Emerging Bilingual Collaborative visits Delhi School District in support of dual-immersion classes
DELHI, Calif. (KFSN) -- Members of the Emerging Bilingual Collaborative, or EBC, paid a visit to Delhi Unified School District's Harmony Elementary School on Monday morning.
EBC is made up of five foundations, Heising-Simons, Silver Giving, California Community, James B. McClatchy, and The Sobrato Family.
This year, the collaborative granted the district $1.5 million to enhance bilingual education.
Priscilla Enriquez and Robert Medina are both part of foundations that donated.
During their visit, they got to see their investment in action.
"Walking into a classroom and seeing the children so happy, bright, energetic and engaging with the teachers is really heartwarming and makes us feel really proud of our investments here," says Priscilla.
Robert continues to mention, "We all share a vision -- a vision for California that is multilingual where our families and young children are thriving."
The funding has helped pay for wrap-around training for teachers, one-on-one coaching and planning.
The focus is on the district's English-Spanish Dual immersion courses.
With growing bilingual classes happening at the district, just about two thirds of students are learning two different languages.
Dr. Steve Tietjen, Superintendent of Merced County Office of Education, explains, "Multilingualism really provides another level of academic strength for children and of course, what we want to see, we want to see kids with options when they graduate high school."
Delhi Unified Superintendent, Jose Miguel Kubes, has been working alongside the Merced County of Education to ensure students are prepared for life after high school.
Kubes mentions, "When our students get the biliteracy seal, when they graduate ready as bilingual members and as bicultural members of a workforce, we know we are doing more than just educating them we are setting them up for success."
To learn more about the Emerging Bilingual Collaborative, you can visit here.
