Announcer (00:01): Highlighting the amazing stories from inside the North Clackamas School District. This is the Proud To Be NCSD podcast hosted by longtime principal and current community relations director, Curtis Long.

Teacher (00:14): Okay, look here because that's what was expected. Great. Go get a pencil

Curtis Long (00:19): And welcome in to another exciting edition of The Proud To Be NCSD podcast. And yes, go get a pencil because it's writing time in this North Clackamas classroom of 20 plus eager third graders, including some who are asking their teacher for some quick feedback and others who are discovering it's hard to edit when you write with an ink pen.

Teacher (00:37): We cannot erase pen, so I will give you another sheet. Go find a pencil

Curtis Long (00:41): Just another lesson in Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras third grade classroom at Lot Whittcomb Elementary. But Hernandez Contreras classroom is not just another classroom. Listen closely as the kids pay close attention to their teacher's instructions. To write a paragraph about a recent story, read aloud. Hernandez Contreras's voice level never changes but the language suddenly does

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (01:03): Picked one already. Thank you. (Language changes to Spanish)

Curtis Long (01:12): Welcome to one of several dual language immersion classrooms available at multiple schools throughout the North Clackamas School District. Dual Language Immersion or DLI classrooms teach the same curriculum as an all English speaking classroom in the same grade, but depending on the grade level, a certain portion of the day is taught in English while the rest of the day proceeds in Spanish. Students can enroll in a dual language immersion classroom at any time and can start with any level of Spanish speaking experience. In Hernandez Contreras classroom, which is taught 60% in English and 40% in Spanish, many of the students are now on the fast track to becoming fully bilingual before they reach middle school. Take classmates Mia and Alan for example, who even as third graders see the value of being in a dual language immersion class.

Mia (Student) (01:57): You could like talk two language, like there's a kid over there, he only knows Spanish, so I could talk um, for him in Spanish and in English

Curtis Long (02:05): And have been in a DLI classroom since kindergarten.

Alan (Student) (02:11): So you've met new friends that can speak Spanish or that speak English. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I've been in the school since I was in kindergarten. I went up to first grade is they speak Spanish and English, another grade, which is second grade. And they spoke uh, English in Spanish and then this grade they speak English and Spanish

Curtis Long (02:25): And NCSD students like Mia and Alan aren't alone. Let's fast forward ahead to Rex Putnam High School on this very same day where sophomores in Jackson Doty's DLI language and literature classroom are diligently working on their research projects about a world country of their choice. And their discussions with their teacher are nearly 100% in Spanish. Grayson says his project is about Greece.

Grayson (Student) (03:00): He asked me what country I decided to study and I said Greece. And then he asked why. And it's because for years I've been obsessed with Greek mythology

Curtis Long (03:09): And says he wouldn't want to learn in any other way than as part of dual language immersion classrooms.

Grayson (Student) (03:14): I went to Alder Creek. It's a great way to meet people of diverse cultures cuz culture has a big influence on people's personality and how they interact with other people. And just knowing multiple languages is awesome I think

Curtis Long (03:27): You know what else is awesome? Did you know that NCSD has dual language immersion programs, not only at Lot Whitcomb Elementary and Rex Putnam High Schools, but also at Riverside Elementary and Alder Creek Middle School. Today on the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, we welcome several amazing teachers and administrators from these extraordinary and often under-recognized dual language immersion classrooms and answer questions along the way, ranging from how to enroll to how daily instruction is carried out to the long-term benefits of learning in a bilingual classroom. I

High School Student (03:58): Get to learn more about things that I didn't think I would need to know about Spanish. So it's been a long journey knowing a lot of things.

Curtis Long (04:06): Joining us today is of course the teachers of those two old dual language immersion classrooms. We just featured Soltsy Hernandez, Contreras of Lot Whitcomb Elementary and Jackson Doty of Rex Putnam High School, along with Whitcomb teachers, Veronica Alvarado, Melissa, Sotelo Lopez, and Miguel Ortiz. And since this podcast is all about our district dual language immersion program, it's only fitting that we conduct this podcast in a dual language format. So each time I ask a question, we'll do our best to ask it in Spanish as well and we'll make sure we get all of today's answers interpreted in both English and Spanish for the benefit of our listeners. So to start things off, let's have each of our guests today introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about what they teach, how long they've been a part of North Clackamas and how long they've been teaching in a DLI classroom. Soto Tiempo Ado En in North Clackamas Ito Tie ado en in classes day dli

Miguel Ortiz (04:55): Uh, hello everyone. Olas Miguel Ortiz. Uh, my name's Miguel. I am the fourth grade DLI teacher. Esk Isro in dli. So I've been teaching for five years. This is my first D L I year, but I have been with North Clackamas for three years now. Four years, my bad. Four years.

