LYNN — Connery Elementary could become the district’s second school to offer a dual language program, a Spanish-immersion initiative that rolled out at Harrington Elementary this fall.
The Lynn School Committee approved an expansion of the program last week that would allow the district to begin to offer the K-5 dual language curriculum at Connery next school year.
The expansion, recommended by Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, would have to be approved by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
In his recommendation, Tutwiler cited the “noteworthy growth and literacy” levels that have been seen from students participating in the existing dual language program at Harrington over the first few months of this school year.
“I see this personally as part and parcel of our equity agenda,” said Tutwiler. “The research makes abundantly clear the benefits of dual language programs, not just for native English speakers, but in particular for native speakers of other languages.”
The district’s dual language program, “Compañeros,” began at the kindergarten level at Harrington this school year, as part of a tiered rollout that will expand the K-5 program to an additional grade level each year.
In addition, Rania Caldwell and Amanda Campbell, the director and assistant director of the Lynn Schools English Learner Education Department respectively, announced at last Thursday’s meeting that “Compañeros” would also expand downward to pre-kindergarten at Harrington next fall.
The majority of instruction at the youngest grade levels at both Connery and Harrington would be taught in Spanish, with a 90/10 Spanish/English split in kindergarten, 80/20 in first grade, and then decreasing the split by 10 percent until students are learning equally in both languages at the fourth and fifth grade levels, according to Caldwell.
The exception would be mathematics, which would always be taught in Spanish, said Caldwell, noting that the aim of the program is to elevate the status of the partner language, so that English is never below Spanish.
In their presentation, Caldwell and Campbell cited the benefits of starting the district’s youngest learners on the path to biliteracy and bilingualism. Caldwell said Connery, much like Harrington, was targeted for the dual program based on its demographics, particularly the school’s high number of Spanish-speaking English learners.
More than 60 percent of Connery students speak Spanish as their main language at home, and 248 of the school’s approximately 550 students are Spanish-speaking English learners, according to district and DESE data.
Of the 54 students enrolled in Harrington’s dual language program — 36 Spanish-speaking English learners and 18 non-English learners — 71 percent are reading on grade level for Spanish, and 60 percent have made at least one level of growth in three months, while attending remote, half-day kindergarten, according to the presentation.
“The research is clear, that for our youngest learners the opportunity to develop oracy and early literacy in their first language is critical for long-term academic success,” stated the district presentation. “Early investment in these native language and literacy opportunities for students leads to a decreased need for costly interventions later in life.”
School Committee members praised the expansion, with Jared Nicholson calling the dual language program a “wonderful opportunity for the district,” and Lorraine Gately saying it was “huge for Lynn.”
“Dual language is a great asset for the city,” said Committee member Michael Satterwhite. “It’s going to be a great asset for our schoolchildren. These are all important pieces of the puzzle we need in order to bring our district two steps forward.”
