Lynwood Unified commemorated the 10th anniversary of its Dual Language Immersion program at Will Rogers Elementary School with a spectacular “Cultural Odyssey” that featured students from across grade levels performing in English and Spanish.
The festive event, held June 1, showcased students’ talents through dance and musical performances, highlighting the rich cultural diversity the DLI program embraces. The program – which began with a single class in the 2013-14 school year – has made significant strides in fostering bilingual, biliterate and bicultural students over the last decade.
“I’m so excited to celebrate our fantastic dual immersion program,” District English Language Learner Coordinator Aranzazu Garcia said. “We are ecstatic to provide opportunities for our students to develop their biliteracy and biculturalism, giving them an edge to compete in the 21st century.”
Current and former teachers and administrators participated in the celebration, highlighting their crucial roles in the development of the program and the impact they had on empowering students to develop mastery of more than language.
One such student is Firebaugh High School freshman Alejandra Lopez, a member of the inaugural DLI class at Will Rogers. She is currently pursuing the California Seal of Biliteracy, awarded to graduating high school students who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading and writing in one or more languages besides English.
“I’m so thankful that I joined the Dual Immersion program because I’m really looking forward to getting the Seal of Biliteracy and I really like the program because I love being able to communicate in both languages,” Lopez said.
The DLI program is expanding to Mark Twain Elementary School in Fall 2024, starting with one Transitional Kindergarten class and two Kindergarten classes. For more information, visit Mark Twain’s website.