DL Secondary Programs

Many people have asked questions about the dual Language Immersion program in the Davis School District. To help ensure that correct information is being shared in the community, please refer to the answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions.

• Do you need to live within the school boundaries to be able to participate?

  While living within the boundaries is not mandatory, preference is given to those students who would normally be assigned to attend that particular school. Occasionally, space is available for those living outside the school boundaries. Principals will be able to let patrons know if there will be room for out of boundary students in their school.

• Can older students join the immersion program?

  Students are hand-selected for these openings based on factors that help ensure student success. Because the new student will be at a significant disadvantage coming into an existing immersion classroom, the student identified as the one most likely to succeed in this setting will be selected. I

• Are the immersion teachers all certified to teach?
  
  All of our immersion teachers hold a Utah teaching license, however they come from a variety of backgrounds. Most have been educated in our local universities and have graduated with an Elementary Education or language degree. Others are International Guest Teachers from foreign countries. These teachers have been hand-selected by their respective governments to come to Utah to teach in our schools. They represent the “best and brightest” these countries have to offer. Other foreign teachers have spent a year as an intern in one of the immersion schools and then moves to a full-time teaching position the following year. A small number of teachers have a college degree in an area other than education; however, all are screened through a rigorous process by the Utah State Office of Education in order to ascertain their aptness to teach in our schools. If necessary, they take university and state-sponsored classes to complete their course work in Elementary Education.

• How are immersion programs funded? Do they take money away from other programs at the school?

  The district funds the immersion classrooms as they fund all classrooms, paying the salary of the teacher and providing teaching space. The immersion classrooms receive the same funding for supplies, books, etc. as do other classrooms in the building. District and school funds in excess of what is normally allotted to every classroom are not used to support immersion classrooms.  In addition, the immersion programs are given funds through money set aside by the Utah State Legislature specifically for the Dual Language Immersion schools. These monies are used to purchase textbooks, classroom supplies and other curricular needs, as well as covering the cost of substitute teachers when immersion teachers are at state-sponsored workshops. If a school dropped their immersion program, these funds would NOT be available to the school or the district. Because of the legislative money, immersion schools generally have district funds freed up that can used by other classrooms outside of the immersion program.

• What happens when the immersion students reach junior high and high school? Won’t the language classes offered be too easy for them?

  7thand 8th grade students will be offering one or two courses per year of advanced language classes. The 9th grade the immersion students will take an A.P. (Advanced Placement) course and will be tested to receive college credit. Upon passing the AP exam with a 3 or higher students may take level 3000 university courses in grades 10-12. If students take all three courses throughout high school, they will graduate 6 credit hours (2 classes) short of a minor in the language.