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Analysis of Elementary Schools Bilingual Programs

in the District of Columbia Public Schools

José L López Caraballo

American College of Education

BE5013: Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education

Dr. Rita Deyoe-Chiullán

February 5, 2023
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Analysis of Elementary Schools Bilingual Programs

in the District of Columbia Public Schools

"Dual language bilingual education (DLBE), proven to be effective as a form of bilingual

education, is increasing rapidly across the United States" (Freire & Aleman Jr., 2021, p. 249).

The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), the U.S.A capital's public education system,

has also fostered the opening of dual programs. DCPS has 115 schools, and 11 offer a Dual

Program, approximately 10% of the schools. This paper aims to describe the bilingual programs

in the eight elementary schools that provide Dual programs in DCPS. First, this assignment

indicates the goal of dual education in the district and schools; second, the instructional settings;

next, the extent of native language used; and finally, the review process for exit of the dual

language programs. Further, this paper will show how successful it is tailored to meeting

students' linguistic and academic needs, how students in these programs progress compared to

native-English-speaking speakers and the use of district and community resources. It is essential

to highlight that the documentation is scarce, and this is a limitation of this description and

analysis. However, this study draws data from the district head of dual District programs,

teachers from various schools, DCPS school websites, and other external sources.

Baker (2006, as cited in Kim et al., 2013) argues that there are various models for

supporting English language learners (ELLs) to become proficient in English: submersion,

English as a second language (ESL) instruction, early and late exit, and Two-way immersion

(TWI). DCPS uses two models to help ELLs improve their English performance: ESL and TWI
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or Dual program. The focus of this paper is to analyze TWI programs in elementary schools in

the district. The goal of this program in DCPS is to improve reading, writing, listening, and

speaking skills in a second language over several years. (DCPS, n.d.). The district also indicates

that the long-term goals of Dual language programs are bilingualism, biliteracy, high academic

achievement, and cultural competency. Even though not explicitly mentioned, the last long-term

goal could mean intercultural competency, which is "a necessity for successful international

communication" (Ping, 2017, p. 88.) In the district, schools where dual language instruction is

provided to all students are designated as "whole schools," whereas those provided to only some

students are designated as "strand programs." (DCPS, n.d.). Four out of the eight dual schools are

"whole schools," three are "strand schools," and one is transitioning from strand to whole. The

entry requirement for these elementary schools is mixed: families can apply through a lottery

system or access because they live in a boundary neighborhood. "Families applying to Dual

Language early childhood programs through the My School DC lottery will be asked to indicate

whether their child is English-dominant or Spanish-dominant. This system allows access for

students learning English as a new language and ensures a balance of students who can serve as

language models for their peers within a Dual Language program" (DCPS, n.d.). Howard &

Sugarman (2001, as cited in Kim et al., 2013) indicate that most TWI programs in the United

States involve English and Spanish. Similarly, dual English and Spanish programs are offered in

all the district's elementary schools.

In the district dual language classrooms, native Spanish and English speakers make up

about equal numbers. An example of this design is a two-way immersion classroom in which a

"90:10" is used. Kim et al. (2013) suggest that the "90:10" model is designed for students to
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study the minority language, Spanish in this case, for 90% of the time in the early stages until

they start kindergarten and transition to a "50:50" model. The maintenance and enrichment of

both languages, with bilingualism and biliteracy as the ultimate linguistic goal, is the schools'

dual language courses' societal and pedagogical goal. The instructional strategy used here

considers that native Spanish speakers learn a second language (English) more effectively when

their first language (Spanish) is well-established through acquiring fundamental literacy skills. In

contrast, native English speakers should acquire a second language by immersing themselves in

the target language environment. Also, not only is the interaction of students from different

language backgrounds beneficial in terms of communicative competence (Bachman, 1990), but

also advantageous in terms of intercultural competence to foster the "conscious capacity to

mediate between two or more cultures to see similarities and conflicts to create a relationship

between them for oneself and also for others, to take on the mediator role." (Ping, 2017, p. 88).

In all the dual-language schools in the district, additive bilingualism is implemented "so

as not to lose language one (L1) but rather, use it to support language two (L2) (Kim et al., 2015,

p.239). The programs are designed to last at least four to six years to have sufficient time to

develop bilingual proficiency competency at the level of elementary students who end their

primary education. Not only is the focus of instruction on acquiring language but also on

developing the knowledge of core subjects such as math, reading, science, and social studies.

It is critical to indicate that subjects are taught in one of the two languages from

kindergarten to fifth grade. Languages are distinct during a lesson or subject. As an example, one

of the schools teaches math in Spanish and Science in English. During the Pk3 and Pk4 periods,

schools offer total immersion in Spanish, a 90:10 model. Homeroom teachers use Spanish in
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their classes, and Specials (Music, Art, and PE) use English. In most schools, two lead literacy

instructors (one for English and one for Spanish), one lead math teacher, one special education

teacher, and interventionists who support in both languages or both curriculum areas make up

each grade level team. Most students in some schools are Spanish speakers, while in others, there

is an ideal balance between native English speakers and Spanish-dominant speakers. One of the

schools has most Native English Speakers with no family Hispanic backgrounds.

