District says dual‑language students outperform state emerging bilingual averages in elementary grades

Laura Guzman, the district’s emerging bilingual coordinator, presented the annual program evaluation and said the dual‑language model is producing strong early results: "In Spanish, language art meets performance, our students and dual language program perform above the state's emerging bilingual average in 3rd and 4th grade," she said.

Guzman walked the board through performance patterns: strong outcomes at elementary dual language grades, a noted dip around 5th grade Spanish literacy (with 14 students tested in that group), and the challenge of the middle‑school transition when students begin testing in English. She explained reclassification criteria—passing STAR reading, scoring advanced/high on TOPAS composite, and teacher recommendation—and said 106 students were reclassified after cleaning the data.

Board members asked for clarity on assessment baselines and the differences among MAP, AMIRA and STAR measures; staff said AMIRA was chosen for its coaching and small‑group lesson supports and that the district will return with more detailed slide‑level data as requested.