District 59 holds info meeting for dual language class
Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 is holding informational meetings this month for parents who want their kids immersed in two languages.
From 6:30 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 13, or Thursday, Jan. 29, at Salt Creek Elementary School, 65 Kennedy Blvd., in Elk Grove Village, district officials will discuss the dual language program, which begins next school year.
The program will run from kindergarten through fifth grade at Salk Creek, said Betsy Boswell, District 59's public relations liaison. The first classes next year will be for kindergarten kids only. As the kids get older, they will progress through the program. In kindergarten and first grade, kids will be taught 80 percent in Spanish and 20 percent in English. In second grade, the split is 70 percent Spanish and 30 percent English. By third grade, the split is 60 percent, favoring Spanish. In fourth and fifth grade, it's half from each language.
The program's goal is to give students a strong foundation in both languages - not just speaking well, but also gaining the ability to writing in Spanish and English.
There has been a strong desire among parents, both English and Spanish speaking, to participate in this program, based on feedback from the district's English Language Learner Task Force, which is designed to look at the district's language programs.
Signup for the kindergarten class is from Tuesday, Feb. 24, to Wednesday, March 18.
The program will be open to Salt Creek students first. If there are more kids signed up than space allows, there will be a lottery on Thursday, March 19.
If not all spots are filled, other district children will be allowed to join. The goal is for half the kids to be native English speakers and the rest native Spanish speakers.
Dual-language programs are not new to local schools. Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 and North Shore School District 112, which serves the Highland Park area, both offer dual-language programs.
District 59 in November approved the program. Regular kindergarten classes will be offered as well at Salt Creek.
Signup is not necessary for the informational meetings, but parents who need baby-sitting services at the meeting should call Alma Botana, (847) 472-4419, so the district knows how many sitters are needed.