Dual language students take standardized tests from Pk3 through 5th grade; some of these

tests are in English (GOLD, DIBELS, Test Reading Comprehension, PARCC, I-Ready, A-net)

as for the strand models, and others are exclusive for Spanish programs (Evaluacion del

Desarrollo de la Lectura, EDL, STAR, Portfolio). There needs to be more information available

for individual Spanish exams that this paper can demonstrate. Instead, DCPS uses a global

system of rating, STAR, to determine the quality of the schools in the district. In the STAR

metrics, each school receives a rating from 1 STAR (lowest) to 5 STAR (Highest). The last

available results are from the school year 18/19. For the sake of confidentiality, the names of the

schools are omitted in this paper:

• School 1 (5 STAR)

• School 2 (4 STAR)

• School 3 (3 STAR)

• School 4 (2 STAR)

• School 5 (5 STAR)

• School 6 (3 STAR)

• School 7 (5 STAR)
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• School 8 (4 STAR)

DCPS considers a high STAR rating score equal to or above a 4 STAR rating. Thirty

schools in the district received a four or a five STAR rating (26%). Five of the eight elementary

dual schools received a rating of four or five STAR (62.5%).

Program: Elementary Schools Bilingual Programs (DCPS)

What is your evidence? Can Comments/Next
in the District of Columbia Public Schools
this program Steps
Is the program DL students outperform the district Yes. See next More professional
be improved?
successful in promoting average on standardized tests. DCPS is column. development for teachers,
How
the achievement of collaboration among Dual
not a high-performing district overall so
?
English learners? language programs, Support
that bar is low. DL students who
Yes/No to families, and more
participate in DL outperform non-DL
opportunities for
after some years in the program.
international exchange for
NOTE: Analysis results in the paragraph
teachers and students at
above.
these levels. Usually,

international interchanges

are offered in middle and

high schools.
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Program: Elementary Schools Bilingual Programs (DCPS)

What is your evidence? Can Comments/Next
in the District of Columbia Public Schools
this program Steps
Is the program tailored Input is comprehensible, interesting, and of Yes. See next All schools should have the
be improved?
to meet the linguistic, sufficient quantity as well as opportunities column. same subjects in English and
How
academic, and affective for output are provided to students, Spanish because some of
?
needs of English including quality language arts instruction in them only offer math in

learners? both languages. Not only are the four skills Spanish.

Yes/No are fostered, but also the intercultural More cultural events for

competency. Spanish speakers.

Does the program DL students take courses that allow them to Yes. See next More collaboration among

provide English learners graduate in the same number of years as column. schools. More writing

with the instruction non-DL students. In past decades it was workshops in Spanish.

necessary to allow them difficult for DLs to graduate because they had

to progress through to take both ESL and World Language.

school at a rate In Standardized test, DL schools outperform

commensurate with traditional schools.

their native-English-

speaking peers?

Yes/No
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Program: Elementary Schools Bilingual Programs (DCPS)

What is your evidence? Can Comments/Next
in the District of Columbia Public Schools
this program Steps
Does the program make In math there are enough bilingual resources. Yes. See next There are no sufficient
be improved?
the best use of district (Books and videos). column. materials or exams to
How
and community There are several community partnerships measure the writing ability of
?
resources? that support our language learners (City Year, students.

Yes/No Visiting Spanish Teacher Program, EMIC,

etc.).

Evidence in this analysis, even limited in documents and time, indicates that students

who study in the Dual language programs at DCPS benefit from becoming bilinguals. The

program does not hinder their performance in their native language. On the contrary, most of the

students reach a high level of competency in both Spanish and English, as shown in the metrics

used to measure the quality of schools in the district. This analysis confirms what different

researchers have demonstrated; language proficiency improves quickly when second language

acquisition starts early. (Ovando et al., 2018; Wright, 2019). Another critical aspect of the

success of this TWI model is that students spend most of the day receiving instruction in both

languages, at least for more than four years. The DL program also provides an additive bilingual

context that offers students the chance to acquire a second language while improving their

proficiency in their native language. Both types of students, native Spanish speakers and native

English speakers, benefit linguistically and culturally. Finally, more dual programs should be

implemented in the district, mainly because Washington D.C. is a multicultural city where more

and more bilingual speakers are needed.

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References

Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford university press.

District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). (n.d.). Dual Language

Programs. https://dcps.dc.gov/DL//

Freire, J. A., & Alemán, E. (2021). “Two schools within a school”: Elitism, divisiveness, and

intra-racial gentrification in a dual language strand. Bilingual Research Journal, 44(2),

249–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2021.1942325

Kim, Y. K., Hutchison, L. A., & Winsler, A. (2013). Bilingual education in the United States: An

historical overview and examination of two-Way Immersion. Educational Review, 67(2),

236–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2013.865593

Ovando, C. J., Combs, M. C., Wiley, T. G., & García Eugene E. (2018). Bilingual and Esl

classrooms: Teaching in multicultural contexts. Rowman & Littlefield.

Ping, W. (2017). Understanding bilingual education: An overview of key notions in the literature

and the implications for Chinese University EFL Education. Cambridge Journal of

Education, 47(1), 85–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764x.2015.1118439

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Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory,

policy, and Practice. Caslon.