All 17 Pasco elementary schools now offer dual language classes to meet booming demand

Pasco School District is expanding its dual language program, and for the first time starting this school year will offer it at all 17 of its elementary schools.

That means most K-5 students will have the option to access Pasco’s first-rate multilingual learning program.

Carla Lobos, Pasco’s assistant superintendent of instructional services, called it a landmark moment for the program. The district has been expanding to older students by one grade each year.

Pasco has the largest dual language program in Washington state, and it has earned praise from education leaders for its embrace of the scientifically backed learning method. Nearly 2,200 students were enrolled in the program during the 2022-23 school year.

Pasco School District serves about 17,700 full-time students, who are returning to classes Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Pasco’s dual language program is based on three pillars: bilingualism and biliteracy, high academic achievement and sociocultural competence.

“It’s important for so many reasons. The goals of dual language continue to be the same: The three pillars that we refer to,” Lobos said. “Those three pillars are the things that we support and that we want and that teachers want and that parents want for their kids.”

One-way and two-way dual language learning is a simple and effective method to educate students to become biliterate learners and workers.

Two-way classrooms, for example, include students with two backgrounds of language — often English and Spanish, or English and Russian — who learn core subjects and conduct lessons in both languages together.

Students can go on to graduate high school with the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy . Many Pasco students already graduate with the designation recognizing proficiency in both English and another language, including 230 last June.

Studies have shown that allowing children to practice bilingualism may strengthen specific cognitive skills and brain development . But it’s not necessarily an indicator of higher intelligence or as a predictor of higher academic performance.

Bilingualism also can positively affect a student’s sociability, understanding of culture and employment opportunities.

Pasco is currently focused on transitioning away from Late-Exit English classes, which have traditionally been marketed to students with limited English proficiency, to focus on programs that promote multilingualism.

“Dual language programs have been shown to improve learning and well-being outcomes for all students who participate,” said Katy Payne, chief communications officer with Washington OSPI. “Expanding access to dual language programs has long been a priority for Superintendent (Chris) Reykdal and we are proud of the Pasco School District for making this a priority.”

Reykdal wants all 1.1 million public school students to have access to dual language learning and the opportunity to become proficient in two languages by 2040.

To reach that goal, Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this year signed into law a bill creating a continuous stream of funding to expand these programs to each independent school district, with the goal of sustaining a high-demand biliterate workforce.

There are about 141 schools throughout the state offering dual language learning across 40 school districts, according to OSPI staff. That does not include heritage or tribal language programs.

Expanding Pasco dual language

Lobos says their Pasco program is seeing “record” interest, with many English-speaking families flocking to enter the district’s lottery for admission.

Demand for these programs is growing in the Tri-Cities, with young English speakers seeking a second language and English learners looking for a more holistic program.

“They do understand the value of having their kids grow up bilingual and biliterate,” she said.

About one-third of students in the Pasco School District are English language learners, according to the OSPI Report Card . And about half of households in Pasco speak a language other than English at home, according to U.S. Census Bureau data .

The difference between one-way and two-way dual language programs depends on the school’s student composition.

One-way programs are favorable in schools where a majority of students share a common native language other than English. It involves English speakers learning a second language, often the language spoken by the non-English-speaking group.

Two-way programs include a mix of students from two language backgrounds learning together.

Students begin in kindergarten, where they spend 80% of the school day speaking and learning in Spanish and the other 20% in English.

“The 80/20 model will continue through first grade and subsequently the percent of English instruction will increase as students progress through the program.

By third grade, the students’ school day will be equally divided between both languages and will continue through 12th grade,” district staff say on their website .

Lobos says most students begin grasping their new language by the end of first grade. By the end of second grade, students gain foundational skills in speech and writing.

“By the time they get into third and fourth grade, students are truly biliterate,” Lobos said.

Students who acquire language at a young age, as opposed to later in life, gain a “native tongue” and holistic competency of words and speech.

“There’s no limit to the number of languages that children can learn at a young age,” she said. “It’s really tipped the foreign language learning differently.”

Next year, Pasco will begin the implementation of dual language into its middle schools. Programs are limited to Ray Reynolds and McLoughlin middle schools right now, but the addition of sixth grade learners in all four of the district’s middle schools will mark a significant shift in the program.

“That means that, next year, it’s going to be a huge expansion into dual language in the middle schools,” Lobos said.