FARMINGTON—Students in the Davis School District have the opportunity to learn a second language through the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program offered in Spanish, Chinese and French. However, some of the schools are experiencing a decline in the number of students participating and the district would like a study done into the possibility of consolidating those programs into one school that offers the same language.

Secondary Director Chris Keime and Elementary Director Doug Forsgren came before the school board at the July 15 meeting to propose a study be made of South Davis Junior High’s French program and Lincoln Elementary’s Spanish program. 

“There is a code that requires a study to be done before making any changes to special enrollment programs,” said Keime. “This is in connection with the French Dual Language Immersion program at South Davis Junior High School acknowledging that this study could result in consolidation or closure of that program.”

Enrollment in the French Dual Language Immersion program at South Davis has declined in recent years, he said. “There were 15 students enrolled across the three grades seventh through ninth and for this coming year there are only eight.”

There are some factors that contribute to that that are worth studying, including a neighboring school, Mueller Park, having that same language immersion program, as well as the path that feeds the bridge program in high school resides at Bountiful High and not at the South Davis feeder school Woods Cross.”

“So the tentative thought is maybe consolidate that to Mueller Park?” said Board member Kristen Hogan. 

“That is one of the options that’s worth studying,” said Keime.

“One thing we want to make clear is that the research on the Dual Language Immersion program is solid,” said Forsgren. “The state publishes good solid research on the outcomes. There are a couple of findings that show that students demonstrate measurable advances in language and content area assessments and that programs tend to offer students opportunities beyond because of looking at the bilingual skills that they're picking up. However, we’re not seeing all those benefits reaped at Lincoln right now and there’s probably many factors that come into play.”

Forsgren said that is why they are asking for the study. “I wanted to point out just a little bit of information that kind of caught our attention as we were looking into this.”

The Center for Applied Linguistics published a study and the research showed that a minimum of six years in a DLI program is needed in order to show significant positive influence on a student’s academic outcomes, he said. “So part of one of the factors that may be contributing to this right now is just that Lincoln is one of our most mobile schools. It actually is our most mobile school. We have more students moving in and out of Lincoln than any other school in the Davis School District.”

The Center for Applied Linguistics is looking for six years, said Forsgren. “Right now our average student is two and a half years in the program. As you dig into the research it shows there’s possibly something detrimental to students if they’re not in it as long and that’s something that’s in the same study.”

Typically there are great outcomes as students stay in the programs, he said. “The longer they stay the better.”

Behavior is also a factor, Forsgren said. “Typically your more intensive behavior students don't go into the DLI program and that causes difficulty in balancing classes. It’s something that administration struggles with a little bit because the traditional teachers receive a higher portion of students that may have more challenges.” 

“Lincoln is one of my schools that I hold really dear to my heart,” said Board member Michelle Barber. “So I just want to clearly say that this is the beginning of the study. Parents reached out to have students in the program. I have students in immersion and when you hear any change it is really frightening. So I think we’ll take a careful approach. We’re going to have open houses, we’re going to meet with parents and we’re going to see the best way that we can support all students at that school.”

“I remember years ago when they first started these DLA programs in Utah they talked about how even just studying a second language helps students achieve better academically,” said Board member Julie Powell. “But there’s always the question: is it correlation not causation?”

Ultimately, the board unanimously passed motions to initiate a study for both South Davis Junior High and Lincoln Elementary.