State Board approves Manchesters dual-language immersion program

The State Board of Education voted to approve the Manchester School Districts dual-language immersion (DLI) programs and to clarify the districts authority to instruct in languages other than English.

Wendy Nasser Perrin, who introduced Manchesters DLI presentation, said the district serves about 12,000 students and that roughly 30% of those students indicate a language other than English is the primary language at home. "We serve around 12,000 students. Of that 12,000, about 30% of students indicate to us that a language other than English is the primary language spoken at home," Perrin said, describing the rationale for the program and its community supports.

Board discussion focused on whether the departments June 25 approval covered both Spanish and the newer French program. Manchester staff said the district had received a grant and worked with a national consultant to design an implementation plan and that kindergarten instruction in DLI classrooms typically uses the target language for about 90% of the day, with a 10% shift annually until a 50/50 balance in fourth grade.

A board member moved to approve Manchesters world-language/DLI programming; the motion passed with board assent. The board requested staff draft clear order language (either language-specific or a blanket authority) so the departments written record explicitly matches the districts operational programs.