Hampton schools expanding dual language immersion program

Ryan Barber feels like his son hit the jackpot. At the start of his kindergarten year, Barber’s son was selected to participate in Hampton City Schools’ new dual language immersion program at Langley Elementary.

“It felt like a risky gamble to begin his school and educational career in a brand-new program with a language that we didn’t even speak,” Barber told the school board this week.

But Barber said he’s seen tremendous benefits from the program, including an increased awareness of other cultures throughout the school community. He’s so proud when he sees his son chat in Spanish to friends and family who do speak it.

“You can witness the joy and happiness that he has when using this real-world application,” Barber said.

Andrew Lloyd, the division’s curriculum leader, said Hampton began the pilot program in 2021-22 after being approached by a parent with the idea.

“Dual language immersion is an educational model that sees students learning in the academic day in two languages,” Lloyd told board members this week during an update about the program.

In the Hampton program, students spend half the day learning in English, and half the day learning Spanish. Math and science are taught in Spanish, and social studies is taught in English. Language arts are taught separately in both languages.

The program is a two-way immersion, meaning the class is made up of native English speakers and native Spanish speakers. Teachers do not translate but say that the children often help each other out.

“One thing we’ve learned is how important language skills are and the assets that students bring when they come to our schools with a language other than English as their primary language,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd said the division explored ways to implement the program for several years. He cited research that indicates that multilingualism has many “brain benefits,” including increased multitasking and problem-solving skills.

Lloyd said the program isn’t just about learning another language but about “learning the way to think in a different culture.”

This year, Hampton added a second class to the program. In the 2023-24 school year, three classes will be added for a total of five: two in kindergarten, two in first grade and one in second grade.

Maria Oelrich, a teacher specialist for world languages and English Language Learners, said the response to the program has been great.

“The office gets daily calls about the dual immersion program,” she said.

Last year, the program had 361 applications. So far this year, there are more than 160.

According to the division’s webpage about the program, students can enter the program in kindergarten and first grade and are accepted by application and through a lottery system.

Other divisions in Hampton Roads that offer dual language immersion programs include Virginia Beach and Newport News.

Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com