Available programs

If you've devoted five years of your family's life to raising a bilingual baby, what happens when your child reaches elementary school? The answer varies from school district to school district. But generally, according to Kathy Porter, a supervisor in the Alpine District, "there is a lot going on."

Alpine has Spanish immersion or dual immersion (where one day of school is taught in English and the next in Spanish) programs in five elementary schools. In Alpine the programs start in second grade, after the teachers make sure the English-speaking natives already know how to read and write in English, Porter explains. In several of the Alpine schools, there is a waiting list for the immersion programs; in other schools there is no waiting list and children from outside the district are allowed to attend.

Salt Lake District has two dual programs (including one at Emerson Elementary for gifted and talented children) and three "developmental" Spanish programs. According to Sandra Buendia, alternative languages supervisor for the Salt Lake City schools, developmental Spanish programs are not complete immersion programs but were designed to educate native Spanish speakers in Spanish as well as in English and to honor their native cultures. Buendia says there are usually waiting lists for the developmental programs.