Page 29 - North State Parent March 2022

EDUCATION
high school Mandarin program — slated to start with a pilot class of 60 stu- dents this year — will build on this foundation and support students’ long-term maintenance of the language, maximizing the benefit of becoming bilingual.
RSA’s Mandarin program emerged from a community survey in 2005 that selected Mandarin as a desirable language in the Redding area. In addition to native English speakers, RSA’s student population includes native Mandarin speakers. Being able to learn content in their first language, in an environment that preserves and celebrates their culture and heritage through celebrations and community events, allows these students to enter the academic world on equal footing with their English-speaking counterparts.
Rosedale Elementary School – Chico, CA
Learning a language alongside native speakers also helps motivate stu- dents, according to the teachers at Rosedale Elementary School in Chico, CA. A dual-immersion school, Rosedale strives to equip students with equal fluency in English and Spanish by enrolling native speakers of both languages. Jo Ann Bettencourt, Rosedale’s principal, says the school started as a single-language immersion program in the early 1990s, then became a dual immersion program a few years later. “It’s one of the oldest dual immersion programs in the state, and definitely the oldest in the North State,” Jo Ann says.
Assistant Principal Joana Castaneda explains the school’s population in- cludes about 75% English-only speakers and 25% English learners. “In a perfect world, it would be 50-50,” Joana explains. “Students are more motivated by their peers. If a lot of kids speak another language, it becomes cool and the norm. The idea is to create an environment at the school where it is important to learn both languages authentically.”
Rosedale’s kindergarten and first grade students spend 90% of their school day learning in Spanish. As they progress through the grades, students spend progressively more time learning in English. By the time they are in fifth grade, students spend equal time in each language, preparing them for the partial Spanish immersion program at Chico Junior High School.
Dual language immersion empowers more parents
A dual immersion program also empowers more parents and families to participate in their children’s education. Joana says Spanish-only parents of Rosedale students appreciate connecting to the school in ways they couldn’t otherwise; from volunteering in the classroom, to simply being able to fully participate in parent-teacher meetings. And, since parent engagement benefits student performance, it’s a win-win for everyone.
Elizabeth Stevens co-coordinates and teaches in the bilingual credential program at California State University, Chico. Her son and daughter attended Rosedale during elementary school. “I’m really proud of their experience,” Eliza- beth says. “The relationships they’ve built with other kids, the things they think about and talk about, their level of awareness of other people and the things others might go through — it’s deep. And that’s what it’s all about: the connec- tion to people, the understanding and the compassion.”
As the bilingual daughter of El Salvadoran immigrants, Joana especially ap- preciates Rosedale’s ability to grow students’ compassion for people of diverse backgrounds. “I was even embarrassed to translate for my mom sometimes, just because I knew the stigma against Spanish. I felt like it made me look like I knew less or was less educated,” Joana says.
Transforming the way people see the world and themselves
During her elementary school experience, she had only one teacher who looked like her. “For our Rosedale students to have bilingual people of color as their teachers and role models is so powerful because they begin viewing peo- ple of color as valuable,” Joana says. “It transforms the way little people view the world and themselves, and that’s so powerful.”
Additional Resources:
• See how many students in your county are enrolled in a foreign language (Cal- ifornia Department of Education).
• Visit the California Association for Bilingual Education website for more infor- mation about types of programs and benefits of bilingualism.
• Visit Early Edge California for information about supporting pre-school dual language learning.
• More bilingual education programs in the North State: Tree of Life Internatio- nal Charter School, Anderson
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