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YourHub.com \\ Oxnard \\ Stories \\ Posting is no longer available. \\ School News

Rio School District expands Dual Immersion Program

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Contributed by: Nancy Mayerson on 6/12/2007

Beginning this fall, kindergarten and first-grade students can enroll in the Rio School District's expanded Dual Immersion Magnet Program. Housed at Rio Real Elementary School, the program is open to students countywide and begins in kindergarten, continuing through fifth grade. The goal is for students to become bilingual, biliterate and bicultural in English and Spanish.

The classes are geared for native English and Spanish speakers, who are taught by experienced bilingual teachers. Carolyn Bernal, principal of the Dual Immersion Magnet Program, is overseeing the project. A bilingual teacher by training, she was instrumental in creating the Dual Immersion Program at the University Preparation Charter School in Camarillo.

The Dual Immersion Magnet Program starts in kindergarten with 90 percent of the instruction in Spanish. Increasing amounts of English are added each year until 50 percent is reached in fourth grade and continues in fifth grade. Instruction at every grade level focuses on listening, speaking, reading, writing, the arts and culture in both languages. Research shows that dual immersion programs are effective for both English and Spanish speakers. These students outperformed their peers across California in English reading and academic achievement tests, according to research by Kathryn Lindholm-Leary (2001).

Currently, the program is seeking native English speakers for the first-grade class, and native English and Spanish speakers for the kindergarten program.

To introduce prospective parents to the program, the Dual Immersion Magnet Program is holding information sessions at Rio Real Elementary School, 1140 Kenney Street, Oxnard, from 6 - 7:30 p.m., June 21 and June 26. To RSVP, call (805) 947-7321.

Applications for the Dual Immersion Magnet Program are available at all school sites and the Educational Services Office at the Rio School District office, 2500 Vineyard Ave., Oxnard. For more information call Carolyn Bernal at (805) 947-7321 or Carol Boyan at (805) 485-3111, ext. 128.

The Rio School District serves the unincorporated community of El Rio, the RiverPark development and portions of the city of Oxnard. The District strives to provide world-class education to all of its 4,100 students.

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