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (05:14): Hola. Hi everyone, my name is Soltsy Hernandez. This is my fourth year teaching. So this is also my first year at Lot Whitcomb and in the Klaas districts Quin

Jackson Doty (05:43): My name is Jackson Doty, it's my second year working at Rex Putnam and I teach for all grades.

Veronica Alvarado (05:54): Hi everyone, this is Veronica Alvarado. I am a Kinder DLI teacher at Whitcomb. This is my third year teaching and my second year in a DLI classroom.

Melissa Sotelo Lopez (06:15): Hi, this is is Melissa Sotello and I am the first grade teacher, um, for DLI. This is my first year in a DLI classroom by my second year as a teacher d l i.

Curtis Long (06:38): So great to have all of you here and this is the first time we've ever tried a podcast in dual languages. So I appreciate all of you being here today for sure. Now we just heard from listening to both Soltsy and Jackson's classrooms, a dual language immersion or D L I classroom works a little differently aside from language, tell us about how your classrooms may differ a little from a traditional classroom down the hall

Jackson Doty (07:10): And so you can kind of get away with a bit more creative license, which means a lot more creative responsibility for the teacher. But it's a lot more fun and you can kind of focus on, you can work on developing relationships more with the students and kind of building their creativity and confidence in reading and writing rather than focusing on uh, well we have to teach this because that's in the standards and we have to take the state exams on it. It's more about enjoy exploring the language.

Curtis Long (07:38): And Soltsy, how about for you in third grade, I got to visit your classroom. Is your third grade classroom any different than the third grade classroom right next door?

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (07:45): Yeah, I think one of the things that is different for the DLI track tends to be that a lot of these students are together for all of their schooling. So they form very different relationships and very close relationships than other traditional classrooms.

Miguel Ortiz (08:22): So one of the main things that is different from um, a traditional classroom is that, and this, this kind of discourages a couple of students cuz they're reading at a different grade level, right? Because in DLI they don't get introduced to reading and writing in English until third grade. So obviously, but just because they might be able to read and write better does not mean that they don't know the concepts. Right. So it's interesting to, to watch them kind of develop their ideas in both languages. Also use the use of trans languaging, like switching between both languages fluently without losing any, any of the meaning behind it is super interesting to see at any grade level.

Curtis Long (09:10): Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Yeah, I can just imagine it's kids' brains are going and yours too are going back and forth between English and Spanish all day long, right? They're trying to go from English on one side to Spanish on this side. How am I going to write this in Spanish or say this in English or vice versa. Yeah. What do you feel are the biggest learning benefits for kids in a dual language immersion class?

Veronica Alvarado (09:38): I would definitely say one of the biggest benefits aside from you know, gaining a different language is a bridge to a different culture and many cultures in addition to the one you know that Spanish is originally connected to. That's definitely a diverse linguistically culturally, socially as well. Lots of benefits in in that route.

Melissa Sotelo Lopez (10:00): And then just to jump on top of that, I think another part would just be it also helps them be able to express themselves in a language that they feel comfortable in. So whether sometimes they come up with words that they are feeling better to express in Spanish, they can express themselves in that way or in English as well. They have that availability to be able to connect with that. And at least in the classroom I see them working a lot amongst themselves to help each other understand through different languages. Sometimes we may be able to express it better in what language than the other and they really help connect with that and I think that's just very special and just a bilingual, they're able to grow in both languages at the same time.

Veronica Alvarado (10:37): And I think naturally it's such a collective environment that everybody is seen as a teacher and they all learn from each other and they all lean in into each other and help one another and they always have a learning mindset.

Curtis Long (10:53): And Jackson, these are all elementary teachers so eventually these students come to you. Do you see the same things at the high school level with the benefits of being in a dual language immersion program?

Jackson Doty (11:02): Yeah absolutely. Those uh, relationships they developed at a young age in elementary school, oftentimes they're in the same cohorts. So these kids know each other like family and they know each other's parents and they often work together in small cliques and support each other. The heritage speakers sometimes have certain strengths of speaking and having a kind of more native understanding of the language and they help their counterparts that are the non-native speakers. And so everybody kind of works together and shares to provide a kind of common knowledge.

Curtis Long (11:33): How much of each language is spoken in class? From what I research, it depends on the grade level, correct?

