Enrollment Open for PUSD’s Only Dual-Language Immersion Program

Hearing your child say their first word is something special. Hearing them speak a foreign language can be downright magical.

That’s what happens every day at —the only school in the Poway Unified School District that offers a dual-language Spanish immersion program to its K-5 students.

“Parents from our English-dominated side are really surprised,” said program coordinator Angelica Barragan of the curriculum’s success. “They know the value of language … and when (their child comes) home in kindergarten speaking another language, it blows them away.”

She says many kids from Spanish-dominated families are already inundated by English given their residency in the U.S., so the program helps to teach them academic Spanish.

“Not only can they speak with Grandma and Grandpa, but they can pick up literature books and read and write,” Barragan said.

The program first started 10 years ago, and was made up of 60 kindergarten and first grade students. Today, 400 students take part throughout grades K-5—making up roughly 55 percent of the school’s population.

And they’re always looking for more.

At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, Valley Elementary will host an informational meeting for parents interested in the program for the 2012-13 school year.

“The final information meeting is mandatory so parents know what the program is about and the commitment they need to give,” Barragan said.

Due to what she refers to as the “solid background in English phonics” that occurs by the third month of third grade, Barragan says students beyond that period won’t be accepted into the program because the “transition wouldn’t be easy.”

For more information, call 858-748-2007.