On Saturday, April 13th Achieve Hartford, the Sheff Movement, and the Educational Studies Program at Trinity College cosponsored an event on dual-language school models. This event was open to the public and provided a space for various panelists who shared results on the effectiveness of dual-language programs based on empirical evidence and also personal experiences.
Dual-language programs are not a new concept for Hartford schools. In fact, a select few of Hartford elementary schools had programs between the years 1998 and 2007. These schools were not well not implemented and were eventually discontinued. Despite these setbacks, local supporters of dual-language immersion programs have not given up their fight to see these programs thrive. The first line of action is informing a variety of stakeholders of the benefits of these programs to garner more support, which was the goal of the event.
This event was a great first step to get people to take action in support of the creation of a dual-language magnet school for students in the Greater Hartford area. Not only were there resources for starting up an effective dual-language program, there were student, parent, and teacher testimonies and more importantly information on how to a maintain a successful dual-language immersion program. Several of the presenters acknowledged the many challenges that have the potential to arise while trying to implement the program. However, all of them encouraged the dual-language supporters to continue in their fight because of the many benefits that the program can offer.
Click the link to view the presentations that were presented this event.