Canalino Elementary School continues dual language immersion classes

CARPINTERIA, Calif. - In 2015 Canalino Elementary School began a dual language immersion class. 

Now, more than half of the school has students in dual language immersion, which means they learn both Spanish and English. 

“Starting in kindergarten, they learn fully in Spanish – English-(speaking)-only students and Spanish-speaking students. And then every year they start increasing the amount of English. So when they're in fourth and fifth grade, there is 50% instruction in Spanish and 50 in English,” said Principal Jamie Persoon, who spearheaded this program years ago. 

According to Persoon, this program has tremendously helped the community come together by bridging the gap between native Spanish speakers and English speakers in the school. 

The first cohort at Canalino that started 6 years ago is now going into 5th grade. The school has been tracking their data for achievement, executive functioning skills, and social relationships as part of a seven-year longitudinal study with UC Santa Barbara. 

As of last year, students in the dual language immersion program are roughly a year ahead of those who are not in the program in math and reading.