 while total enrollment declined over the same period. They argued that designing a 50/50 model reflects the composition of incoming kindergarten cohorts and cited research that multi‑year dual language pathways produce biliteracy and academic gains for both English‑dominant and Spanish‑dominant students.
The consultants outlined seven program principles — including balanced instructional time, strong bilingual teacher preparation, family engagement structures and clear equity guardrails — and five findings from the visioning process (recruitment and messaging, teacher quality, structural family engagement, existing district capacity, and framing the program around academic excellence). They recommended the district prioritize recruitment, protected planning time and a data evaluation structure and proposed Doty remain a neighborhood school while hosting the kindergarten seed class.
Board members raised implementation questions about the distribution of instruction by grade and subject, reasons families left earlier iterations of bilingual programming, middle‑school transitions, and how the district will recruit and sustain bilingual teachers. Presenters said the district will seek ‘‘grow‑your‑own’’ teacher pipelines, consider visa options where appropriate and hire teacher pairs with protected planning time. The consultants and staff recommended the board consider formal governance documents or charters to preserve program continuity through board and leadership turnover.
The presentation closed with staff noting the kindergarten start is a first phase; consultants said they will provide additional implementation details, staffing models and measurement proposals for the board’s review this fall.