Veronica Alvarado (11:40): So I this is kindergarten, it is a 80 20. So 80% of the instruction is in Spanish and 20% is in English.

Curtis Long (11:59): And as the kids get older that starts to slide a little bit. So 80 20 in kindergarten, how's it go? Soltsy or Veronica when they get to you it starts to slide a little bit differently.

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (12:09): Right so third grade is when students start to receive more instruction in English going on to fourth and fifth in English. So once they get to third, fourth and fifth students are about 60% Spanish, 30% English. And that's kind of more of the alternation between reading and writing where they're learning more of the English literacy portions.

Curtis Long (12:44): And unfortunately we don't have a middle school representative with us. But Jackson, when they get to you in high school, what is the breakdown between English and Spanish going on in the classroom?

Jackson Doty (13:18): All of the instruction time is in Spanish a hundred percent but a lot of the students have developed a relationship with me where we joke around and have a normal conversations in the hallways and English.

Curtis Long (13:28): I guess my next question then is all instruction translated into both languages?

Miguel Ortiz (13:37): No. So the goal is to have the like whatever the target language is at that time to have it be completely in the target language. So if we are doing a reading unit in English, then all of the instruction, all of the materials, everything, absolutely everything is in English. However, I don't stop my students from writing in the language that they're comfortable in. I do challenge them if they are more comfortable with English, I won't stop them from writing English, but I do say okay, you've written a lot in English, how about you try something in Spanish? You wanna make sure to challenge them. Cuz there's one student that I think of specifically who he's been fighting me all year long <laugh> and I fight back and now it's gotten to the point where I'm like okay, yeah you've written a lot in English, now let's do some Spanish. And he just does it.

Curtis Long (14:32): So does that mean for all of you when you provide an assignment to kids? Some of them are turning it in maybe in English and some are turning it in in Spanish. I know Sulci when I was watching kids write paragraphs in your room, some were writing in Spanish and some were writing in English.

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (14:45): Yeah, ideally for certain parts it kind of alternates. So we have like specific times where I'm teaching fully in Spanish for reading or writing in their writing in that target language. But like Miguel said, we're not going to discourage them from writing in the language that is comfortable. And I also have students who only speak one language and have not yet been in the US long enough to speak English. So that's definitely a different kind of a challenge.

Curtis Long (15:09): And Veronica, do you see that at kindergarten as well?

Veronica Alvarado (15:12): Yes I do. And I also wanna mention about bridging to the other languages and so there's little moments throughout the day of course when we are speaking in one language and giving instruction in one language and if a student is still monolingual we will always stop and make sure that they are comprehending what is going on because that is the most important part is that we are making those bridges to the language that they are most fluent in and that they are are aware of what is going on, what is expected of them and things of that matter.

Curtis Long (15:44): Now Veronica and Melissa kindergarten first grade is a big grade for learning to read. I'm curious how you approach that in a dual language classroom.

Veronica Alvarado (16:13): So the literacy or reading, since Spanish and English share the same alphabet, a lot of the strategies, reading strategies is able to be transferred into either language.

Curtis Long (16:23): Do you have anything to add to that?

Melissa Sotelo Lopez (16:51): Espanol, sorry, we started out with Spanish in kinder first and second grade. That's because the primary focus and then eventually we start learning it in English because you know we are learning the alphabet, the sounds that they make in Spanish first and then eventually we start learning how to differentiate the m how to sound in Spanish that sound the same in English are different cuz there are a lot of letters that share the same sounds and some letters are different. So they're able to learn that and then through the way that they learn it in Spanish, they start learning it and picking it up in English as well.

Curtis Long (17:36): At what grade do students typically enroll in a dual language immersion program? A natural start obviously is kindergarten or first grade, but can students enter the program at other grades?

Melissa Sotelo Lopez (18:06): So usually some parts where they start into the program will be kindergarten will be a great entry point and then if they didn't sign up for kindergarten, they haven't done any kindergarten, they can definitely start first grade as well. Another point that they can start into the program is also sixth grade and ninth grade. So the beginning of elementary secondary school and then so middle school and high school.

Miguel Ortiz (18:27): I think it's important to note that students can join at any point they just have to test in so they can indicate that through a test as well.

Curtis Long (18:46): Do any of you get new students like during the middle of a year, like a classroom down the hall gets a new student in English? Do you get some who are Spanish speakers and start in your classroom?

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (18:54): Yeah, I think we all have had or most of the DLI program at Lot Whitcomb has had some new students throughout the year. I had a new student in the middle of the year as well.

