News & Announcements
The District 2 Board of Education approved the establishment of a Spanish language program at the elementary level during its December 18 meeting.
The program will begin with first grade in the 2025-2026 school year, and roll up through eighth grade in subsequent years.
Through the program, all elementary students will learn how to speak, read, and write in Spanish for 25 minutes on regular school days. Spanish was recommended as the target language after careful consideration of community demographics, its popularity in high school course enrollment at Fenton, and the benefits of the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy for our students.
The program will ultimately provide the District’s elementary students the opportunity to leave BSD2 schools in eighth grade ready for advanced Spanish classes and the potential to obtain the Biliteracy Seal in high school.
A District committee recommended that the Board approve the establishment of the elementary Spanish program after meeting over the past several months to review research, evaluate various program types, and consider scheduling options. The committee included the District’s Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, as well as teaching staff, building principals, administrators from Fenton High School, parents and community members.
The committee’s work was funded by the Illinois Arts and Foreign Language Education Planning Assistance Grant. The District will also seek funds from that grant program to assist with implementation costs over the program’s first three years.