Eric.ed.gov – Literacy at the Core of the Delaware World Language Immersion Programs

Certain aspects of the implementation of language immersion programs in Delaware are unique given the state’s size, demographics, and role in national education initiatives including Race to the Top, Common Core, and Smarter Balance. The Delaware experience typifies what every state, district, or even school goes through as they try to provide students with more intensive, longer sequences of language learning that lead to high levels of proficiency. The state exports products to more than 160 different countries each year, cities across the state participate in 6 Sister City Partnerships, and Delaware regularly sponsors Trade Missions to locations including China, Germany, Italy, and even Pakistan. Residents in the state speak more than 80 languages combined. The Department of Education has Memoranda of Understanding in place with 9 different countries, and schools in 55% of the state’s school districts have established international school partnerships. Keeping these things in mind, Delaware Governor Jack Markell envisioned the Governor’s World Language Expansion Initiative. Through collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, an aggressive world language education plan was crafted with multiple pathways for students K-12 to achieve advanced levels of proficiency by the time they graduate high school. The World Language Immersion Team works in close collaboration with the Education Associates for other content areas including math, science, and social studies to gain a deep understanding of the content of the Delaware Recommended Curriculum, the Common Core Standards, and their role in classrooms and instruction across the state. Collaboration with Education Associates for English Language Arts is also key in building a clear understanding of how to insure that literacy develops in two languages simultaneously. This article details the many aspects of the Governor’s World Language Expansion Initiative and the Delaware World Language Immersion Programs, and how the state has made a concerted effort to put people and structures in place to support the growth and development of these programs.