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Chenowith Elementary seeks to expand Dual Language Immersion through middle school
Summary
Principal Ajay Rundell presented plans to grow Chenowith’s Dual Language Immersion program from K–4 toward K–6 and eventual middle‑school DLI; the program starts K at 80% Spanish/20% English and moves toward 50/50 by fifth grade, with about 40 families expressing interest in expansion.
Principal Ajay Rundell told the board that Chenowith Elementary’s Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program has steady growth and strong community support and described plans to expand the program through middle school.
Rundell said the DLI currently serves Kindergarten through fourth grade and follows a two‑way model combining native Spanish and English speakers. Instruction begins with a roughly 80% Spanish/20% English split in Kindergarten and progresses to a 50/50 balance by fifth grade. The district plans to add another Kindergarten DLI class and introduce a sixth‑grade DLI class in 2026–27, with future planning for grades 7–8 at the middle school. Rundell noted staffing highlights (including Maestra Yesi, a regional Oregon Teacher of the Year) and said about 40 families have expressed interest in fall enrollment; roughly 60% of interest comes from Chenowith families while about 40% is from other elementary schools.
Board members heard the district has collaborated with Oregon State University and Wilsonville School District and has participated in the 'Grow Your Own Teachers' initiative to build bilingual staffing capacity. Rundell cautioned that research recommends approximately five to six years of continuous program participation for students to become truly bilingual and biliterate, and the board discussed next steps for family engagement and middle‑school exposure visits.
