Evanston/Skokie
School District 65
6-8: Dual Language
District 65’s bilingual education opportunities for students will grow in the 2024-2025 school year with the start of our Dual Language program in middle school! Dual Language will begin in sixth grade at Bessie Rhodes (in 2024-2025) with plans to expand to other D65 middle schools.
Building upon the success of our Two Way Immersion (TWI) program, we’re excited to expand our bilingual programming and to provide a continued pathway for students to become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural global citizens.
About the Dual Language Program
The middle school dual language program has many similarities to TWI, including:
The model has a 50/50 language allocation between Spanish and English.
Math, Science and Spanish Language Arts will be in Spanish and Social Studies, PE, Specials, and English Language Arts will be taught in English.
The model meets state and federal requirements for English Learners (EL) and allows for participation by native English speakers after filling seats for ELs.
Based on best practices
Based on research, we know that in 5-7 years and by the time a TWI student reaches middle school, they are bilingual or approaching bilingualism. The focus of a dual language program shifts to supporting students in their content area fluency in both languages.
This means the program no longer follows the linguistic composition of the classroom (50% Spanish and 50% English speaking) because this distinction is no longer meaningful for a classroom full of bilingual students.
Once an English Learning student becomes proficient in both languages, research has shown they perform at or above state standards in core academic subjects. Dual Language programs prepare all students to navigate the world and the workforce in two global languages. It also offers a pathway to receive the Seal of Biliteracy from the State of Illinois.