Dual Language Immersion

The program begins in kindergarten; all district residents, with incoming kindergarten aged children, will receive information about the program and the required process in the Kindergarten Registration Packet. For those families that are interested in the program, but who enter the district after the school year begins, their child must demonstrate a certain level of proficiency to be considered for placement into the program, if spots are available. The program is open to district residents only. Please note that we cannot guarantee placement, but we will be more than happy to explore all options with families who are interested. 

Students begin their day either in English or in Spanish and then switch classrooms to receive instruction in the other language. While students are with their Spanish immersion teacher, they will receive instruction in Mathematics and in Science entirely in Spanish. English language arts instruction is delivered by the English speaking teacher; their English literacy block is maintained to ensure a high level of literacy in the English language. The question of who delivers the content of the Social Studies block is decided by the grade level teacher and the Spanish immersion teacher. Students continue to receive their specials, such as music, art, physical education, and library. 

The grade level teacher works closely with the Spanish immersion teacher to co-plan and to discuss the needs of our children. They develop lesson plans and materials to ensure that the grade level (content) standards are met for all children, regardless of the language in which instruction is delivered. All assessments and activities are age and level appropriate. All state assessments are administered in English. The strong partnership that is developed is critical to the success of our immersion program. 

The middle school program follows other nationally recognized immersion programs with two periods of Spanish instruction. Social Studies in grades 6, 7, and 8 are taught entirely in Spanish. Students are expected to complete the curriculum as their counterparts in all English classes. Students are also provided with Spanish classes in grades 6, 7, and 8. The curriculum of the Spanish courses are based on the themes of the Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture course. It is important to note that an immersion student who completes the three middle school Spanish courses successfully, including the final summative assessments, will receive units of high school credit that will allow him/her to use towards their towards the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation. These Spanish language courses are placed on a student's official high school transcript. 

The high school program continues to follow other national models with their offerings. The immersion students are placed in Spanish 4 Honors Language Immersion in grade nine. The course prepares students for the AP Spanish Language & Culture course in grade ten. The Spanish Language & Culture course is offered to seniors and Spanish language immersion students, or by placement. Spanish immersion students are enrolled with 12th grade students in this senior level course to advance their proficiency level and take the challenging AP Spanish Language & Culture Exam in the spring. Once students successfully complete the AP Spanish course, they are permitted to take the Breaking Barriers: Exploring the Spanish Speaking World in grade eleven. In grade twelve, students are offered their final course, Writers, Artists, and Thinkers of the Spanish Speaking World. It should be noted that the courses Breaking Barriers and Writers, Artists, and Thinkers are modeled off of 300 level upper division college courses that majors and minors are required to take. We are actively seeking a university partner for these upper division courses to be able to offer our students the opportunity to take the last two course for college credit. To view the world language flow chart, please click here. To read the high school course descriptions, please click here. 

Our first cohort of dual language Spanish immersion students graduated in June of 2022! The students received the New York State Seal of Biliteracy for their commitment to bilingualism/multilingualism. It should be noted that the 78 Herricks graduates, immersion and non-immersion students, received this prestigious recognition from the New York State Education Department. Our community believes that our students need to be college, career, and world-ready!