MATTAWA — The Wahluke School Board met Tuesday night for a regularly scheduled board meeting where the plan to implement an updated dual language learning program was approved for the 2025/26 school year. 

“As we look at our data, we notice that our kids hit more than they need to in their English language development and they’re not necessarily getting all the way where we want them in their Spanish language development,” said Bethany Martinez of Wahluke’s Migrant Department. 

Instruction is currently on the 50/50 model, meaning students learn in either English or Spanish at the start of the unit and by the end convert to the other language. Instead, the district is considering switching to an 80/20 model. 

The new plan aims to have all students become bilingual and biliterate and gives both English- and Spanish-speaking students the ability to read, write and communicate in both languages, according to the WSD Dual Language Immersion Program Master Plan document shared on the district website. 

“The research says both will give you the exact same result for English and the 80/20 will give you the higher results for Spanish,” said Martinez. “(Students) tend to feel like they connect more with their Spanish and want to use it.”  

With the 80/20 plan kindergarten will start out with an 80% focus on learning in Spanish and bridge to 20% English learning by the end of the unit. As the students move up grade by grade they will transition to more English learning, eventually coming back to the 50/50 model by the time they reach fourth grade. 

“It still gets them to the English level of proficiency that we want them at, instead of them trying to navigate both languages in the very beginning,” Martinez said. “Once you learn to read in one language you know how to read.” 

Focusing on immersion for both students with and without a Spanish background is key to the program and the school wants to ensure that students feel comfortable talking in whatever language they prefer, she said. 

Martinez said the schools will hold a Dual Language Celebration on April 30 that will be fully hosted by students in multiple languages. 

These ideas were in part brought about by the recent National Migrant Conference in San Francisco, Representatives of Wahluke School District attended and presented at the conference.  

“We had the opportunity to go explore San Francisco and go learn a little bit more about what other school districts are doing in the migrant program,” said Liliana Barajas, migrant graduation advisor at Wahluke High School. 

At the conference WSD staff discussed strategies to engage parents, mental health support, working cooperatively with other programs, the importance of students embracing their language and cultures and ideas for helping staff gain a better understanding of their migrant students. Wahluke hosted their own workshop as well to show what their schools are doing currently to help students coming from migrant families, said Barajas.  

Other national presenters at the conference representing Wahluke were Magali Gonzalez, Daisy Pfeifer, Chelsea Brannock and Alice Jaakola.  

“We got to hear from the former secretary of education and the deputy secretary of the English language acquisition,” said Brannock. “They shared some other pieces of legislation, what’s going on across the country with multilingual learning.” 

The conference had students from around the area embracing their different cultures, showing the variety of different cultures that exist across the country, said Pfeifer. 

The other items of business included environmental standards for school buildings, planned trips for clubs throughout the rest of the school year and into the summer, the Wahluke senior trip to Seattle and the plans for Prom presented by the Student Board Representatives Damien Cardenas and Jasmin Gil Aguilar. 

Aguilar said the Wahluke High School prom is planned for May 10 at Sagecliffe Resort, the first school dance held outside Mattawa. Transportation would be provided for students who are unable to get their own ride. 

“I think we just wanted to try something new,” said Cardenas. “Not many kids go to our events ... that’s what we’re trying to do, just get more kids involved.” 

    From left: Daisy Pfeifer, Chelsea Brannock and Alice Jaakola share their experience presenting at the National Migrant Conference in San Francisco and ideas they want to apply to schools in the district going forward.
  

    Bethany Martinez, right, stands with Liliana Barajas, left, and Magali Gonzalez as they discuss what they learned from the National Migrant Conference.