Spanish Immersion Program
Want your child to be bilingual? Enroll in MPCSD's Spanish Immersion Program!
Program Structure
Spanish Immersion is currently offered in grades K–5 at Laurel and Encinal. We follow a 90–10 immersion model, which means that 90% of a kindergarten students’ day is in Spanish and 10% in English. As students progress through the program, the amount of instruction in English gradually increases. By fifth grade, 50% of the core academic instruction is delivered in Spanish and 50% in English.
Program Goal
The goal of the Spanish Immersion Program is for students to develop bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural fluency by the end of fifth grade. Students enter the program with a wide range of Spanish proficiency levels. Some are native Spanish speakers; others have been exposed to Spanish at home, in preschool, or through a caregiver; and many begin with little to no Spanish exposure.
Native Spanish speakers benefit from strengthening their academic Spanish skills in language arts and math and taking on leadership roles in the classroom while learning fluency in English. Non-native speakers become fluent in Spanish and English while engaging fully in the district’s academic curriculum. By the end of fifth grade, the program’s goal is for immersion students to perform at grade level in both Spanish and English.
Spanish Immersion Kindergarten Registration Information
All incoming kindergarten students who reside within the Menlo Park City School District are invited to apply for the Spanish Immersion Program. Spanish Immersion (K–5) is offered at both Laurel and Encinal. No prior Spanish experience is required.
While most students enter the program at the kindergarten level, space may become available in upper grades due to attrition. Students applying for entry beyond kindergarten will be considered based on space availability, academic proficiency, and the social-emotional readiness appropriate for the grade level.
District students who reside outside the Laurel or Encinal attendance boundaries may apply for an intradistrict transfer. Once a transfer is approved, all interested students receive equal consideration for the immersion program.
New Entry to Immersion
The District occasionally offers a small number of English-only students entry into the upper grade immersion classrooms. When space is available, we offer this immersion opportunity to students who express an interest in learning a second language on a case by case basis.
In the New Entry Immersion program, we offer students in the upper grades, who fit specific criteria, the opportunity to enroll in an immersion class. Through this program, we were able to provide the possibility for more students to experience second language learning. As an added benefit, by expanding access to the immersion program through New Entry Immersion, we can provide a more robust and sustainable immersion program throughout all grade levels.
Our goal for the New Entry Immersion program is to provide exposure to Spanish through classroom instruction in various content areas. Spanish support from the teacher or Spanish intern is provided at least three times a week. All teachers are expected to have a general idea of the overall academic progress of each New Entry student. However, only an effort grade is given for subjects taught in Spanish. It would be unrealistic to expect New Entry students to achieve grade level standards in Spanish; however, it is expected that all New Entry students will show growth in Spanish vocabulary and fluency.
For more information or if you have questions, please contact Tami Girsky, Program Coordinator.