About Our Program:
The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District is proud to offer a Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program at the elementary school level. WW-P currently offers two programs: Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. At the K-3 level, Mandarin Chinese is offered at Maurice Hawk Elementary School. Starting in September of 2024, the DLI Spanish Kindergarten program will be located at Wicoff Elementary School. DLI Spanish Grades 1-3 will remain at Dutch Neck for the 2024-25 school year, and will transition to Wicoff one year at a time until every K-3 DLI classroom has moved to Wicoff. At the 4th & 5th grade level, both Spanish and Chinese are offered at Village Elementary School. In September 2024, our DLI Continuation Program will begin at Community Middle School.
All WW-P students are eligible to apply for the program before the start of kindergarten. We are fortunate to welcome a robust blend of new language learners and students who already speak the language in the DLI Kindergarten program each fall. These students form a DLI cohort that continues together through 5th grade. As it is anticipated that many students in the program and their families will be English or Spanish/Chinese learners, lessons are designed for students who are beginning to learn the program languages.
Mission:
The mission of the DLI program is to support students as they learn core academic content and skills through the target language (Spanish or Mandarin Chinese), thereby acquiring a high level of communicative and academic proficiency in both English and the target language. The program also seeks to foster strong intercultural competence in every learner; we want students to grow in their knowledge and appreciation of other cultures, to develop a deeper understanding of their own cultures, and to learn how to communicate effectively across global communities.
Program Structure:
Our program is aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, World Languages, and all other content areas. Our K-5 DLI program follows a 50:50 model. In this model, students experience 50% of the day in English and 50% in the target language: Spanish or Mandarin Chinese. During the target language half of the day, a Spanish or Chinese-speaking teacher teaches Math, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish/Chinese Literacy exclusively in the target language. During the English half of the day, a partner teacher provides English Language Arts instruction in Reading, Writing, and Word Study. In this model, academic content and key skills are reinforced in both languages throughout the day.
