Cape Spanish immersion program to expand to middle school

The first cohort of students enrolled in the Cape Henlopen School District Spanish immersion program will head to middle school next year and are on their way to being bilingual and biliterate, a district official said.

Addressing the school board at its Nov. 17 meeting, Supervisor of Elementary Education Amanda Archambault said 67 students who began the program in kindergarten will attend Mariner Middle in the 2023-24 school year.

Milton and H.O. Brittingham elementary students were the Spanish immersion pioneers in 2017, Archambault said, and students from Love Creek, Lewes and Rehoboth elementary schools who started the program in 2018 will enter middle school in 2024.

The district has 2,500 elementary students, and 1,050 of them are learning Spanish, a number that will continue to grow, she said.

“That number in and of itself carries a lot of weight, energy and love,” Archambault said.

In elementary school, immersion students spend 50% of their instructional day speaking in Spanish only for math, science and Spanish language arts, Archambault said, and spend the remainder of the day speaking English.

In middle school, she said, students will spend 30% of their instructional day speaking in Spanish only for social studies and Spanish language arts.

By high school, immersion students will be able to take the AP Spanish course and participate in dual-enrollment or dual-credit university courses, Archambault said.

Of the 67 immersion students who will enter middle school next year, 16 are also enrolled in the Cape Accelerated Program and 41 are in band, she said. 

All district elementary schools have a Spanish immersion program, which is unlike any other district in Delaware, Archambault said.

During the meeting, H.O.B. students Kylee Powell and Robert Monaghan, and Milton Elementary students Jailyn Ramirez-Rodriguez and James Peña addressed the board in Spanish to detail what they have learned.

During public comment, community member Eli Ramos commended the district for implementing the program. Ramos said a recent scientific study showed that being bilingual increases students’ brain density and cognitive skills, benefits their memory, and boosts problem-solving skills.

Students who have demonstrated academic excellence while simultaneously learning another language and culture will have better earning potential than students who have not, Ramos said.