Curtis Long (19:13): And we've talked a lot about Whitcomb Elementary, go Wolves and Rex Putnam High School go Kingsman. But these programs are available in other schools in our district. So in which schools are these DLI programs available in North Clackamas?

Miguel Ortiz (19:25): All right Jackson, you got this?

Jackson Doty (19:31): Alder Creek...

Curtis Long (19:43): Now we're putting Jackson on the spot as a high school teacher. Can he name the elementary schools?

Jackson Doty (19:52): Riverside Elementary, Lot Whitcomb and Milwaukie El Puente...

Curtis Long (19:56): And Milwaukie El Puente is an important one cuz I forgot them in the beginning of this podcast. We wanna make sure that we have a shout out to the Pumas over at Milwaukie El Puente Elementary. They also have a dual language program. So the big question is how do families enroll?

Veronica Alvarado (20:11): So you can go to the North Clackamas website slash bilingual or you can go to your nearest elementary school and you can apply right there at the office and you can also enter a lottery to see if you, if your student can win a spot in a D L I classroom.

Curtis Long (20:31): That was gonna be my next question cuz sometimes probably there aren't enough slots in our classrooms for students who would like to enroll. So there is a lottery system for this. Is that something that teachers are involved in or do we leave that up to the administrators to decide how the lottery works?

Melissa Sotelo Lopez (20:44): Yes, so the deadline for that lottery would be actually next Wednesday, April 19th. And it's gonna be held on that Friday the 21st. And that's all done through the district office. They have two people there, a person doing the lottery and they have a witness to make sure they are able to get the list of the students and are able to communicate that with the families.

Curtis Long (21:32): Speaking of lotteries, we hope this proud to be ncsd podcast has been just the ticket needed to find out more about our district's amazing dual language immersion classrooms. If you'd like to enroll students, time is running out. Applications are due Wednesday, April 19th and the lottery will take place on Friday, April 21st. Up next, how can families best support their DLI students at home?

Elementary Student (22:05): So you can write Spanish. Can you write English too? Yes. Can you read Spanish and read English too? Mm-hmm <affirmative>, can you speak English and speak Spanish too? Yes. Oh my gosh. Incredible. What language do you speak at home? Um, Spanish. Is it ever hard to come to school and do English stuff? Um,

Curtis Long (22:22): And what's the best part of teaching a dual language immersion classroom?

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (22:26): As a child, I didn't have the experience of being able to communicate fully in both languages and my first language was Spanish so I did not have a space or a community in school where I could really communicate. And having this space where even if that's your reality, there's always someone there to support you if you don't speak that other language.

Curtis Long (22:44): Don't miss the second half of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast. Right after this...

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Curtis Long (23:51): Okay. Since these programs are only available at certain NCSD schools, Riverside, Milwaukie El Puente, Lot Whitcomb, Alder Creek, Rex Putnam...is transportation provided? Say a student doesn't live in that attendance area of those particular schools

Veronica Alvarado (24:09): Transportation is provided.

Curtis Long (24:14): How can families best support their DLI students from home? What language should they use at home with their children?

Veronica Alvarado (24:24): Starting from kindergarten, a lot of what would be a big help is reading to your student regardless of the language. And I really wanna emphasize regardless of the language because a lot of the strategies will be transferred into either language that they will acquire.

Jackson Doty (24:57): So if you're an English speaking parents, so you should be trying to learn the language as well so that you guys can go on trips together and you kind of know what it's like to be learning a second language along with your kids.

Veronica Alvarado (25:14): Another neat trick is changing the audio on movies or any educational TV shows to the language, right? For example, Spanish, if you are not a Spanish speaker, that would be very, very helpful.

Melissa Sotelo Lopez (26:03): So something else just kind of speaking different languages, you know, whether it's English or Spanish or a different language. Just having them be exposed to those languages as much as possible. Sometimes we get accustomed to just speaking in one language and forget about the secondary language or the other languages that you may know. So just exposing that as much as possible is always helpful. Like changing the settings of your TV just so you can hear in a different language too. Or if you have any friends that speak a different languages, any other family members being able to challenge yourself and try it out.

Miguel Ortiz (26:45): So I know that said last thing, but there's three words that are very, very powerful that you can use. So right is in English, how do you say? And in Spanish Como se dice? Right, because they're at a point where their brain is working on like overdrive because they're learning in two languages, one at home and then another in at school and vice versa. So if you challenge them and like get them to think, oh how do you say this? Like it really, one, it empowers them for them to understand that they actually do know the language. And two, you'll get free lessons that way too, which is kind of tacking onto what Jackson said.

