Opening up jobs to students by teaching other languages. Pasco program is ‘best’ in WA
Bilingual workers are in higher demand than ever — across every sector of the workforce.
That’s why most Pasco schools are focused on teaching dual language as early as 5 years old to interested families.
Washington Superintendent Chris Reykdal visited five Pasco schools on Friday to highlight investments in bilingual education that he says will be paramount to a growing global economy.
“In a community like this, you’re lifting people up,” Reydal told the Tri-City Herald. “The better they get at communication skills, their employability goes way up. From retail all the way to manufacturing — this kind of training, this kind of learning just opens up every job to students.”
Reykdal lauded the Pasco School District as “the best” in dual language instruction, himself having just recently announced an ambitious plan to expand the program to all K-8 students by 2040, starting first with an $18.9 million investment proposal over this next biennium.
The district is also home to the state’s largest dual language program, with about 2,190 students this year enrolled in classes where they’re speaking and learning subjects in both English and another language. It’s more focused and different from the language electives and English as a second language courses students often take.
Reykdal toured Marie Curie STEM Elementary and Barbara McClintock STEM Elementary to see how the district’s youngest learners are speaking, writing and reading two languages.
Pasco’s Bilingual Educators Initiative Teaching Academy — an in-class program where high school students are mentored and prepared to be the next generation of bilingual educators in Washington — was also a focus of his tour. He got a glimpse of this program at both Pasco and Chiawana high schools.
“A lot of these students I have were in my math classes. So to have them come back and be in this class is very special,” said Pasco High School teacher Constantino Montes to a classroom of future educators.
District and state administrators sat in on Mr. Montes’ bilingual educators class and participated in an hour of activities. With questions asked in both English and Spanish, administrators engaged with students about their challenges, the characteristics of a good teacher, and if great teachers are common or rare.
Six of the seven teams of administrators and high school students agreed that great teachers are more rare than common.
Carla Lobos, assistant superintendent of instructional services at Pasco School District, said it was important for Reykdal to get a sense of the full cycle of bilingual education programs and their benefits. The story and lessons of how Pasco schools came to implement dual language over a 20-year span will also influence how the state implements its offerings statewide.
“I think it’s always important to have the support at the state level and that vision. You have to have that appreciation of looking and viewing language as an asset. So, I think when we’re able to align our practices with the state I think that’s always helpful in meeting the needs of the population and the community that we serve,” she said.
Rekdal’s visit to the Tri-Cities was sandwiched between a couple other events he had lined up in Eastern Washington.
On Thursday, he spoke with school officials in Yakima about their balanced calendar initiative, also known as “year-round school.” Then, on Saturday, Reykdal gave the keynote speech at the WSU Tri-Cities Education Summit.
‘They exuded confidence’
At McClintock, where a total 12 classes learn in dual language, elementary students read books in both English and Spanish while working on sentence structure, spelling and short essays on various topics.
One fourth-grade student in Magana’s class flocked immediately to Reykdal and Pasco School Board Vice President Steve Christensen as they entered the classroom.
After they figured out who Reykdal was, they swarmed him with pieces of notebook paper asking for autographs. With a grin, Reykdal obliged the sociable fourth graders.
“Superintendent Reykdal has been a champion for languages, and that was clear in his comments today,” Christensen said. “He’s very supportive of learning languages and the benefit that that can be to these students as they leave school and go out into the workforce... He’s been supportive of Pasco for a number of years, he’s been aware of our programs and the success we’ve had here.”
Christensen said Pasco parents and families see the value in implementing these programs, as well as the benefit they have on the local economy.
At a visit to Stevens Middle School, Reykdal was also greeted by a group of a half-dozen “newcomers” — students who in recent years came to the U.S. from South American countries and are in English-language development classes.
While they speak very little of the language at first, the goal is to get them enough understanding that they can “graduate” into general education classes.
These students gave Reykdal presentations about their educational journey thus far and how their families came to the U.S.
“It takes effort. But you can see they’re growing quickly, they’re taking advance classes — some of them are going to the high school and taking algebra at the high school. It’s great to see that happening, but it also speaks to the district and their willingness to accommodate these kids and make sure they advance,” Christensen said.
Pasco School Board member Amy Phillips said it was a highlight for her.
“It was a humbling experience to see these kids, how grateful they were to be there,” Phillips said. “It was just impressive — and there’s a feeling there that you don’t get at other places.”
Phillips said students were excited to learn English in a non-judgemental environment, and they focused their presentations a lot on how far they’ve come. Their teachers have also been a source of inspiration, too.
“They have the whole world in front of them and you can just see that they do... I just feel like they exuded confidence and that is always inspiring,” she said.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Opening up jobs to students by teaching other languages. Pasco program is ‘best’ in WA."
