Where or how would I find a dual language school for my child?
This website, duallanguageschools.org, a collaborative effort between Velázquez Press and the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE), contains the names, locations, target language, and the dual language program model (percentage of instruction in English and the target language for each dual language immersion school in many states across the United States. On this website, you can search for a dual language program or school in a particular state, city, or school district. The website can also be used to find dual language immersion programs in specific languages such as Spanish or Mandarin, etc.
You should also contact your local school district to inquire about any dual language immersion programs in the district. If none are available, you may want to contact your county office of education, as many have a list of the dual language immersion programs in their county. Word-of-mouth is another way to find out where there might be a program. Ask to your neighbors or relatives if they know of any dual language immersion programs in your area. They may have their children in a program, or may know of someone who has their children enrolled in a program nearby.
Author: Sandra Mercuri
Dr. Mercuri is a nationally and internationally recognized educational consultant in the area of second language acquisition, dual language education, and curriculum integration for biliteracy development. She has over 28 years of experience in teaching in K-12 schools and at the university level in Argentina and the United States. After retiring as a professor from the University of Texas System, she continued to work on research on the development of academic language across the content areas, the use of translanguaging practices for language transfer, and the effect of long-term professional development on dual language, bilingual and ESL teachers’ instructional practices. Dr. Mercuri provides professional development for teachers and administrators as well as for parents. She presents at national and international conferences on issues of second language acquisition and bilingualism, dual language education, translanguaging pedagogy, and ESL strategies. Dr. Mercuri has published articles in the TESOL Quarterly, Talking Points, EJLTS, JMER, TESOL Connections, MEXTESOL, and the NABE journal as well as the Spanish professional journals The Colombian Journal of Bilingual Education: GIST and the Revista Educación y Pedagogía and more than twelve book chapters. Dr. Mercuri is the author of the book titled Supporting Literacy Through Science: The Challenge of Teaching...