Warsaw Community Schools

Dual Language Immersion (DLI) provides a rich bilingual learning experience beginning in elementary school, when students’ minds are developmentally primed to acquire a second language through meaningful instruction.

In the elementary program, students spend half of their school day with a Spanish-speaking teacher and the other half with a partner English-speaking teacher. Rather than learning Spanish through traditional language lessons, students develop Spanish literacy while learning grade-level academic content. The Spanish-speaking teacher delivers instruction in Spanish while the English-speaking teacher focuses on English literacy and additional core content areas. Instruction is aligned with Warsaw Community Schools’ adopted curriculum and delivered by two highly qualified, caring and creative teachers working collaboratively to support student learning.

The DLI experience continues into middle and high school, allowing students to deepen their bilingual proficiency while applying their language skills in more advanced coursework. At the secondary level, students take advanced Spanish courses and cultural studies classes designed to prepare them for AP Spanish and college-level coursework. Students who stay on the pathway can graduate with more than 20 college credits, a minor in Spanish and the Indiana Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency (CoMP).

Warsaw Community Schools modeled its DLI program after the Utah Department of Education’s state-funded program and continues to utilize its research-based framework, resources and best practices.

Students will receive seven years of dual language instruction and will become proficient bilinguals. Typically, immersion students develop greater cognitive flexibility, attention control, memory, primary language skills, and problem-solving. In addition, dual language immersion students are more aware and positive about other cultures and people.

To demonstrate Spanish proficiency, our 2nd through 6th grade DLI students take STAMP assessment every year. This a standardized Spanish proficiency assessment and collectively, our students outperform the target benchmarks in listening, speaking, reading, and writing!

In elementary school, English-speaking teacher will teach reading and writing, as well as portions of other content areas (social studies, science, math) for half of the day. The Spanish-speaking teacher will use the other half of the day to teach Spanish literacy, mathematics, and portions of other content areas using only Spanish. From day one, the Spanish teacher speaks only Spanish and communicates using a wide range of engaging strategies including pictures, songs, games, body language, expressions, and drama. After a brief period, students will also speak only Spanish during Spanish class.

In middle school, our students will receive two Spanish courses. In 7^th grade, they will take DLI Spanish 3 (a full year dual credit class) and DLI Culture, History and Media (to prepare for the Spanish AP assessment, which they will take as 9^th graders). In 8th^th grade, they will take DLI Spanish 4 (a full year dual credit class) and another section of DLI Culture, History and Media (to prepare for the Spanish AP assessment).  Each Culture, History and Media section focuses on a different time period in history, which growing students’ literacy and presentation skills.  

In high school, as 9^th graders our students take DLI AP Spanish (a full year dual credit class) and a full year of DLI Culture, History and Media. Towards the end of the year, students will take the Spanish AP assessment, which is a step towards their Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency (CoMP).  In 10th-12^th grade, students will be taking coursework through a university partner which will provide them with both high school and college level credits. 

The continued success of Warsaw's DLI program is a result of the ongoing commitment and efforts of WCS’ school board, administrators, the DLI teachers and support staff, and the students and families.

Join our DLI team!