UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Union County Public Schools has seen growing interest in its dual language immersion program.
Twenty schools in the district now offer it and it gives students the opportunity to become bilingual in Spanish or Mandarin.
About 2,000 UCPS students are in the dual language immersion program. This year, because of the virus, 140 will be in the new, all virtual program.
Once they step into the classroom, it's all Spanish all the time for the students in a dual language immersion class at Porter Ridge Elementary School.
Union County Public Schools has expanded its program and is offering more opportunities for students who want to be bilingual. School administrators say research shows there are real benefits to learning and knowing another language.
“It's truly a gift to them. When you think about the career opportunities it opens for students as they learn a language and truly become not just bilingual, but also biliterate. And one of the goals of our program is also that our students become bicultural,” said Jessica Garner, the director of college readiness for Union County Public Schools.
This year there are obvious adjustments. Elementary age students are spread out on the rug and wearing masks. At the middle school level, half of the kids are physically in class and the rest are at home.
“I’ve been teaching for 27 years and it has been a new experience for so many different things. I think we've gotten used to connecting in the virtual classroom,” said Edna Bass, a Spanish teacher. Other than a few technical difficulties, her students have gotten the hang of it. “I think it's working. We're putting all the efforts we can to make it work."
For elementary-aged students whose parents want to keep them home because of the pandemic, there's now an all virtual option for dual language learners.
“It’s very important for us to make sure that we offer this to our families. So that they can continue to learn and have that high level of education but remain at home and feel safe in the middle of this pandemic,” said Garner.
On October 26, the district transitions to Plan A. Elementary school students will go for in-person learning 4 days a week. Families have the option to choose Plan D, all virtual learning.
