Dual Language update

While we've got an article on some (and by no means all) parental reaction to the dual language merger in today's paper, it doesn't give you the information about plans for next year. Here they are.

• for current Norrback dual language students entering grades 4, 5, or 6 for this coming year, they may stay at the school and continue to have some form of what they do now in those grades at Norrback: a single period, pull out Spanish period. This will continue until the students entering grade 4 finish 6th grade at Norrback.
• for current Norrback dual language students entering grades 1-4, they may transfer to either Chandler Magnet or to Roosevelt's dual language program. Transportation will be provided for these students. These students will have, as they have had thus far, a 50/50 model of half day Spanish, half day English. Also, any siblings who attend Norrback but are not in the dual language program may transfer to the same school as their dual language sibling and also have transportation.
• for students entering kindergarten who have applied to the dual language program, those students have yet to be evaluated for the dual language program (as they are every year; not every child who applies gets in). Those evaluations will be taking place over May and parents will be informed of placement in or not in the program by the end of May.

Note that there are 79 students in the dual language program at Norrback; 2/3 of those students do not have Norrback as their home school. 

Parents and students are invited to visit both Chandler Magnet and Roosevelt in the coming weeks ('though not during MCAS testing) to see what would work best for them. There are open houses from 6-7 pm on the following dates:
• Roosevelt School – April 29th
• Chandler Magnet – April 30th
They are asked to respond with their chosen option by May 9.

And in the spirit of full disclosure: one of my own children is a student in the dual language program at Norrback. We have not yet made a decision regarding next year.