Forsyth schools offer dual-language immersion for kindergartners

Upcoming meetings will explain the Spanish Dual Language Immersion program available to rising kindergartners at three Forsyth County elementary schools. FORSYTH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Upcoming meetings will explain the Spanish Dual Language Immersion program available to rising kindergartners at three Forsyth County elementary schools. FORSYTH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Forsyth County School District has scheduled three informational meetings for parents of rising kindergartners interested in enrolling their children in the Spanish Dual Language Immersion program.

The meetings, all starting at 6 p.m., are set for Monday, Jan. 14, at Brandywine Elementary School; Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Kelly Mill Elementary School; and Thursday, Jan. 17 at Cumming Elementary School. The DLI program, which seeks to raise a cohort of students bilingual and biliterate in English and Spanish, is offered to youngsters zoned to attend those schools.

Regular kindergarten registration is happening now; to make an appointment to register: https://bit.ly/2FiWGML. To express interest in the DLI program, due Jan. 31: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/dli

“(Parents) will then have to complete a final commitment in May,” said district spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo. A lottery will be held if there are more applicants than slots available, and parents will be told if their child has been accepted for the DLI program by the end of July.

“Dual Language Immersion is not a traditional world language class,” Caracciolo said. “DLI is an instructional model where, starting in kindergarten, students are taught 50 percent of the day in a target language and 50 percent in English. The goal is for students to graduate high school bilingual and biliterate in English and a second language.”

“A team of two teachers collaborate on teaching all content areas. Math, science and target language literacy are taught by an immersion teacher, while English language arts, social studies and English literacy are taught by an English-speaking teacher.”