New school will focus on Spanish

For years, Carrboro Elementary School principal Emily Bivins has hoped for a dual-language program that would allow students to spend most of their day engaging in another language.

This August, that dream will be fulfilled when Bivins takes on her new role as principal of the Frank Porter Graham Dual Language Magnet School.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education voted Thursday night to allocate roughly half a million dollars to the opening of the new school — which was approved by the board in June.

That money will go toward staff recruitment and training for the rigorous dual-language curriculum as the opening date nears. The funding will also be used for bussing, since students from all over the district can participate in the program.

Despite the special quality of the program, some local parents and school officials are concerned about how it will benefit students.

Still a step forward

Bivins said the approval of the program was a major step toward making the school a world-class learning institution.

She said the Spanish-English school will have an international focus and will develop innovative ways to enrich learning.

“We hope to have an innovative program structure that will really immerse the students in a foreign language,” she said.

She said the school hopes to use a 90/10 language allocation model — where students would spend 90 percent of their time using a foreign language.

“Emerging research has shown that a 90/10 model has no harm on Spanish students but actually increases English-speaking students’ performances on Spanish assessments,” she said.

But Board of Education Member Annetta Streater said some parents might not react well to this plan since standardized tests are conducted in English.

“I think a lot of parents are not going to be comfortable with that,” she said.

“Especially if the state’s standardized testing is becoming increasingly rigorous — and it’s still going to be in English.”

Streater said Frank Porter Graham administrators at the school have also had trouble garnering interest in the program.

She said administrators should work to better inform parents about the benefits of the program if they want to attract students.

“So many people still don’t understand the benefit of learning two languages at one time,” she said. “I get it – but other families don’t.”

Laura Morgan has two children at Frank Porter Graham now, but they will move to Northside Elementary School when it opens in August.

She said she has been pleased with the current administration at the school, so she was surprised by the board’s decision to switch it to a magnet school.

“Opening up a new magnet school is going to cost a lot of money,” she said. “Bussing kids from all over the area isn’t cheap.”

Despite the costs, Bivins said she thinks the program will be worth it.

“We’re going to continue spreading the word about our school,” she said. “We are so excited to be on the cutting edge of education.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.