Dual Language Expands to Middle Schools

The Hawthorn 73 Board of Education voted to expand the dual language program into the middle school beginning in the 2018-19 school year.

The program will expand  into Middle School North and Middle School South initially in sixth grade and then expand into seventh grade in the 2019-20 school year and then into eighth grade in the 2020-21 school year.

At this time the district is planning the Dual Language Middle School Program will consist of a Spanish literacy course and content instruction in Spanish through social studies and science courses. The creation of a Spanish literacy course and the development of two content level courses, like social studies and science would provide a total of 140 minutes of instruction in Spanish at the middle school level. The 2017-18 year is structured to plan units of instruction, provide professional development for the current staff, acquire necessary resources and begin the process of recruiting certified bilingual middle school teachers.

Providing a program as the one outlined above will help dual language students continue to develop both academic and language skills that will transfer to success in the rest of their academic career and lifetime. The Dual Language team is very excited for this new opportunity and very thankful to the Board of Education for their support and guidance as the program expands into the middle school.