Dual language programs have been shown to be one of the most successful models for closing the achievement gap between English-speaking and English-learning students, which can be considered a strong indicator of educational equity.
The OPSI target of two-way 90/10 immersion programs serve ELLs who are native speakers of the partner language (or co-instructional language - ie Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese) and English monolingual students together in the same classroom. Because two-way programs start in Kindergarten in 90% the partner language, ELLs are given the opportunity to focus on learning literacy in their own language and grab onto core content while slowly incorporating English language.
This change is needed. Washington state is currently failing to meet the educational standards for a talented and capable ELL student body, especially in Math and stem. The following image is taken from the 2018-2019 OSPI Washington State Report Card, and show's ELL testing scores against their English monolingual classmates.
Research in the field of education for English language learners clearly indicates that bilingualism is an asset to students cognitively, socially, and academically. Beyond the benefits for English language learners, research, as well growing public opinion, points to the benefits of development of bilingualism and biliteracy for students' competitiveness in the 21st century.
But teacher shortages exist in areas critical to minority students’ success, specifically in bilingual language instruction (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2019, p. 6). Data collected from a wide-scale survey of educator preparation programs by the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) indicates a considerable shortage of teachers in bilingual education across the nation (AAEE, 2001).
Washington, too, has identified a need in the bilingual teacher workforce. According to the State of Washington Professional Educators Standards Board (PESB) (2019a), there is currently a statewide shortage of bilingual and English language learner (ELL) endorsed teachers. OSPI (2019a) predicts that the state’s “annual need for bilingual educators could triple in 3-5 years… if the demand for dual language programs continues at [the] same rate” (p. 5).
The legislature has also proposed several policies and practices to remedy the shortage of dual language educators in Washington, including the creation of improved data systems to track recruitment, job placement, and retention, and the implementation of new teacher certification and licensure systems to offer multiple pathways for candidates to earn teaching credentials (OSPI, 2017).
These efforts, however, are adopted unevenly at the district level, where administrators must weigh the needs of their unique student populations and communities against available funding and available labor in the teacher workforce (Washington State House Democrats, 2017).
Programs like the Washington Professional Educators Standards Board’s (PESB) Recruiting Washington Teachers – Bilingual Educators Initiative aim to develop an emerging dual language workforce at the high school level (PESB, 2018). This high school teacher academy program works to recruit, prepare, and mentor bilingual students to become future bilingual teachers and counselors in the state of Washington (2018).