Curtis Long (27:23): And Soltsy, I know when I was talking with some students in your classroom, some were saying, my parents speak Spanish and I'm teaching them English or vice versa. My parents speak English and I'm teaching them Spanish at home. So it's kind of cool that they're learning this language together, both student and family members at the same time. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, as we start to wrap things up, question for all of you, none of you escape this one. What's the best part of being a teacher in a dual language immersion program?

Soltsinansy Hernandez Contreras (28:32): Speaking from personal experience, something that has always drawn me to immersion and the reason that I have been doing this, just immersion for all this time is as a child I didn't have the experience of being able to communicate fully in both languages. And my first language was Spanish. So I did not have a space or a community in school where I could really communicate for a long time at all with any of my classmates. And having this space where even if that's your reality, like it is for one of my students, there's always someone there to support you if you don't speak that other language. And it's also like as a bilingual person, I feel that I fully express myself when I am speaking both languages because sometimes you can't say things in Spanish that are in English and you can't translate it certain things to English because it sounds really weird. <laugh>.

Jackson Doty (29:47): So something that's really important for me is I've noticed some of my best friends from high school were all from Southern California. Many of them used to be native heritage speakers of Spanish, but ever since they moved out of their family homes, they stop speaking Spanish every day. And so now very sadly, some of them have a hard time speaking Spanish in the way that they used to. And I'm in a spot where I get to help students not lose that ability.

Melissa Sotelo Lopez (30:52): So something for me just to jump off of you guys were saying is that me as a child, I always separated my languages. I thought Spanish was only for home and when I was out in public, I had to speak in English. Um, and it took me many years to unlearn that and to realize that I can merge the two languages. I can speak whatever language I feel comfortable with wherever I was. And so that's something that I want my students to be able to do as well. And to be able to teach them that they can embrace who they are, they can keep learning and growing as a student, as a person and learn all these different languages, whether it's Spanish, English, Farsi, Mayan, Thai, any language that they know, just, you know, it keeps them, it ellips their voices, they learn more, they're able to express themselves in different languages and they are able to communicate with more people and learn more about themselves and just connectively, they're just learning a lot more.

Miguel Ortiz (32:00): So I would say that my favorite part is the cultural aspect. Like just in my classroom I have four different cultures that are predominantly represented, but it's also the fact that they get to look into other cultures. And the best part about the DLI program, especially in Spanish, is there's 20 plus different countries that speak Spanish and 20 plus different cultures that we can pull from. And it's awesome to, to see them represented as well in what we are learning. Because if we're learning something that like they do as a family, they're like, oh, we do this and then like everyone kind of gets invested.

Veronica Alvarado (32:53): So one of the things that has been very special to me is seeing how native Spanish speakers are able to, I think what somebody already mentioned is to keep your native language I think is very important because for example, I've had a student lose the ability to communicate with their grandmother. And so it's to me is very important that students have that option of maintaining that mother language for them to be and appreciate their culture and their language and feel empowered by that.

Curtis Long (33:56): Is there anything else that we're missing? Anything you'd like to add?

Veronica Alvarado (33:59): You definitely have to trust the process. I know a lot of families and parents get very discouraged about their students be behind, quote unquote in English. But you know, kids are so resilient and they will definitely prove you wrong. I don't think they get enough credit for that. They go to school and they work twice as hard as any other kids in schools. And I am very, very honored and proud to be a teacher for kids who work that hard.

Curtis Long (34:29): Soltsy Hernandez, Contreras, Jackson, Doty, Veronica Alvarado, Melissa Sotello Lopez, Miguel Ortiz...thank you for taking time after school to join us today and an even bigger thank you to the amazing work you do each day with our NCSD students in two different languages. Our district mission states that in NCSD we build relationships with students to honor their cultural heritage and cultivate a joy in learning. And I can't think of anyone who does that more on a day-to-day basis than our guests today. Each of you truly makes us proud to be NCSD. Thank you for being a part of our podcast today.

Veronica Alvarado (35:02): Thank you.

Miguel Ortiz (35:02): Yeah, thank you so much. Thanks for having us.

Curtis Long (35:08): Thanks for listening to The Proud To Be NCSD podcast. In North Clackamas, we know that education is a community effort and we're so thankful that you and your family are a part of our community. Until next time, remember, there are always great things to see wherever you go in N C S D.